Exclusion and the existence of cliques are the most common reasons why Americans don’t want to get more involved in their churches and houses of worship, even though most don’t report any negative experiences with their congregations.
Those are the findings of the “State of the Bible USA 2024” report from the American Bible Society. The latest installment focuses on Americans’ involvement with worship communities and what factors lead them to increase or decrease their involvement with their own congregations.
The most commonly cited “negative experience” repelling people from their congregations was an appearance of “exclusion or cliques within the faith community.” The feeling was reported by 20% of those surveyed.
Authors of the report wrote, “While some might feel reassured that ‘only’ about a fifth of the population mentioned cliques or judgment, this represents about 50 million Americans who say they participate less in a faith community for these reasons.”
American Bible Society Chief Innovation Officer and State of the Bible series Editor-in-Chief John Farquhar Plake insisted that congregations would “benefit from our nationwide research about what people like and dislike about their churches.”
Plake added, “The top answers, for both positive and negative responses, are about belonging. When churchgoers feel that they belong, they participate more. And when they feel excluded by cliques, they drift away.”