Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — The majority of Utah Republicans say they attend church weekly.
By party self-identification and party registration, Republicans were the only group with a majority saying they attend services weekly, with 57% of self-identified Republicans followed by 35% of independents/other and 16% of Democrats reporting weekly service attendance.
That's according to a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute survey conducted by HarrisX from Aug. 2-9. The survey asked 800 registered voters how often they attend religious services as well as the importance of religion in their lives.
There are a number of ways to look at the data — statewide numbers or by education or geography — but here's a closer look at how the numbers break down by political registration and self-identification.
Are Republicans or Democrats more religious?
Among self-identified conservatives, liberals and moderates, conservatives (63%) were the only group to have a majority say they attended church weekly, followed by moderates at 30% and liberals at 12%. In terms of 2024 vote choice, 51% of Utah voters who say they will cast their ballots for former President Donald Trump attend church weekly as well as 28% of Vice President Kamala Harris voters and 39% of undecided voters.
Looking at data from 2020 voters, 55% of Trump voters and 31% of Biden voters said they attend church weekly. More than half of registered voters (51%) who responded "other" rather than Trump or Biden attend church weekly; 54% of Biden voters and 29% of Trump voters said they almost never attend church.
When registered Utah voters were asked how important or unimportant religion was in their lives, 83% of Republicans and 49% of Democrats said it was either very or somewhat important to them; 51% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans said religion was somewhat or very unimportant to them.
By self-identified ideology, 87% of conservatives, 66% of moderates and 32% of liberals said religion was important to them. Only 13% of conservatives said it was unimportant to them. Sixty-eight percent of liberals and 34% of moderates said they considered religion unimportant in their lives.
In terms of 2024 vote choice, 82% of Trump voters and 49% of Harris voters said religion was important to them. Seventy-two percent of undecided voters said the same.
Eighteen percent of Trump voters, 51% of Harris voters and 28% of undecided voters said religion was unimportant in their lives.
So how does this Utah data track with national trends?
Gallup released nationwide data on church attendance by political party in summer 2023. This poll found 40% of Republicans attended church, synagogue, mosque or temple in the past seven days, followed by independents and Democrats both at 25%.
"In 2023, 62% of registered voters who attended religious services once a month or more aligned with Republicans, compared with 41% of those who attend services less often," according to Pew Research Center.
By comparison, 34% of registered voters who say they align with Democrats said they attend services monthly or more. Fifty-six percent of respondents who say they lean toward Democrats said they attend services less often.
When Republicans, Democrats and independents were asked by Gallup in July 2023 if they were religious, spiritual, both or neither, 61% of Republicans and 37% of Democrats said they were religious.
Forty-one percent of Democrats and 28% of Republicans responded to the question by saying they were spiritual. Only 8% of Republicans said they were neither spiritual or religious, and 21% of Democrats said the same.
Data scientist Ryan Burge wrote in Religion Unplugged that despite "efforts to convince the American public that the religious left is a potent force in American politics, the data just does not support that assertion."
"In fact, it shows that Democrats are significantly less religious by any objective measure of the term compared to their Republican counterparts," said Burge. He said Democrats who are religiously affiliated attend church at a lower level than Republicans, even when the so-called "nones" are removed from the data set.
When Republicans and Democrats have been asked about whether or not religion is important to them, Burge said Republicans have been more likely to say it is important to them. "While the gap did narrow a bit in the 2016 data to slightly less than 10 points, it then widened again in the 2020 presidential election year," he wrote.
What about gender and age?
Only one age group of Utah voters had a majority saying they attend church weekly (56%) and it was those 65 and older. Forty-five percent of respondents 18 to 34 said they almost never attend church, while 38% in that group said they attend weekly. This age group was not significantly differently than the 35 to 49 group, which had numbers within the margin of error. About equal groups of those between 50 and 64 said they attended weekly (46%) or never attended (44%).
More men (47%) than women (40%) said they attend services weekly. Latter-day Saint men were more likely to say they were very active (72%) than Latter-day Saint women (61%). Factoring in those who say they are somewhat active, Latter-day Saint men and women are only a couple of percentage points apart.
More Utah men saying they attend church weekly than women tracks with an emerging national trend. Pew Research Center published data from the General Social Survey from 1972 to 2012 that showed women consistently attending worship services at least once a week more than men. At one point in 1982, there was a 13-point gap, but over time, the gap has narrowed.
The Survey Center on American Life conducted a poll in 2023 and found Gen Z women disaffiliate more from religion than men do — the reverse was true for older generations. There is survey data that shows more women pray every day and consider religion very important than men do.
