PRINCETON, N.J., April 9 (UPI) -- Church attendance among Protestants in the United States has been increasing for six decades, reaching 45 percent this decade, poll results indicate.
The Gallup Poll said Thursday its surveys of an unspecified number of people between 2005 and 2008 found that 45 percent of U.S. Protestants attend church, tying the Christian movement with Roman Catholics.
Results of the 2005-2008 surveys indicate that 45 percent of Roman Catholics nationwide are regular churchgoers, a significant decline from 1955.
In 1955, Gallup results indicated 75 percent of U.S. Roman Catholics attended church regularly.
Church attendance was determined by asking respondents if they had attended church within the last week.
Gallup said its results indicated church attendance has also fallen among elderly Catholics; 73 percent of U.S. Catholics aged 60 and older attended church in 1955, compared with 58 percent in this decade. No margin of error for the polls was given.
