How do people decide on which church to go to when they move?

[Continential]

As someone who isn't Christian, I was wondering about this because people who go to church usually go to the church they were born with. So when people move, how do people decide on which church to go to?

[Donerail]

Vibes mostly

That's a joke response but it's also true — you go to different churches until you find one that feels right. There's a lot of differences even within denominations in terms of how they worship, what the community is like, where they're at theologically, and so on. (Imagine, for example, a church that perfectly aligns with you theologically, but plays BRTD-style stuff every Sunday — absolutely not.) Eventually you find one that fits with with you're looking for.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     If I were to move, I would go to the closest parish in the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. That is how I ended up at my own, and while I was worried that it would be awkward since it was Russian and the first parish I went to was Greek, it really worked out fine.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

As someone who isn't Christian, I was wondering about this because people who go to church usually go to the church they were born with. So when people move, how do people decide on which church to go to?

It's called "church shopping", people start with an idea of what they like (in terms of aesthetic, style, liberalism/conservatism, etc.) and check out ones they think might fit those criteria until they find one that fits.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I agree with Donerail's answer even if the context I live in is very different in terms of religious demographics and culture - and this can also apply to people who don't move. Here the norm would be to just go to the closest parish but this can often not be the case for a lot of reasons, even down to something as "trivial" as the time of worship (maybe you like to sleep in the morning so you prefer Mass at 11 to Mass at 10 or something like that).

[JGibson]

Quality of preschool, children, and youth programs, musical preferences (praise band v. blended v. traditional, primarily Protestant), Bible translation preference (primarily evangelical/fundamentalist Protestant), use of Latin in the liturgy and/or Ad Orientem v. Versus Populum (Roman Catholic only), and/or denomination loyalty (or lack thereof) are all factors in determining which church is suitable.

[2952-0-0]

In the Catholic Church, parishes have defined boundaries like school catchment areas, and it's tacitly expected that you should attend your assigned one. Shopping for a better "vibe" is not encouraged within the Catholic Church, unless you're from a cultural minority, in which case it's understood if you seek a parish with your cultural background.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

In the Catholic Church, parishes have defined boundaries like school catchment areas, and it's tacitly expected that you should attend your assigned one. Shopping for a better "vibe" is not encouraged within the Catholic Church, unless you're from a cultural minority, in which case it's understood if you seek a parish with your cultural background.

However I have never seen any explicit discouragement or similar about breaking that expectation - my father almost always goes to a different parish from ours (and it is not the one where we used to live either) and this has never come up as a contentious topic at all. I wonder if this is different in Canada but if anything I would be surprised if parochial links there were stronger.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

In the Catholic Church, parishes have defined boundaries like school catchment areas, and it's tacitly expected that you should attend your assigned one. Shopping for a better "vibe" is not encouraged within the Catholic Church, unless you're from a cultural minority, in which case it's understood if you seek a parish with your cultural background.

However I have never seen any explicit discouragement or similar about breaking that expectation - my father almost always goes to a different parish from ours (and it is not the one where we used to live either) and this has never come up as a contentious topic at all. I wonder if this is different in Canada but if anything I would be surprised if parochial links there were stronger.

It's discouraged on paper but in practice quite common, especially if you have issues with a particular priest (as so many do).

[TDAS04]

Lots of factors.  Proximity/convenience is one.  Service feel/style is an important one.  Going to the same denomination or same label is another factor, but sometimes that doesn’t work out since churches with the same label can be very different (same denomination helps, but sometimes there are differences even within denominations).  A Lutheran from the ELCA who wants to attend a Lutheran church may be unpleasantly surprised in a LCMS Lutheran church, I’ve heard of that occurring frequently.  I also know of a Baptist from the North who moved South, but found the Baptist churches down there a bit crazy, so she started going to a Methodist church.

[2952-0-0]

It's discouraged on paper but in practice quite common, especially if you have issues with a particular priest (as so many do).

It's a well-known trope in Catholic circles that rad-trads fill their large minivans with their children and drive two hours to attend Latin Mass in a parish hidden somewhere. Pope Francis alluded to this stereotype in his decision to restrict the Latin Mass.

One thing that's unique to large cities in the "New World" is ethnic Catholic megachurches. Here are a list of stereotypes about them:

• It's named after a beloved saint of the home country.
• It's located in a suburb of the large city, near a highway exit.
• There are several priests, a mix of those who were parachuted from the home country, and those who are second-generation.
• The building itself resembles something imagined as traditional from the home country, but also contains all the modern amenities one would expect.
• The parish is also a community hub of the ethnic group, and even hosts the "St. XYZ Catholic Credit Union".
• Often, the surrounding area has a cluster of shops catering to the ethnic group. There might even be a senior home too.
• People drive an hour or more from all over the metropolitan area to attend Mass.
• Even more people, who only attend Mass on the usual occasions, drive from even further away.

[LabourJersey]

Lots of factors.  Proximity/convenience is one.  Service feel/style is an important one.  Going to the same denomination or same label is another factor, but sometimes that doesn’t work out since churches with the same label can be very different (same denomination helps, but sometimes there are differences even within denominations).  A Lutheran from the ELCA who wants to attend a Lutheran church may be unpleasantly surprised in a LCMS Lutheran church, I’ve heard of that occurring frequently.  I also know of a Baptist from the North who moved South, but found the Baptist churches down there a bit crazy, so she started going to a Methodist church.

Basically this. Another major factor is how "congregationally healthy" the church is.

If you're an Episcopalian who moved to a new city and found a nearby church, but if the church has minimal or exclusively elderly attendance, one overworked/burned out priest, one service a week, that may not be the more desirable church for you. This is especially true for younger people joining a church. So they may shop around for larger, more vibrant parishes.