nonchurchgoers
Pew avoiders altogether
Nonchurchgoers are people who don't attend church services.
The term appears in discussions of religious demographics and social trends: Nonchurchgoers now outnumber regular attendees in many Western countries.
It defines by absence rather than belief—someone may be devoutly religious but worship privately or outside traditional church settings.
One denying gods exist
- agnosticFlexible across platforms
- skepticOne who doubts claims
- freethinkerRejects doctrine for reason
- humanistEthics-focused secular philosopher
rationalist · doubter · questioner · disbeliever · unbeliever · nonbeliever · materialist · naturalist
Not belonging to congregation
- nonreligiousNot involving worship
- unaffiliatedNot formally connected
- nonesNinth-hour prayer service
- lapsedEnded through neglect
inactive · nonpracticing · nonobservant · disaffiliated · laity · laypeople · secularist · worldly
Independent decision-making capacity
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- individualismDoctrine of personal independence
choice · self-reliance · unconventional · free-will · self-directed · questioning · rejection · disaffiliation
atheist
One denying gods exist
- agnosticFlexible across platforms
- skepticOne who doubts claims
- freethinkerRejects doctrine for reason
humanist · rationalist · doubter · questioner · disbeliever · unbeliever · nonbeliever · materialist · naturalist · irreligious
unchurched
Not belonging to congregation
- nonreligiousNot involving worship
- unaffiliatedNot formally connected
- nonesNinth-hour prayer service
lapsed · inactive · nonpracticing · nonobservant · disaffiliated · laity · laypeople · secularist · worldly · temporal
autonomy
Independent decision-making capacity
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
individualism · choice · self-reliance · unconventional · free-will · self-directed · questioning · rejection · disaffiliation · opt-out
nonchurchgoerschurchgoers
Regular worship attendees
congregants · parishioners · worshippers · communicants · chapel-goers