Picking & Choosing in the Pews: Multi-Church Attendance

By Colleen Hill | Hartford Institute for Religion Research

Nearly half of American worshipers now regularly attend services at multiple churches, and 7% consider themselves members of more than one congregation — a dramatic shift enabled by digital streaming that’s reshaping how people practice their faith.

New research from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that 46% of worshipers regularly attend or view services at churches beyond their primary congregation, a phenomenon that was rare before the COVID-19 pandemic forced religious services online.

The Attendance Shift

The Rev. Michael Woolf, a pastor at Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, a progressive interfaith church, recalls the moment this shift became undeniable.

“I had folks who were going to join the church, but they told me they were probably going to join another church too,” he says. “Historically, when you join a church, you’re sort of making a mutually exclusive commitment in some way. And (these folks) didn’t see it that way.”

Woolf recalls conversations he has had with his congregants who are open about their dual church commitments.

“They really loved our interfaith focus, and they loved the music program at another church. So they’re basically putting these two congregational experiences together and creating the best experience possible for them,” he said.

According to Woolf, modern congregants act like informed consumers who understand that despite traditional theological teachings about church membership, they can enhance their spiritual lives by drawing from multiple religious communities.

This pick-and-choose mentality represents a fundamental shift represented by Hartford Institute data, in how people approach religious community. Rather than accepting the full package of one congregation—limitations and all—worshippers are personally curating their spiritual experience to fit their personal needs.  

For Tim Paulitz, a longtime resident of Pullman, Washington, this approach has been his norm for over 25 years, long before the technological advancements in congregational life following the pandemic. Every Sunday morning, he rides his bike to 8:30 Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, then pedals two blocks over to the 10:30 a.m. service at the Pullman Congregational United Church of Christ.

“It’s a perfect blend,” he explained, drawn to Catholic social teaching and the progressive activism of the UCC community, the theological richness of attending both services isn’t lost on him. “I really love how both congregations use the same lectionary series. You get the same readings, and it’s interesting to get a perspective on the same gospel stories from different aspects,” he said.

This dual exposure offers him something that single-congregation attendance cannot: the opportunity to hear identical biblical passages interpreted through different theological lenses, creating a more nuanced understanding of scripture that draws from both Catholic tradition and progressive Protestant thought.

Paulitz participates in what the UCC Church calls “justice and witness” and the Catholic church’s “Catholic Social Justice Ministry,” helping to plan collaborative events between the two congregations. Through these ministries, he has helped organize “neighbors in dialog,” originally conceived by the Catholic priest, which brings together both congregations to engage with underrepresented groups in the Pullman community, including African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

Research from the Hartford Institute shows that between 25-32% of church attenders have actually increased their participation in activities such as community service, music groups, or religious education since COVID, while only 13-17% have decreased involvement. Notably, attenders of mainline Protestant churches like Paulitz’ UCC congregation were more likely to report increased involvement in community service groups compared to other Christian traditions, suggesting that the social justice focus that draws Paulitz to both his congregations reflects a wider pattern of civic engagement within these denominations.

Woolf says that his dual church attenders make integrating newcomers much easier, as most have already gotten a taste of his sermons online. Before COVID pushed congregations to perfect their online presence, many newcomers would attend services without knowing what the church’s atmosphere and message were like.

“We would have people get up halfway through the service and be like, ‘wow, this is definitely not for me,'” Woolf recalled.

Now, with better digital access to Lake Street Church of Evanston services, worshippers arrive already knowing what to expect.

“That never happens anymore. Nobody’s walking through just to check us out off the street—everybody who’s actually church shopping knows what we do and has seen the worship service online and thought, ‘well, that seems pretty cool,” he said.

This shift in intentional engagement reaches far past Sunday services. In Washington, Paulitz helps coordinate Family Promise, a program that houses homeless families by rotating them between different churches in the community each week. As he explains, the approach now focuses on ensuring that churches serve as “a presence within our Pullman community” by making connections with other groups who can use their facilities, rather than letting buildings sit empty outside of Sunday worship.

In this way, these congregations have discovered that their digital evolution during the pandemic has enabled not just better member retention, but more meaningful community integration—creating spaces where both virtual connection and physical presence work together to serve their neighborhoods.