Ubiquity
Civic Value
Vulnerability
Potential
Sacred Places in America by the Numbers
Ubiquity
There are 350,000-375,000 communities of faith in the US .
81 % of congregations ( or their denominations ) own the buildings in which they worship .
89 % of these buildings were constructed for religious purposes ( not adapted ).
of sacred places were
70 % constructed before 1975 .
Many are considered to have historical , cultural , or architectural value .
Civic Value
These are buildings that house much more than worship . They typically serve the larger community , too .
71 % of congregations agree that they are actively involved in their local community .
13 % used their buildings to support immigrants . of congregations that own
52 % their buildings had groups unaffiliated with the congregation utilizing their space , including food pantries , credit unions , support / recovery groups , and daycare centers / preschools . The typical number of outside groups was four .
of congregations hosted
≈1 / 3 health-related activities , from exercise groups to health screenings .
Vulnerability
Shrinking membership and costly maintenance of aging buildings are squeezing congregations , putting them — and their community contributions — at risk .
26 % of congregational
budgets are spent on building maintenance .
≈1 / 3 of members are age 65 or older .
52 % of congregations report a decline in worship attendance over the last five years , typically of 7 %.
> 2 / 3
Potential
Congregations remain resilient and committed to their missions . Still , many sacred places are underused — an unrealized resource for both congregations and their communities .
2 / 3 of a congregation ’ s capital funds can
be raised from outside donors and funders when congregations tell a powerful
story about their community value . of congregations have fewer than 100 attending their $ 1.7 million worship services . is the annual positive economic impact ,
or “ Halo Effect ,” that the average urban congregation has on its community .
The data presented here are drawn from :
• FACT 2020 Report of Findings : tinyurl . com / mryy7mr5
• National Congregations Study : sites . duke . edu / ncsweb
• The Economic Halo Effect of Sacred Places : sacredplaces . org / halo
• A study of congregations engaged in community-wide capital campaigns
Generating new uses for sacred places would increase their Halo Effect and potentially provide new revenue and new partners that would enable many religious properties to stay active and available to the larger community .
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