Cross-National Trends in Religious Service Attendance: Table 1.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Level 5 by design analogy (narrative research synthesis/review of cross-national survey literature, not clinical CEBM)
OpenAlex W2346942379 · doi:10.1093/poq/nfw016
What was done
This research synthesis reviewed approximately 25 years of cross-national comparative survey research on religious behavior. The analysis evaluated trends in religious service attendance across the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
What was found
The abstract reports no numeric values or statistical metrics. Qualitatively, it reports declining rates of attendance in the United States and Canada, and either declining rates or low "bottomed-out" stability in Western Europe, most of Eastern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with an overall lack of evidence for religious revival.
Why it matters
It contextualizes American religious trends within broader international patterns and summarizes multi-decade survey evidence regarding religious behavior across developed nations.
Limits
The abstract contains no quantitative metrics, specific sample sizes, or formal systematic pooling methods. The underlying cross-national data remain heavily concentrated in Western, Christian-majority societies, with sparse data available for Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Cited by
- context Fifty-five percent of Americans attend church or temple, down from a historical rate of ninety percent.
- contradicts Data show that attendance at church and other religious gatherings has been on an upswing in recent years.