Spiritual but also religious? New survey examines how church attenders practice their faith

A new report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research finds that most American churchgoers are deeply engaged in traditional religious practices — but far fewer incorporate broader spiritual practices into their daily lives.

The report, “Spiritual but Also Religious?” draws on data from more than 24,000 respondents across 80-plus Christian denominations surveyed in fall 2024 as part of the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) Attender Survey.

Nearly 80% of church attenders say they pray more than once a week, and about half read the Bible that often. But engagement in spiritual practices — such as spending time in nature, making art, physical movement or writing as spiritual disciplines — is far less common, occurring on average just a few times a year.

The data also reveal striking differences by generation, race and denomination. Gen Z attenders show the highest levels of spiritual engagement, with each older generation scoring progressively lower. Black attenders score higher than white attenders on both religious and spiritual practices. Catholics and mainline Protestants report stronger spiritual engagement than evangelical Protestants, while evangelicals lead on traditional religious practices.

One counterintuitive finding: online and hybrid worshipers score significantly higher on both scales than those attending only in person, challenging assumptions about the depth of digital faith participation.

The report was prepared by Charissa Mikoski, Ph.D., and is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.