The York Dispatch takes a closer look at the trend and what churches are doing to lure people -- particularly young people -- back to the fold. Watch video of Yorkers explaining their views on religion and see graphics on attendance, church-going trends and top 10 denominations.

Many York County residents are just not that into church -- literally.

"I stopped going when I was 14," said Alief Stringfellow, 30, of York City. "I wasn't getting anything out of church. I really wasn't into it. I was just there because my grandmom made me go."

Stringfellow said he thought church was boring and didn't connect with him.

"I didn't understand what (the preacher) said, and I didn't know where to find the chapters and

verses in the Bible," he said.

So, as far as church presence goes, Stringfellow is nowhere to be found on Sundays. And he's not the only county resident who is MIA -- missing in attendance -- at church time.

Church attendance dropped almost 12 percent in York County between 1980 and 2000, according to statistics provided by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) at Penn State University.

Local pastors said they believe church membership has declined in the county and nationwide as people are no longer considering church a must-go place on Sundays.

Also, there is a "national secularization" issue, with fewer people identifying themselves as Christians and more willing to express a disbelief in God and an unwillingness to attend church, said the Rev. Steve Almquist, pastor of Living Word Community Church in York Township.

Other reports: The Penn State report isn't the only one to confirm the trend.

Nationally, 15 percent of the population polled in 2008 said they have no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey done by researchers at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

The survey also showed that the

percentage of adults who identified themselves as Christians declined from 86 percent in 1990 to 77 percent in 2001 to 76 percent last year.

"Christianity used to have a monopoly on society, but not anymore," Almquist said. "Historically, in York County, there (were churches) built in the middle of town. Now, when churches try to move in, you'll find that some residents don't want them there."

Trends: Nationwide, church attendance has had its ups and downs since 1980, when about 49 percent of the U.S. population claimed religious memberships. That number rose to just over 55 percent in 1990, then dipped to about 50 percent in 2000, as reported by ARDA.

In the county, close to 57 percent of the population reported membership with a religious group in 1980. A decade later, almost 54 percent of residents said they were part of a religious organization. By 2000, religious memberships fell to 45 percent, according to ARDA.

The Rev. J. Thomas Shelley, pastor of Zion (Shaffer's) United Lutheran Church in Seven Valleys, said local Sunday attendance began to decline in 1976, when Pennsylvania's law restricting most retail activities on Sundays was repealed. People began to choose shopping over service, he said.

Then more than a decade ago, the pastor recalled, sports teams began holding games on Sundays, so parents skipped worship to get their children to the ball fields.

"There was a great erosion on Sunday with all these factors coalescing into the perfect storm," Shelley said.

Day of labor: Also, Sunday has gone from a day of rest to a day of labor, as 25 percent of York County residents work on that day, said the Rev. Bud Reedy, pastor of Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene in Manchester Township.

Even changes in families have contributed to church attendance decline, as many households are being led by single parents who have little time to spare, Reedy said.

Churches and spiritual leaders also have to shoulder some of the blame for attendance declines, Almquist and Reedy said.

After decades of financial and sexual scandals, clergy often aren't viewed as being "highly respected professionals," said Reedy. As a result, he added, members left their churches and non-churchgoers have stayed away.

Also, many churches have focused more on building projects and budget goals than finding ways to get people to come to services, he said.

Other factors: And denominational disputes over doctrinal issues have turned people off to the idea of church involvement, said Shelley, whose congregation is part of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

For example, the ELCA's membership numbers had a sharp descent because of a "disastrous attempt" in 1993 to form a statement on human sexuality that included a call for the acceptance of homosexuality and sexual self-gratification, he said.

"That certainly caused many people to wonder, 'Is this church solid in its biblical proclamation? Is this the type of church I want to raise my children in?'" Shelley said.

Between 1990 and 2000, the ELCA had an 11 percent decline in membership in York County, compared to a 2.2 percent decrease nationally. In the county, three congregations and more than 5,000 members were lost in the 1990s, according to ARDA.

Changing times: To recover attendance losses, church leaders will have to change their Sunday expectations, Reedy said.

The pastor said he's set up his church to accommodate changes in attendance habits by offering 13 different worship experiences that people can attend during the week.

While Stillmeadow -- which has a satellite congregation in York City -- has a total of 1,100 members, about 1,800 people attend services weekly, meaning that about 700 nonmembers visit regularly, Reedy said.

Despite his current nonmember status, Stringfellow said he still believes in God and thinks his grandmother did the right thing in taking him to church. He said that after 16 years of church absence, he's now thinking about finding a church home.

"I want a church where I can feel appreciated, feel a part of it and I can have fun," he said. "I want to go to a church that's not boring, where someone explains the Bible to you."

-- Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.