Congregational Participation of a National Sample of Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to thrive requires careful consideration of multiple avenues of community involvement. Yet little attention has focused on the place of faith community participation in the lives of adults with IDD. We examined attendance at religious services using National Core Indicator data for a sample of 12,706 adults with IDD residing in 24 states. Almost half of adults (48.3%) reported attending a religious service in the past month, and more than one third (34.6%) attended 3 or more times. Religious involvement varied considerably based on a variety of individual (e.g., race, disability type, behavioral support needs, communication mode) and contextual factors (e.g., geographic locale, residential type). Moreover, monthly involvement in religious activities was much less common than participation in other community activities (i.e., exercise, entertainment, eating out, shopping). We offer recommendations for supporting the spiritual lives of adults with IDD, as well as highlight areas for future research and practice.