Religious Developement and Evangelization

Some indicators of religious practice have ticked upward slightly among the religiously affiliated. For example, 26% of religiously affiliated adults now say they share their faith with nonbelievers or people from other religious backgrounds at least once a week, up from 23% in 2007. More than four-in-ten religiously affiliated adults (43%) now say they read scripture outside of religious services at least once a week, up 3 percentage points since 2007. And fully three-in-ten religiously affiliated adults now say they participate in prayer groups or scripture study groups on a weekly basis, also up 3 points since 2007. The increasing share of religiously affiliated adults who read scripture and participate in small-group religious activities has helped hold steady the percentage of the overall population who engage in these practices despite the rapid growth of the religious “nones.1

Significantly, Catholic and Jews lag other faiths in reading scripture, participating in study groups and evangelization. Mormaons and Jehovah's Witnesses are clear leaders in these areas.

Study and Evangelization

Study and Evangelization2

References