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Are women happy with church?

A new study finds most women are satisfied with their church.

Are women satisfied with their church experience? New research indicates the answer is yes, sort of. In short, it depends on the woman and it depends on the church.

Three-quarters of churched women say they are making the most of their gifts and potential (73%) and a similar proportion feel they are doing meaningful ministry (72%).

Assessing their influence, more than half say they have substantial influence in their church (59%) and a slight majority expect their influence to increase (55%).

But the poll also shows that many women have a very different experience of church, "frustrated by their lack of opportunities at church and feeling misunderstood and undervalued by their church leaders," the survey says.

About a third (31%) say they are resigned to low expectations when it comes to church. They feel under-utilized (20%), limited by their gender (16%), under-appreciated (13%), and taken for granted (11%).

"Although these represent small percentages, given that about 70 million Americans ...

From Issue:Winter 2013: Callings
March
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