to hell with church

The number of Roman Catholics attending weekly services has dropped to an average of 39%. In contrast, 45 percent went to church on a weekly basis in 2005. The latest figure showed a sharp decline from 1955, when the average weekly attendance was 75 percent.

The decline continued with the rate falling by four percent each decade.

Among American Protestants, church attendance has been steady, although there has been a sharp decline in the number of people identifying as Protestants.

According to Gallup, the number of Americans identifying as Protestants has dropped from 71 percent in 1955 to 47 percent in 2010.

The average attendance rate for U.S. Protestants between 2014 and 2017 was 45 percent.

The number of people identifying as Catholics has remained stable. Gallup reported that the number of Americans identifying as Catholics today is 22 percent, compared to 1955 with 24 percent.

A large number of young people neither self-identify as Catholic or Protestant. Some identify as "other" or with non-Christian religions, but most describe themselves as no religion.

The report indicated that there were 33 percent of those aged 21 to 29 who identify with no religion.

A study conducted in 2016 revealed that there were one in five Americans who identify with no religion, up from two percent in 1955.

Catholics are still likely to attend mass during religious holidays like Easter and Christmas.

About 73 percent of all Christians claimed that they were planning to attend services on Easter Sunday. Actual attendance was about half of that number (39%).

That figure was higher among practicing Catholics, with 95 percent saying they were planning to attend Easter Sunday services.