Part 5: Church Attendance and Civic Life
The benefits of regular church attendance extend far beyond the individual and the family. A growing body of research shows that church-goers are measurably better neighbors and citizens.
The data on generosity is particularly striking. According to research compiled by The Gospel Coalition, regular church attenders are 50% more generous than non-attenders. More remarkably, this generosity is not limited to religious causes. Church attenders are 81% more likely to donate to secular charitable causes than their non-attending peers. Two-thirds of people who worship regularly give to non-religious charities, compared to fewer than half of non-attenders.
The pattern continues across other measures of civic engagement. According to a Gallup study, church attenders are significantly more likely to volunteer their time, help a stranger in need, and give to the poor. They commit less crime, vote more frequently, and participate more actively in local civic life — joining PTAs, neighborhood associations, and community organizations at higher rates.
We live in an era of rising individualism and declining civic engagement. Trust in institutions is falling. Volunteerism is declining. Neighborhoods are becoming more anonymous and transactional. The church stands against this trend by forming people whose deepest identity is not as autonomous individuals, but as members of a community called to love their neighbors.
This is not accidental. It flows directly from the heart of the gospel. God showed mercy to us while we were sinners — while we were his enemies. That experience of undeserved grace, when it takes root in a person’s heart, produces a life characterized by generosity and compassion toward others. The church is the community that keeps rehearsing that story, week after week, and so produces people who live it out: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (Titus 3:1-2)