Americans are quickly becoming less religious. Weekly church attendance is decreasing, congregations are shrinking or even closing, and the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as "religiously unaffiliated" has increased.
In spite of everything, it could now be the perfect time for church technology companies to thrive.
A combination of COVID-19-induced adoption, undervalued demographic trends and pressure to innovate is laying the groundwork for new successes in the technological space of the previously sleepy church. Corporate dollars are fluctuating and Silicon Valley is slowly showing serious interest in the sector. New and interesting startups are finding creative growth hacks to penetrate a difficult market. The main challenges remain for companies in this space, but their odds seem better than ever.
Less religion, more spirituality
Yes, Americans go to church less often, but that doesn't mean they don't stay spiritual. In fact, the percentage of Americans who identify as "spiritual but non-religious" has grown faster than any other group in this Pew poll on religiosity. This fact is reflected in other data. For example, the percentage of Americans who pray daily or weekly has remained fairly flat even though general religiosity has declined. This opens up two distinct opportunities, as well as two challenges.
Opportunity:- What tools does the growing "spiritual but not religious" crowd need?
- Churches are realizing that they need to innovate or die. What tools do they need to reach their members and get new members?
- Two demographics: young, tech savvy and more willing to try a new product, but less involved in church tradition than older, not so tech savvy and more difficult to reach.
- Very Byzantine market: as documented in the first part of this series, the market is dominated by small companies fighting against each other. Also, since the churches are so local and difficult to sell, all businesses to date have been smaller land grabs rather than anything with accumulated scale or advantage.
Rapidly growing startups in space are skillfully navigating this landscape and taking advantage of these trends.
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