Overview
How long is your typical church sermon? Research shows that the median length of church sermons is about 35-40 minutes (Pew, 2019). However, there is significant variation across different Christian denominations and cultures. Whereas historically black Protestant church sermons tend to run about 54 minutes, Catholic sermons tend to run about 14 minutes.
But what length is preferable to those sitting in the pews (and those we hope will join them)? Recent research suggests that it may depend on age, with those under 40 actually preferring longer sermons (Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts, 2022). However, new waves of online congregating sparked from COVID-19 disruptions may have complicated this picture.
The questions then are, do shorter or longer sermons attract more congregants, and does it matter whether the sermon is in-person or online?
But what length is preferable to those sitting in the pews (and those we hope will join them)? Recent research suggests that it may depend on age, with those under 40 actually preferring longer sermons (Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts, 2022). However, new waves of online congregating sparked from COVID-19 disruptions may have complicated this picture.
The questions then are, do shorter or longer sermons attract more congregants, and does it matter whether the sermon is in-person or online?
The Experiment
We conducted an experiment with 406 people on the research platform Prolific to test whether people are more likely to attend a 30-minute vs. 1-hour church sermon, and whether it differs for in-person vs. online church services. We used a short survey scenario (a “vignette”) involving a friend’s invitation to attend a church service together, then measured each participant’s likeliness to attend or watch.
We randomized whether the sermon was 30 minutes or 1 hour. We also randomized whether the sermon was in-person or online, which allowed us to test whether the medium of delivering the sermon matters. Thus, participants saw one of the four texts below.
We randomized whether the sermon was 30 minutes or 1 hour. We also randomized whether the sermon was in-person or online, which allowed us to test whether the medium of delivering the sermon matters. Thus, participants saw one of the four texts below.
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to attend a church service together. The church is nearby, and the sermon is usually about 30 minutes."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to watch an online church service together. The video of the sermon is usually about 30 minutes."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to attend a church service together. The church is nearby, and the sermon is usually about 1 hour."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to watch an online church service together. The video of the sermon is usually about 1 hour."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to watch an online church service together. The video of the sermon is usually about 30 minutes."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to attend a church service together. The church is nearby, and the sermon is usually about 1 hour."
"Imagine that a friend of yours invites you to watch an online church service together. The video of the sermon is usually about 1 hour."
Following the text, participants were asked “How likely would you be to [attend / watch] this church service with your friend?” Participants rated their likeliness on a 1-7 scale (1 = Not at all, 7 = Very much). This served as our outcome of interest.
We also collected data about whether or not each participant was Christian, their denomination, and history of church attendance. To measure whether each participant was a Christian or not, we asked participants, “What is your religion?” with answer options Protestant, Roman Catholic, Mormon, Orthodox Greek, Orthodox Russian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, Other, and prefer not to say. Participants were coded as Christian if they selected any of the first five choices or selected Other and specified Nondenominational Christian or a similar response. Christians comprised 42.7% of our sample, 173 respondents.
To measure participants’ actual habit of church attendance, both online and in-person, we asked two survey questions adapted from Pew Research Center, “How often do you watch religious services online (excluding weddings and funerals)?”and “How often do you attend religious services in-person (excluding weddings and funerals)?” Answer options for both questions included More than once a week, Once a week, Once or twice a month, A few times a year, Seldom, and Never (1-6 scale).
We also collected data about whether or not each participant was Christian, their denomination, and history of church attendance. To measure whether each participant was a Christian or not, we asked participants, “What is your religion?” with answer options Protestant, Roman Catholic, Mormon, Orthodox Greek, Orthodox Russian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, Other, and prefer not to say. Participants were coded as Christian if they selected any of the first five choices or selected Other and specified Nondenominational Christian or a similar response. Christians comprised 42.7% of our sample, 173 respondents.
To measure participants’ actual habit of church attendance, both online and in-person, we asked two survey questions adapted from Pew Research Center, “How often do you watch religious services online (excluding weddings and funerals)?”and “How often do you attend religious services in-person (excluding weddings and funerals)?” Answer options for both questions included More than once a week, Once a week, Once or twice a month, A few times a year, Seldom, and Never (1-6 scale).
Results
As illustrated in the graph below, there was no significant difference in likely attendance between the 30-minute sermon (avg. = 3.05) and the 1-hour sermon (avg. = 2.88), (p = 0.388). Nor did the results differ much based on whether the sermon was in-person vs. online (p = 0.314), or across different denominations, such as Catholics vs. Protestants (p = 0.961).
However, contrary to previous research, the results suggest that there might be a slight preference for shorter sermons for those under the age of 40. Using a two-way analysis of variance, we found a marginally significant interaction effect between the 30-minute vs. 1-hour sermon and whether participants were under or over the age of 40 (p = 0.098). Whereas participants under 40 were less likely to attend the sermon when it was 1 hour instead of 30 minutes (difference = 0.46), participants 40 or over were slightly more likely to attend when the sermon was 1 hour, (difference = -0.24). This small “difference-in-differences” is presented in the graph below.
Importantly, this age result should be taken with a grain of salt. The statistical error here is quite high, and the strength of the result depends on what age threshold you apply. We found no effect when treating age as a continuous variable (p = 0.153). Thus, we’d want to replicate this interaction with a different experiment before relying on it too much. Furthermore, the effect is quite small. Most churches probably wouldn’t benefit much from halving or doubling their sermon length.
Lastly, none of the results were affected by whether the participant was Christian or Non-Christian (p = 0.652), denomination, specifically Protestant vs. Catholic (p = 0.961), or actual history of church attendance, either in-person (p = 0.561) or online (p = 0.639). More details regarding our methodology and statistical analysis can be found here.
Conclusion
Overall, the results suggest that sermon time is not a major factor in people’s consideration of whether or not to attend a church service. Although there might be a slight preference for shorter sermons by those under 40 years of age, this effect could just be limited to this sample. Hosting the sermon online vs. in-person didn’t affect duration preferences either.
So if you’re a pastor considering whether or not to cut down on your sermon length to increase attendance, you may benefit more from focusing on other areas.
So if you’re a pastor considering whether or not to cut down on your sermon length to increase attendance, you may benefit more from focusing on other areas.
References
Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts. 2022. The Congregational Scorecard: What Evangelicals Want in a Church. https://greymatterresearch.com/satisfaction-with-church/
Pew Research Center. 2019. The Digital Pulpit: A Nationwide Analysis of Online Sermons. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/12/16/the-digital-pulpit-a-nationwide-analysis-of-online-sermons/
Pew Research Center. 2019. The Digital Pulpit: A Nationwide Analysis of Online Sermons. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/12/16/the-digital-pulpit-a-nationwide-analysis-of-online-sermons/