text: do you have to attend church to be saved or have our prayers answered?   absolutely positively not.  you're probably better off not messing up your head with what you're told in church, but rather learn on your own.  you have access to the same exact book that all christianity is based on and since there are well over 30,000 religions claiming to follow that book, all with different ideas, which one are you going to pick anyway? they do want you throwing money in the bowl though, so they might use the guilt thing to get you to join and stay with a particular church.