Nearly half of US churchgoers now attend multiple church services, both online and in person, according to a recent survey by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

The study found that 46 percent of respondents participate in multiple congregations thanks to remote church options. Younger adults are particularly likely to attend more than one church, with 63 percent of those ages 18 to 34 saying they visit multiple congregations. This figure drops to 34 percent among churchgoers over 65.

Lead researcher Scott Thumma, from the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations survey, told Religion News Service that while the pandemic accelerated this trend, it may have begun earlier. “I do think for some people the behavior has changed because of the pandemic,” he said. “But it’s possible it began even before the pandemic.”

The survey also found that Black churchgoers are especially open to attending multiple services, with 75 percent of African Americans saying they participate in more than one church.

Michael Woolf, senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, said that most prospective members watch several online services before attending in person. “People are better consumers than they used to be, as far as being able to understand keywords and how churches position themselves, what they talk about on the website, what they talk about in service,” he said.

He added that some churchgoers intentionally combine experiences, saying: “They’ll say, ‘This church does this well, that church does that well, and we’re going to put them together to make the more complete religious experience we want.’”