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Church attendance

Various polls and surveys have been conducted with regard to the level of church attendance. Despite varying results, all establish Greece as one of the most religious countries in Europe. It should also be mentioned that the most recent surveys indicate the ongoing development of a more secular understanding of the social and political space.

Religious participation is measured on the basis of two major variables: a) Church attendance (How often do you attend religious services?); and b) Frequency of Prayer (How often do you pray outside religious service?). Overall,

  • 18% attend church service at least once a week, while the number of churchgoers ‘once a month’ is high as well (21.2%);
  • 40.8% pray to God every day, 13.1 % more than once a week and 7.7. once a week (the more or less frequent prayers comprise about 60% of the total).

Table 1 Church Attendance

EVS-wave1999-20012008-2010Total
how often attend religious services?
more than once a week 3.3 3.3 3.3
once a week 10.7 17.8 14.7
once a month 19.6 22.4 21.2
only on special holy days/Christmas/Easter days 45.9 42.7 44.1
other specific holy days 7.4 0 3.2
once a year 7.9 4.7 6.1
less often 0.5 2.5 1.7
never, practically never 4.7 6.6 5.8
Total 100 100 100
N= 1131 1497 2628

Table 2 Frequency of Prayer

EVS-wave 1999-2001 2008-2010 Total
how often pray to god outside religious services?
every day 35.3 45 40.8
more than once week 12.5 13.6 13.1
once a week 7.5 7.9 7.7
at least once a month 5.9 4.2 4.9
several times a year 15.4 11.3 13
less often 8.9 6.1 7.3
never 14.6 12 13.1
Total 100 100 100
N= 1092 1468 2560

Source: The data used here is derived from the European Values Study (EVS 1981-2008 Longitudinal Data File).

D 22 September 2016    AKonstantinos Papastathis

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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