(Photo : "JamieBrown2011"/Wikimedia/CC) Congregants worship at an International Church of Christ gathering in 2012.
Large churches are more likely to have less-committed members as compared to smaller churches, according to a research conducted by Duke University, and published in American Sociological Association's journal Socius.
The study found a negative correlation between "size and probability of attendance for Conservative, Mainline, and black Protestants and for Catholics in parishes larger than 500 attenders."
The research was carried out by David Eagle, a pastor and a postdoctoral research student at Duke University. He also said that megachurches mirror the "increasing detachment from religious organisations," which is evident in our society.
The abstract says that the "results support the theory that group cohesion lies at the heart of the size-participation relationship in churches."
The study elaborates that unless one is a visible member of the church, it is not feasible to keep count of other attendees. In such scenarios, the research notes that the church ceases to be a close-knit community, but that its function is relegated to teaching only.
"With the rapid growth of megachurches in the United States, a negative relationship between size and frequency of attendance could serve to accelerate aggregate declines in attendance," the abstract reads.
In an interview with the Christian Post, Eagle said, "... rapid increase in the number of really big churches might actually tie into what many have observed - the declining importance of religion and religious involvement in the US."
"I wondered if megachurches are a reflection of that - they provide places where people can go less frequently, whose comings and goings may not be noticed and where more staff means that they don't need to take on as major a volunteer role as they would in a smaller church," he continued.
The research notes that the results fit within the "theoretical perspective that argues smaller groups have an easier time promoting group cohesion and participation due to the greater density of social relationships contained within smaller organizations."
Those who do not attend church as frequently may also find larger churches appealing since they would not feel pressured to attend regularly, the study adds.
The study concludes by implying that irrespective of the different religious streams, attendance was negatively affected with increase in congregation size.
"The fact that organizational characteristics vary considerably across religious groups, but the overall relationship between size and attendance is negative, suggests that the more general organizational dynamics govern this trend," the study states.
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