Church growth continues for Catholic and Pentecostals; six mainline denominations decline

Church Central ^ | March 19, 2004

[NYer]

LOUISVILLE, Ky.-The newest edition of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, a publication of the National Council of Churches, ranks the three largest U.S. churches as the Roman Catholic Church (66.4 million members), the Southern Baptist Convention (16.2 million) and the United Methodist Church (8.3 million), according to PCUSA News.

Four of the top 25 denominations now are Pentecostal. The yearbook editor, Rev. Eileen Lindner, the National Council deputy general secretary for research and planning, says that "reflects the continuing increase in numbers of adherents to Pentecostal traditions.

The four top Pentecostal denominations are the Church of God in Christ, the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World and the Church of God. Seven of the largest 25 denominations are predominantly African-American churches.

The major U.S. churches that recorded growth between 2001 and 2002 included the Catholic Church (No. 1), the Southern Baptist Convention (2), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (5), the Assemblies of God (10), the American Baptist Churches in the USA (19), Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (23) the Jehovah’s Witnesses (24) and the Church of God, new on the list at No. 25.

Six of the top 25 churches reported membership losses: the PC (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the United Church of Christ.

The fastest-growing Protestant church was the American Baptist Church, whose membership increased by 2.87 percent.

Also reported in the 2004 yearbook, despite a well-documented clergy shortage, the number of students enrolled in theological institutions continues to grow.

Also increasing, is per capita giving, by an average of 5.6 percent, within churches.

[dangus]

>>I wonder why LCMS is shrinking. <<

It's too cold to make babies in Minnesota.

[Tantumergo]

Excellent news!!!

Are the un-baptised coming from non-Christian religions or are they just "nothings" at the moment?

8 is a good number for adult baptisms - are you doing anything specifically to reach out to the unbaptised?

[dangus]

I think the ground troops are in place. There is much greater religious ferver in the new generation than among the baby boomers. Pray for the generals: Rinaldi looks promising; O'Malley looks like discouraging.

Devotions and pieties are way up, and the new morality is not just a protestant thing... The explosion in teenage chastity rates seems across the board, for instance.

[dangus]

And Augustine (i think) said that one man in 1,000 avoids mortal sin. Same as it ever was.

[RFT1]

The information comes from the various dioceses. For example, the San Jose California diocese has around 600K baptised Catholics in its territory, but at the very most, and the diocese did a study on numbers, 100K pack the pews every Sunday, not that different from the numbers the area had 30+ years ago when it was part of the San Francisco archdiocese.

It is great some parishes do well in RCIA, hopefully they are traditional leaning, but it would be at best dis honest to say the Catholic church in the US is well because of increasing numbers, without immigration, the Catholic church would probably be under the number it had in 1970.

[RFT1]

As with Abp. Dolan of Milwaukee, people need to give Abp. O Malley at least a couple of years before they make a more complete judgment on the perfomence of them. Both of these Bishops have a big cleanup job in front of them. One big change is it seems Cardinal George is being more out front on "culture war" issues.

[Desdemona]

It's too cold to make babies in Minnesota.

Ah....nevermind.

[sydney smith]

How can this be? Immigration---idiota!

[dangus]

>>Ah....nevermind.<<
*chuckle* Good idea.

[dangus]

>> Hmmm. I won't find this fact especially encouraging until the lavender mafia is purged from its death grip on many seminaries. What good does it do to churn out more priests of Sodom? <<

Yes, but the Lavendar seminaries are empty; it's the "good" diocese that are churning them out.
Really, if a Protestant said something like that we'd jump all over him, someone would complain to the moderator, etc., etc.
The cynicism is choking!

[dangus]

I like George; I like Dolan. O'Malley just seems to be turning again and again to the secular pop psychologists that screwed everything up in the first place.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The immigrant Hispanics are no longer a slam dunk. While the majority are still Catholic many of them are not actively practicing. It's more of a cultural Catholicism. Second, there is a growing segment of the Hispanic population which is being wooed away by evangelicals, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.

What we are gaining in Protestant converts we are losing in cradle Catholics. Catholics should be concerned.

[RFT1]

The problem with ministering to Hispanics in the uS as far as the church is concerned is all too often it is the "Peace & Justice" wing of the church that dominates ministry to them, and with this, I do not blame many Hispanics for looking elsewhere, and truthfully, they very well be getting far more or the truth being Evangelicals than being ministerd to by "peace & justice" Catholics.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

is all too often it is the "Peace & Justice" wing

Absolutely. There is a lot of liberation theology and sympathy towards the Central American revolutionaries particularly in the SF Bay area.

[sinkspur]

How can this be? Immigration---idiota!

Illegal immigrants register in parishes?

Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure.

Sorry, guys. That's not even close to reflecting reality.

[fidelis]

This assertion is so laughable, it almost doesn't dignify a serious response. If I were desperate to to discredit Catholicism and take a swipe at illegals, I'd use this.

[xzins]

This survey says it counts "membership."

Membership is an entirely ineffective means of determining the growth of a church. Why? Because the methods of "ending membership" vary so widely and in some instances it is virtually impossible to "end" someone's membership.

The only accurate count (and helpful count) would be that of worship ATTENDANCE at the principal weekly worship service.

Don't tell me about your 1000 members when you've only got 200 in the pews on Sunday morning.

[RFT1]

FYI, I am a Roman Catholic, and even the USCCB itself has more or less said most of the growth in church numbers have come from immigration in the past 30 years.