Strong motivation to 'worship and experience God' is seen in a majority of church attenders, with 62% of churchgoers listing this as the main reason they attended church services. Also listed amongst the top reasons were 'to share in Holy Communion' as well as 'to be encouraged and inspired'.
Some variation can be seen when comparing attenders by their denominational type.
In the 2016 NCLS, churchgoers in Australia were asked to select their main reason for attending church services, out of a list of options. The majority of attenders sampled reported that they attend services to worship and experience the presence of God.
Indeed, results reveal that the most common reason given for attending church services was ‘to worship or experience God’ with some 62% of all churchgoers selecting this response.
Other reasons were selected at much lower levels and varied significantly across different faith traditions.
Main reasons given for attending church service by denomination
| Catholic % |
Protestant % |
|
|
50 | 73 |
|
42 | 15 |
|
19 | 8 |
|
11 | 4 |
|
10 | 19 |
|
9 | 33 |
|
8 | 17 |
|
7 | 9 |
|
7 | 3 |
|
5 | 3 |
|
5 | 3 |
|
4 | 3 |
Source: 2016 NCLS Attender Survey (n = 1,415).
N.B. Percentages will not add up to 100% as respondents could choose more than one option.
Catholic churchgoers were much more likely to nominate the Eucharist as their key reason for attendance
The Eucharist (Holy Communion) is a core reason for Catholic churchgoers to attend worship services. Some 42% of Catholic attenders sampled selected ‘To share in Holy Communion/ Eucharist/ Lord’s Supper’ as the main reason for their attendance. Whereas only 15% of Protestant churchgoers stated ‘To share in Holy Communion/ Eucharist/ Lord’s Supper’ was their main reason for attending services.
Prayer and reflection is important for Catholic churchgoers
Almost one in five (19%) of Catholic churchgoers sampled nominated ‘I need a time of prayer or reflection’ as their main reason for attending church worship services. Many Catholic churchgoers noted a sense of obligation to attend church worship services, with just over one in ten (11%) of Catholic churchgoers selecting ‘It is my duty’ as their primary reason for attendance. Protestant churchgoers were significantly less likely to attend out of a sense of duty, with just 4% selecting ‘It is my duty’ as their main reason for attending services.
Protestant churchgoers give precedence to community, encouragement and faith development
A third (33%) of Protestant and Anglican churchgoers reported that their main reason for attending church services was ‘for encouragement and inspiration’. Other popular choices for Protestant churchgoers were ‘To learn more about the faith’ (17%) and ‘To feel a sense of community’ (19%).
Just 3% of Protestant churchgoers stated ‘Out of habit’ as their core reason for attending church worship services.
Our research shows that regardless of faith tradition most churchgoers claimed their main reason to attend church services is to worship and experience God. The tradition of Christians gathering together for worship appears strong. The practice of sharing Holy Communion / Eucharist; as well as meeting together regularly to encourage one another in the faith; also appear to be active reasons why people of Christian faith are attending worship.
