[Deep dive]: The monetised social value of ‘attending religious services’ 

Religious services—whether in churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, or other sacred spaces—are more than gatherings for worship. They serve as hubs of social connection, sources of emotional resilience and drivers of collective purpose.  

In this blog, we explore MeasureUp’s valuation of attending religious services and the profound impact of religious attendance on mental health, community cohesion, and wellbeing. 

Why attending religious services matter 

Religious engagement continues to hold significant importance even in a progressively secular society. According to the 2021 UK Census: 

• 46.2% of people in England and Wales identified as Christian. 

• 6.5% identified as Muslim, 1.7% as Hindu, 0.9% as Sikh, and 0.5% as Buddhist or Jewish respectively. 

• 0.6% identified with other religions. 

The impact of attending religious services on wellbeing 

Religious services contribute significantly to mental health and community wellbeing. The communities that work, worship and volunteer in these spaces often serve as the heart of local support, running services such as: 

• Homeless shelters and food banks, 

• Youth activities, 

• Nighttime economy support, 

• Elderly care and adult social initiatives, 

• Child and family support, 

• Environmental projects and ecology programmes, 

• Alcohol and drug rehabilitation programmes, and 

• Other activities based on the community’s needs. 

These activities generate a ripple effect, benefiting entire communities. 

Emotional and psychological benefits 

Religious services have a unique role in creating wellbeing value. Regular engagement in such activities can provide emotional and psychological benefits, including: 

• Increased social connection: Building strong, supportive networks. 

• Improved mental health: Reduced feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety. 

• Enhanced purpose: Creating a sense of direction and alignment with personal or communal values. 

Research consistently shows that participation in religious activities correlates with higher levels of subjective wellbeing. This impact is not just theoretical—there are tried and tested methodologies for measuring this value. Existing datasets on religious engagement offer a robust foundation for exploring the wellbeing benefits of religious attendance.  

What is the monetised social value of ‘Attending Religious Services’? 

Understanding the tangible impact of religious attendance requires translating wellbeing into monetary terms. The MeasureUp WWD3 Attendance Religious Services value collects and utilises resources to estimate the monetised value of this engagement: 

Key findings:  

• Faith, Hoops, and Charity Report: Even after accounting for other factors, someone who attends religious services (‘once a week or more’) is associated with a life satisfaction increase equivalent to £3,400 per person per year (adjusted to 2023 prices). 

• House of Good Report (2021 Update): This study reports a wellbeing value for weekly attendance at religious services ranging between £2,417 and £3,867 for per person per year. 

Interestingly, the research highlights that the wellbeing value per person per year varies based on the location of the religious centre: 

• Rural areas: The inflation-adjusted value in 2023 is approximately £3,100. 

• Suburban or Urban areas: The inflation-adjusted value in 2023 is approximately £3,800. 

These differences suggest that the community context plays a significant role in the wellbeing outcomes associated with religious attendance. 

Example case study 

Building Community Through Attending Religious Services: A Personal and Social Impact Example 

By Catherine Manning

As Head of Impact Practice and Programme Director of MeasureUp I’d like to share an example from my own experience relating to attending religious services.  As a not very religious person, but probably more Christian than anything else having grown up in Northern England in the main, the Christmas holidays are a time when I do attend church.  This year my partner and I will be volunteering at the local Unitarian Church on Christmas Day to support a community meal for all of those in the local area who are at a loose end, don’t have family or friends nearby, don’t have a ‘traditional’ Christmas because of their own circumstances, or those who want to come down and be with their community for whatever reason. 

As relative newbies to the area, this will be our first visit to this local church, or any local church in our area. For my partner as a mostly not religious but probably more Hindu than anything else person, this will be one of only a handful of church activities he has engaged with ever! 

We are expecting about 20 volunteers, with about 200 people turning up for the meal and gathering. 

Monetised social value of attending religious services:  

Using the Attending Religious Services value, we could divide the value to a weekly figure of approximately £65 per person per week and times this by the number of attendees and volunteers:    

220 people x £65 = £14,300 of monetised wellbeing value of one week. 

Please note that the original value is for weekly attendance over a year not just one time attendance, so this value has a very low accuracy.  

To be more accurate, we could look into the possible impact of this activity for the future.  Let’s assume that 25% of the Christmas Day attendees who are new to the church or haven’t been for a while attending finds this to be a gateway to attending more regularly to the local church, over the next few months.    

The yearly value of attending religious services weekly is £3400.  As a forecast, we could calculate the weekly attendance of 25% of the Christmas Day attendees over 3 months. The value is for 3 months £850 and 25% of 220 is 55.   

So, the total monetised wellbeing value of attending religious services regularly over the first quarter of 2025 is 

55x£840 = £46,750 

In reality, for my partner and I, the other volunteers, and the community attending, the actual value could be far more or less than the above prediction.  What we do know is that we are committed to participating in what we see as an important local activity, a way of giving back locally, but also of meeting and being with those we live in community with, of supporting one another in a time of the year that can be challenging for many.  The value figure isn’t the end goal, but it does help to bring some visibility and comparability to what we all be contributing to that day, as well as what we will be gaining from taking part. 

Conclusion 

Attending religious services is a deeply personal practice with far-reaching social implications. MeasureUp’s analysis underscores the substantial social value generated by regular worship. From mental health benefits to strengthened communities, religious services offer a timeless reminder of the importance of gathering, reflecting, and finding shared purpose. 

Whether you’re a regular worshipper, a community leader, or someone curious about the societal impact of religion, this deep dive into the value of religious attendance reveals just how profound and enduring its benefits can be. 

Learn more about the attendance at religious services MeasureUp value here: https://measure-up.org/mu-outcomes/attendance-at-religious-services/