"Overall, church attendance is increasing in America and Gallup does not believe it is tied to economic woes...it is statistically significant."
A new Gallup poll shows church attendance in the U.S. has increased slightly in 2010; 43.1 percent of Americans reporting weekly or almost weekly church attendance, up from 42.1 percent in 2008.
Though to the average person it appears to be a small increase, Gallup noted that it is "statistically significant," considering the data is based on more than 800,000 interviews collected between February 2008 and May 2010.
According to the report, the most dedicated churchgoers are conservatives, non-Hispanic blacks, and Republicans and those least likely to attend church at least once a week or almost every week are liberals, Asians, and those aged 18 to 29 years.
"The increase comes as Americans' economic confidence has also risen, suggesting that, instead of church attendance rising when economic times get bad, as some theorize, the opposite pattern may be occurring," the research organization stated.
