Youth sports are increasingly drawing families away from Sunday religious activities, as weekend tournaments and demanding team schedules compete with church attendance and reflect a broader decline in religious participation across the United States.

An analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey found that the share of parents with school-age children who participated in religious activities on Sundays fell from 26.8% during 2003-2007 to 16.7% during 2021-2024. The figures cover parents of children ages 5 to 17 and represent a decline of more than a third.

The trend comes as youth sports have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, with children increasingly moving from local recreational leagues to competitive club and travel teams. Basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and soccer tournaments often use Saturdays for preliminary games and Sundays for elimination rounds and championships, forcing families to choose between sporting events and worship services.

Participation in youth sports continues to rise. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, analyzed by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, 58% of children ages 6 to 17 played on a sports team or took sports lessons in 2024, up from 55% in 2023.

The commitment extends well beyond game time. Parents spend an average of three hours and 23 minutes on sports-related activities on days their children have practices or games, including transportation, attending events, preparing meals, doing laundry and communicating with coaches, according to an Aspen Institute survey conducted with Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University.

The financial demands are also increasing. Families with children participating in sports spent an average of $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase from 2019. The online survey included 1,848 parents of athletes ages 6 to 18, although its published methodology did not provide weighting details or a margin of sampling error.

Linda Flanagan, author of Take Back the Game, a book critical of the financial and competitive pressures surrounding youth sports, said missing church for athletic events has increasingly become an accepted part of family life.

“The idea of missing church for sports is just assumed,” Flanagan said.

She noted that sports can provide some of the community connections historically associated with churches, as parents spend hours together supporting their children. However, competition over playing time and team positions can also strain those relationships.

Tim Morey, lead pastor of Life Covenant Church in Torrance, California, said sports do not necessarily cut families off from their congregations, but they can make attendance less consistent.

He warned that the consequences could extend beyond missed services if children begin to view athletic commitments as more important than religious worship. If young people learn that sports take priority over church, he said, “then everything is more important than weekly worship.”

Some churches and families are attempting to accommodate demanding sports schedules rather than abandon regular worship altogether. Morey said some households divide responsibilities, with one parent attending church while the other takes a child to a game. Other families bring children to the beginning of a service in their uniforms or stream worship services from team hotels while traveling for tournaments.

The shift highlights a growing challenge for churches seeking to maintain connections with younger generations as organized sports claim more of the family calendar. While athletics offer opportunities for teamwork, discipline, and community, the declining share of parents participating in Sunday religious activities raises questions about what happens when competitive schedules consistently take precedence over weekly worship.