Ryan Burge 📊

Coming up in October on the newsletter.

October 1: Most religious groups have become less religious over time. Is that true among evangelicals?
October 5: Examining the role of the Bible in American Catholicism
October 8: I do a deep dive on the 100 largest United Methodist Churches in the United States
October 12: Some data on religion in Canada. Did they experience the predicted revival?
October 15: A closer examination of factors that lead to retention in American Catholicism.
October 19: How many Americans cast their ballots in a house of worship? A lot more than I would have guessed.
October 22: A careful examination of the claim of a surge in Orthodox Christianity.
October 26: If I only compare the most devout Catholics with the most devout evangelicals, do they have similar politics?
October 29: A really in depth inspection of the decline in the Archdiocese of Detroit

In 1972, 42% of Democrats were weekly attenders.

Today, it's 19%.

In 1972, 42% of Democrats attended church less than monthly.

Today, it's 70%.

Married parents go to religious services more than anyone else in their age range by a significant margin.

Among folks born in the 1980s and 1990s:
30% of married parents attend weekly
It's 18% of married people w/o kids.

Only 12% of single, childless people are weekly attenders.

How much vote switching happened in 2026?

Not that much according to NORC data of 113K Americans.

Among white evangelicals who voted for Trump, only 2% voted for a Democrat in 2026.

For non-evangelical Protestants and Catholics, it was a bit higher: 6%.

What do Christian teens struggle with?

I'm guessing it's the same struggles as adults Christians.

31% of teens wonder why bad things happen.
23% feel disconnected from God.

Very few teens constantly struggle with feeling upset with God or doubt God's realness, though.