‘Gee and Ursula Show’ laments Seattle churchgoing reaching a new low
Mar 7, 2025, 1:10 PM | Updated: 1:24 pm
Churchgoing reaches new low in Seattle.(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
New data from the Pew Research Center’s 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study reveals a significant shift in religious affiliation in the Pacific Northwest. The study shows that churchgoing is down in Seattle and Portland.
More people do not have religious affiliations, including atheists, agnostics, and those with no specific religion. San Francisco follows closely behind, with San Diego also showing a notable percentage of non-religious residents.
In Seattle, only 44% of residents identified as Christian, a significant decline from 52% a decade ago. Nationally, the percentage of Christians has also decreased from 71% ten years ago to 62% in the latest survey.
“I think that people go to church less here than anywhere in the country, right?” Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio said. “I also believe that wherever it was pre-pandemic in 2019, I think also, there have been some fall-off ever since it happened with people going online, looking at it virtually, so you have less attendance in 2025 than you had in 2019.”
Gee said he didn’t think church is as popular on the West Coast, specifically the Pacific Northwest, as in the Midwest or the South.
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“I would say it was a regular part of my life,” Angela Poe Russell, filling in for “Gee and Ursula” co-host Ursula Reutin, said. “I actually went to a Christian school, and we had Bible class every single day, chapel on Wednesdays, and then there was church on Sunday.”
Gee said he went to military school for seven years and there was a lot of religion there.
“Six days a week of going to chapel. Saturday was a day off from that, and then Sunday, you had your two big hours in chapel,” Gee said. “I know even now, when I go back home to Chicago in the Midwest, I see less and less family members going to church like they used to.”
Angela explained that her churchgoing days had an impact outside of religion.
“I can honestly tell you absolutely, when I was negotiating for a job, I relied on some of the stories I learned from the Bible,” Angela said. “I still remember the songs. Like, about how Joshua and Caleb, what’s possible with God. I remember all of those stories that still encourage me, and I’m just I honestly, one of my big regrets is feeling like my kids didn’t have, I did not give them that experience to its fullest extent.”
Gee said he remembered the food.
“To this day, if I go to church, I need some chicken. Growing up on Sundays, I literally had chicken every time I went to church,” Gee said.
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Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9am to 12am on KIRO Newsradio.
