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PHOENIX, Ariz. — Seven out of 10 regular churchgoers would be at least somewhat open to switching denominations, with dramatic differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics, according a survey by Ellison Reasearch.
Respondents who attend worship services once a month or more were asked what denomination they attend most often. Then they were asked what role that denomination would play if they could no longer attend their current church. Three out of 10 churchgoers say they would only consider attending one denomination—they would be open to nothing else. Another 44 percent report having one preferred denomination, but they would also consider others.
Eleven percent have a small number of denominations they would consider, with no particular favorite among them. Six percent don’t have any particular denomination they prefer, but they do have certain ones they would not consider. Finally, 9 percent say denomination does not factor into their decision of what church to attend.
Denominational loyalty differs strongly between Protestants and Catholics. Six out of 10 active Catholics would only consider attending a Roman Catholic church, and another 29 percent prefer this, although they do not rule out other denominations. Eleven percent of Catholics do not show a specific preference for attending a Catholic parish.
In comparison, just 16 percent of Protestant churchgoers will only consider attending their current denomination. Fifty-one percent do express preference for one denomination, but would also consider others. Thirty-three percent do not have any preference for one specific denomination. There is little difference between the loyalties of people who attend evangelical Protestant churches and those who attend a mainline Protestant denomination.
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, stressed that there may be much more to the story of the Protestant/Catholic loyalty divide than loyal Catholics and non-loyal Protestants.
“It’s not as though there are two hundred different Roman Catholic denominations,” Sellers said. “On the Protestant side, there are scores of different denominations, with some of them fairly similar in practice and theology. The story of this research is that many Protestants may not see a lot of difference among some of these denominations. It may not be lack of loyalty so much as it is the presence of so many options that is causing Protestants to be about as loyal to a brand of toothpaste or bathroom tissue as they are to their church denomination.”
Smaller groups
Groups other than Catholic or Protestant, as well as individual Protestant denominations, represent a proportion of all churchgoers that is too small to analyze separately in the study findings (although their responses are included in the overall findings for all churchgoers).
There are relatively few demographic differences within the findings. Denominational loyalty does not vary significantly by gender, household income, age, or type of community (rural/small town, suburban, or urban). It does, though, vary by race/ethnicity and by region of the country.
However, these differences are driven more by the Catholic/Protestant divide than by the actual demographics. Hispanic churchgoers—a majority of whom attend a Catholic church—are the most intensely loyal to their denomination, while African-Americans—relatively few of whom attend a Catholic church—are the least loyal. Similarly, loyalty is highest in the Northeast, where Catholicism is more common than in any other part of the country, and lowest in the South, where Catholicism has less of a presence.
Sellers said that for Catholic leaders, the findings present a good news/bad news scenario.
“The good news for the Catholic church is that six out of 10 Catholics will not even consider attending church in any other denomination, which is far higher than for Protestants. The bad news, of course, is that four out of 10 active Catholics would at least be open to another denomination, even though most would prefer to remain in the Catholic church,” Sellers explained.
People who worship at a non-denominational congregation were asked the same question about their loyalty to attending a non-denominational church. People who attend a non-denominational church are actually more loyal to remaining non-denominational than churchgoers in Protestant denominations are to staying within their own denomination.
Among non-denominational churchgoers, 29 percent will only consider a non-denominational church, while 32 percent prefer a non-denominational congregation, but would also consider others. Sixteen percent have a small selection of denominations they would consider (including non-denominational) with no specific preference, 15 percent don’t have a specific preference, but do have some denominations they would avoid, and 9 percent don’t pay attention to denomination when selecting a church.
Brand loyalty
Ellison Research also asked Americans about their loyalty to specific brands within 32 individual categories of products, services, and stores, such as automobiles, hotels, pain relievers, grocery stores and airlines.
Roman Catholics are far more likely to be loyal to their denomination than they are to be loyal to specific brands within any of these consumer categories. The story is much different for Protestants.
Sixteen percent of Protestant churchgoers are exclusively loyal to one denomination, and a total of 67 percent have a preferred denomination (even if they will consider others). Types of consumer products or services that show similar levels of brand loyalty among Protestant churchgoers include: toothpaste (22 percent exclusive to one brand, with 64 percent expressing a brand preference) and bathroom tissue (19 percent exclusive to one brand, with 59 percent expressing a brand preference).
In other words, Protestants are more likely to be loyal to their denomination than they are to any specific brand of airline, athletic shoe, automobile, book store, bottled water, car rental company, carpet, clothing store, Christian/religious book store, computer, consumer electronics store, cosmetics, convenience store, department store, drug store, fast food restaurant, furniture, furniture store, gasoline/diesel, hand tools, home improvement store, hotel, light bulb, major appliance, pet product store, shoe store, and vitamin/nutritional supplement.
“Protestant denominations are simply facing what most companies face as they try to develop brand loyalty—consumers with many different options who may not perceive strong differences among those options,” Sellers said. “Church denominations certainly are not the same as hotels or soft drinks, but some of the same rules apply—the brands that develop stronger loyalty tend to do a better job of differentiating themselves from other brands and demonstrating key elements of the brand very clearly. With one-third of all Protestant churchgoers not even being able to identify a preferred denomination, denominational leaders face many of the same challenges as do the leaders of brands such as Coke, Chevrolet, or Home Depot.”
EP News Service
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