Poll: Slightly More Americans Will Attend Easter Service, Two Years After Pandemic

Slightly more Americans say they will attend an Easter church service this year — another sign that people are anxious to return to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy — a Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday found. 

The survey found that 42 percent of Americans plan to attend an Easter church service this weekend, which is up from 40 percent who said the same last year. Meanwhile, 42 percent said they will not go, although that is five percent lower than the 47 percent who said the same last year. 

However, despite the slight improvement over the last year, the percentage going is still far below pre-pandemic levels, “when findings ranged from 46% to 59% over the years,” according to Rasmussen Reports:

Notably, 58 percent of Republicans said they will attend an Easter service, while a plurality of Democrats, 44 percent, said they will not. A majority of independents, 51 percent, also said they will not attend. 

According to Rasmussen Reports:

Thirty-seven percent (37%) consider Easter, the day Christians believe marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of our nation’s most important holidays. Sixteen percent (16%) say Easter is one of the least important holidays and 41% say it’s somewhere in between.

These findings are similar to those in earlier surveys. Christmas, the holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus, remains the top holiday of the year for most Americans, followed by the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

The survey, taken April 10-11, 2022, among 1,000 U.S. adults, has a +/- 3 percent margin of error. 

It comes as Americans continue to push for pre-pandemic normalcy, as every state, currently, is without a statewide mask mandate. The Biden administration this week, however, failed to end the federal mask mandate for public transportation, extending the rule yet again with no clear end in sight.