What Americans look for and the way they go about searching for a new church partly depends on age, according to a new Pew Research study.
The study found that there was an age difference associated with the different means of finding a new church. Nearly two-thirds of adults under 30 say they have looked online for information about the congregation, compared to one-in-eight adults ages 65 and older who report having done so. Young adults were also more likely than older adults to talk to friends or colleagues (82 percent) or a congregation member (75 percent), compared to 54 percent and 55 percent of people 65 or older, respectively.
Similarly, younger adults are more likely than older adults to cite attendance of friends and family as an important factor of their decision (62 percent and 45 percent, respectively).
Attending a worship service (86 percent and 80 percent) and talking to minister (56 percent and 49 percent) was said to have been a part of the search by Americans across all age groups.
Other similarities include the factors people say are important, such as quality of sermons, feeling welcomed in the church, the physical location, and style of worship.
