Most U.S. churchgoers say they are satisfied with how their congregations promote spiritual growth, help them understand the Bible and encourage service. However, levels of confidence vary notably by gender and Scripture engagement, according to a recent American Bible Society study.
The findings appear in the fifth installment of the American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible: USA 2026” report. The results are based on 2,649 interviews with U.S. adults conducted from Jan. 8 to 27 in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago.
When asked whether their churches challenge them to “grow and take next steps,” 43% of churchgoers said they were “very satisfied,” 31% said they were “satisfied” and 26% said they were “not satisfied.”
A similar pattern emerged on biblical understanding. Forty-three percent said they were “very satisfied” with their churches’ efforts to help them “understand the Bible,” while 31% were “satisfied” and 25% were “not satisfied.”
Churchgoers also reported strong satisfaction with relational opportunities for spiritual growth. Forty-five percent said they were “very satisfied” with their churches’ efforts to offer “spiritual growth opportunities through relationships,” compared with 32% who were “satisfied” and 23% who were “not satisfied.”
Half of respondents said they were “very satisfied” with their churches’ efforts to create a “serving culture recognized by community,” while 27% were “satisfied” and 22% were “not satisfied.”
Pastors also received relatively high marks. Fifty-one percent of churchgoers said they were “very satisfied” with their pastors’ efforts to model and reinforce spiritual growth, while 28% were “satisfied” and 21% were “not satisfied.”
Women generally expressed higher levels of satisfaction than men. Fifty-two percent of female churchgoers said they were “very satisfied” with how their churches challenge them to “grow and take next steps,” compared with 33% of men.
Fifty-three percent of women were “very satisfied” with “spiritual growth opportunities through relationships,” compared with 36% of men, while 50% of women and 36% of men said they were “very satisfied” with efforts to help them “understand the Bible.”
Men were also less likely than women to express high satisfaction with churches’ service culture and pastors’ spiritual leadership. Forty-four percent of men said they were “very satisfied” in both areas, compared with 56% of women for a “serving culture recognized by community” and 57% for pastors’ efforts to model and reinforce spiritual growth.
Scripture engagement was another major dividing line. Among the Scripture Engaged — those scoring 100 or higher on the broader Scripture Engagement Scale — 74% said they were “very satisfied” with pastors’ efforts to model and reinforce spiritual growth. Seventy percent also said they were “very satisfied” with their churches’ efforts to help them “understand the Bible” and provide “spiritual growth opportunities through relationships.”
By contrast, the Movable Middle, defined as those scoring between 70 and 99 on the Scripture Engagement Scale, was much less likely to report being “very satisfied” with church and pastoral efforts related to spiritual health.
Among the Bible Disengaged, 37% said they were “very satisfied” with their churches’ efforts to create a “serving culture recognized by community,” while 31% gave the same rating to their pastors’ efforts to model and reinforce spiritual growth.
