Restaurants, bars, or pubs attract 18 percent of Americans as a place to meet people, while churches draw 16 percent and online venues like Facebook pull 11 percent, said the survey released recently by Group Publishing, a nondenominational Protestant publishing house in Colorado.
Group Publishing commissioned the survey in order to “determine where the church ranks as compared to other ‘around-town’ venues when measuring the places, people, and attributes that define ‘friendly’ to Americans today.”
Why would people choose a restaurant or bar over church? Chris Howley, director of research of Group Publishing, said many people feel “compelled” to be in church. The social atmosphere of a pub or restaurant draws people in without the feeling of obligation, he said.
The church may not be America’s favorite spot to meet new people, but it is one of the friendliest. Americans said church is the second-friendliest place in town, behind, unsurprisingly, home.
While the results did not conclude churches are unfriendly, Howley said the results could have been better. In particular, pastors could be friendlier.
The “friendly index” of pastors was not much higher than hairstylists and store clerks, said Jon Vaughan, Group’s corporate marketing director.
Once the data came in, Group Publishing examined the factors making a place “friendly” and offered insight to churches on how to create a more welcoming atmosphere. Among top factors constituting a friendly place were “making me feel like I belong” and “making me feel comfortable.”
The online survey polled nearly 800 respondents, more than three-quarters of whom identified themselves as Christians, and has a plus or minus error rate of 4 percentage points.
