Internet Searches for "Easter"

Easter Sunday is the Super Bowl of church attendance - More Americans search for "church" around Easter than at any other time, even Christmas, according to Pew Research based on Google searches.

• The highest share of searches for "church" were on the week of Easter Sunday
• Weeks before Christmas yield the 2nd most searches for the word, church
• The week of Thanksgiving in November and the summer months have consistently low levels of interest in web searches for church.

Why the spike in church searches at Easter?

• Inactive and less active church members make their annual token appearance.
• High attendance is the result of most of the church members showing up at the same time.
• Compared to Christmas, Easter is NOT a day where a large number of the unchurched people show up.
• Unchurched people are less attracted to Easter services, and prefer traditions demonstrated in pre-Christmas services such as choirs singing well-known holiday songs, lit candles and theatrical productions.