Geographic Mobility, Social Integration, and Church Attendance

Data from a comprehensive survey of the populations of three states were used to estimate a path model that examined the effects of geographic mobility and social integration on church attendance. Results of this analysis suggest geographic mobility inhibits attendance indirectly through disrupting an individual's network of social ties and bonds of community attachment. These results support the widely-accepted integration-disruption hypothesis. Mobility also exerts a modest direct effect on attendance. It is suggested that this relationship requires further examination.