RESOURCES

We conducted our study with 299 participants aged 18-82. This group was made up of 82 diagnosed autistics, 61 self-diagnosed autistics, and 156 non-autistic people. We made the decision to include the self-diagnosed autistic participants as part of the overall autistic group, as we found no differences between the two groups across any of the analyses, suggesting that they can be considered as one group. 

 

Each participant in our study completed a newly developed measure called the Sensory and Worship questionnaire (SAW; Unwin & van Ommen, 2023), which consists of 44 statements about the sensory aspects of the church worship service. This scale was developed following our earlier work on the same topic, and underwent extensive rounds of revision following autistic consultation to ensure comprehension and relevancy. To request a copy of the SAW, please contact us.
 

There were four main findings from this study:

1. Autistic people experience significantly more sensory barriers in church;

2. Autistic people require more accommodations;

3. Autistic people felt more connected to God when in control of sensory and social aspects of church;

4. Both autistic and non-autistic participants experienced similar enjoyment from some sensory aspects.

 

​Of the 143 autistic participants in our study, 35% said that attending church was difficult because of sensory input, with almost a fifth of the autistic participants reporting that the sensory environment in churches causes them to stay home.

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Key quotes:

• "All participants experienced similar enjoyment of some sensory aspects of the service, regardless of diagnosis." (p9)

• "For the first time using quantitative methodology, we also found preliminary evidence that compared to non-autistic people, autistic people may not attend church, or find attending church difficult, because of the sensory environment." (p9)

• “This finding indicates that benefit may be derived from enabling autistic churchgoers to have control over their sensory environment/experience.” (p11)

• “Consistently pursuing increasing inclusive practices, alongside community members, should be as much the goal as enacting every accommodation.” (p12)

• "We also advocate for reducing barriers by educating the broader congregation about neurodiversity, and where accommodations cannot be made, providing information about the environment and the sensory events that will occur, to support autistic people prepare for attending church." (p12)

• “We recommend the pursuit of theologically considered accommodations for the mutual flourishing of all community members, autistic and non-autistic alike.” (p12)

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Unwin, K., & van Ommen, A. L. (2024). Autistic and Non-Autistic Experience of the Sensory Aspects of the Church Service. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 52, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/00916471241266810