This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night.
Christmas is a religious holiday, but many Americans will celebrate it without going to church.
Nearly half of U.S. adults (48%) say they don’t typically attend church at Christmastime, while 47% say they do, according to a new Lifeway Research study.
As you might predict, Americans’ religious habits during other times of the year influence their religious habits at Christmas: Regular churchgoers are more likely to be in church this month than those who rarely attend a worship service and those who don’t affiliate with a faith group.
“Christians who attend a worship service more than once a week (95%) are the most likely to say they typically attend this time of year,” Lifeway Research reported.
Given that finding, it’s not surprising that most people who go to church at Christmastime say they do so because of their faith.
Fewer than 1-in-5 Americans who are in church at Christmas say it’s because of tradition (16%) or a desire to spend time with family and friends (15%) or to get in the Christmas spirit (8%).
“The religiously unaffiliated are the most likely to say they attend to be with family and friends (42%) and to get in the Christmas spirit (21%),” Lifeway Research reported.
Here are some other interesting Christmas-related stats:
- More than one-third of Americans plan to spend more than $1,000 on holiday gifts this year, per Gallup.
- Half of U.S. adults (52%) say it doesn’t matter to them whether they’re greeted with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” while doing their holiday shopping, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center report.
- More than half of Americans who don’t typically attend church at Christmastime said they’d likely go if they were invited, Lifeway Research reported.
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Term of the week: Touro Synagogue
Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, recently celebrated the 261st anniversary of its opening. The house of worship is “the oldest synagogue building still standing in North America,” according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Early Jewish settlers in Rhode Island came to the area after hearing about its reputation for religious tolerance, the article said, highlighting Roger Williams’ efforts to create a community where everyone truly felt free to live according to their beliefs.
“In the early years, the small but cohesive Jewish population mostly conducted its worship in private homes. After a century in Newport, though, the congregation had grown large enough to warrant a synagogue,” Smithsonian Magazine reported.
Touro Synagogue opened on Dec. 2, 1763, which was the first night of Hanukkah that year.
What I’m reading...
Chatbots fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence are creating a new challenge for parents: chatbot friendships. Some young people — and older adults, too — are turning to chatbots to combat their loneliness and stumbling into some dangerous situations, according to The Washington Post.
In other alarming and fascinating tech news, The Guardian recently reported on a doctor who wants to defeat death by preserving sick people’s brains.
As the world celebrated the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, America magazine answered an important question that I hadn’t even thought to ask: Why does Notre Dame belong to the French government instead of the Catholic Church?
Odds and ends
I’m pleased to report that I finished three books since I wrote last week’s newsletter. Only eight more to go to meet my 2024 goal of 45. Thanks for the book suggestions!