Nearly half of Miami residents never or rarely attend religious services

Easter is almost here. But are Christians in Miami more interested in the candy-filled eggs than going to church?

• About 43% of Miami metro area residents say they never or rarely attend religious services, compared to the national average of 49%, per a new analysis of Household Pulse Survey data.

The big picture: More than three-quarters of Americans say religion's role in public life is shrinking, per a recent survey by Pew Research Center — the highest level since the group first started tracking such sentiment in 2001, report Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng .

• Many Americans are unhappy about that, with about half of adults telling Pew both that "religion is losing influence and that this is a bad thing."
• About 57% of adults say that religion has a positive impact on American life, per Pew.

By the numbers: About 12% of South Floridians attend services 1–3 times a year, 5% attend 4–11 times per year, and 19% attend 12 or more times. (20% did not report.)

Zoom out: Vermont (75%), New Hampshire (66%) and Maine (66%) have the highest share of adults who say they never or seldom attend church or religious services.

• Mississippi (32%), Alabama (36%) and Louisiana (37%) have the lowest shares.

Friction point: Nearly half of U.S. adults say they feel at least "some" tension between their religious beliefs and mainstream culture, Pew found.

• That's up from 42% in 2020.

Zoom in: A separate Gallup survey found that Latter-day Saints are the only religious group wherein a majority say they attend services weekly, at 54%.

• 30% of Protestants say they attend services weekly, compared to 28% of Muslims, 23% of Catholics and 16% of Jews.

Yes, but: Religious service attendance has been dropping for decades, per Gallup, driven largely by "the increase in the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation — 9% in 2000-2003 versus 21% in 2021–2023."

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