The ICNA Council for Social Justice (ICNA CSJ) is pleased to share the release of Report 1of the US Mosque Survey 2020: a comprehensive statistical study of mosques located in the United States. The US Mosque Survey is an ongoing decadal survey that was conducted previously in 2000 and 2010. This report will occasionally include results from a 1994 survey which was conducted by the Islamic Resource Center, using the same methodology as the US Mosque Surveys.
Alhumdulillah, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is honored to collaborate and worked with Dr. Ihsan Bagby, the lead researcher, and author, on these US Mosque Surveys since 1994. ICNA and ICNA CSJ have co-sponsored the surveys, participated in the field interviews, and always used the results in the process of their strategic planning. We hope that the national Muslim organizations, Masajid, and other research institutions will also realize the values of these survey reports.
The purpose of the US Mosque Survey is to conduct a scientific study that will generate accurate information about most aspects of the American mosque. The goal is to provide a detailed portrait of the American mosque to dispel misconceptions and to help mosque leaders and participants better understand their mosque, hopefully leading to improvements.
All of the US Mosque Surveys (2000, 2010, and 2020) were conducted in collaboration with a larger study of American congregations called Faith Communities Today (FACT), which is a project of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP), a multi-faith coalition of numerous denominations and faith groups, headquartered at Hartford Seminary. The strategy of FACT is to develop a common questionnaire and then have the member faith groups use that questionnaire to conduct a survey of their respective congregations. The US Mosque Surveys took the FACT common questionnaire and modified it to fit the mosque context.
The results of the US Mosque Survey 2020 are divided into two reports. Report 1 focuses on essential statistics, mosque participants, mosque administration, and the basic characteristics of Shi’ite mosques. Report 2 focuses on Islamic approaches in understanding Islam, perspectives of mosque leaders on American society, mosque activities, women in the mosque, and the perspectives and activities of Shi’ite mosques.
The primary sponsors of the US Mosque Survey 2020 include many organizations: Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Center on Muslim Philanthropy, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), and the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). Other important supporters include Intuitive Solutions, International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Islamic Circle of North America’s Council for Social Justice (ICNA CSJ), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Hartford Institute for Religion Research (Hartford Seminary)
The lead researcher and report author for the Mosque Survey is Dr. Ihsan Bagby.
The Research Committee for the Mosque Survey includes:
Dr. Ihsan Bagby, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Kentucky
Dalia Mogahed, Director of Research, ISPU
Dr. Besheer Mohamed, Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center
Dr. Scott Thumma, Professor of Sociology of Religion, Hartford Seminary
Dr. Shariq Siddiqui, Director, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Indiana University
Riad Ali, President and Founder, American Muslim Research and Data Center
Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Director, ICNA Council for Social Justice (ICNA CSJ)
Some of the major findings of Report 1 are the following:
The Number of Mosques Continues to Grow:
In 2020, the US Mosque Survey counted 2769 mosques, which is a 31% increase from the 2010 count of 2106 mosques.
The Jum’ah Prayer Attendees Continue to Increase:
Jum’ah prayer (the weekly Muslim congregational prayer held on Friday) averaged 410 attendees in 2020, as compared to 353 in 2010, which equals a 16% increase. Almost three-fourths (72%) of mosques recorded a 10% or more increase in Jum’ah attendance.
4 Million American Muslims Offer Eid Prayer:
The total number of mosque participants, which is measured by the number of Muslims who attend the high holiday Eid prayer after Ramadan, increased to 1445, which is a 16% increase from the 2010 count of 1248. Using the Eid prayer count, the number of “Mosqued” American Muslims is approximately 4 million.
Decrease in African American Mosques and the Number of African American Attendees:
In 2020, African American mosques comprised 13% of all mosques, but in 2010 African American mosques accounted for 23% of all mosques. In a similar way, the African American Muslims in 2020, comprised 16% of all mosque attendees, but in 2010 that figure was 24%.
Overall, conversions have plateaued:
There is a slight decrease in converts from 2010 to 2020. In 2010, there were 33,222 converts, and in 2020, the figure was 31,290. It seems that overall conversions have plateaued. However, the conversion rate in mosques has decreased over the last decade. In 2010, the number of conversions per mosque was 15.3; in 2020, the rate was 11.3.
Click Here to Read the 2020 Survey
Previous Surveys
