Posted on 03/30/2006 9:45:17 PM PST by dangus
The National Council of Churches' have just reported church membership for the 2006 yearbook. It's quite an interesting picture:
The Catholic Church is the largest and numerically fastest growing church in America, with 67.8 million members, a growth of about 563,000 members.
Many non-denominational churches, not listed in the report, have been growing rapidly in the recent past.
Proportionally, the fastest growing church in America is the Assemblies of God, (10th largest) growing at a 1.81% rate, by adding 50,000 members. That's over twice the growth rate of the Catholic church, but 1/10th of the increase in members of the Catholic Church, because the Assemblies of God is only 4% of the size of the Catholic Church, having 2.78 million members
The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, (4th largest) with nearly twice (6.0 million) members of the Assemblies of God had nearly the same growth rate, 1.74%.
Looking quickly, one might mistakenly think the Orthodox Church in America (24th largest) is growing amazingly quickly. The Council reports 6.4% more members than it reported last year, but this is the first update in many years. Previously, the Orthodox Church in America had reported simply the same rough estimate year after year: 1 million.
Meanwhile, the Council reported the Greek Orthodox Church (17th largest) as having 1.5 million members; the church doesn't report annually, but just a few years ago, it had nearly 2 million members. Of course, that report itself was quite old, so the decline isn't that amazingly fast. Still, unless there is rapid, unforeseen growth in the smaller Orthodox congregations, it means that overall, the Orthodox Church is likely declining, and what few Orthodox are remaining are switching to the more generic Orthodox church.
Many of the Protestant churches in decline are probably no surprise: United Methodist, 3rd largest, down 0.79% to 8.186 million; Evangelical Lutheran, 7th largest, down 1.09% to 4.93 million; Presbyterian Church (USA), 9th largest, down 1.6% to 3.19 million; Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 14th, down 1.01% to 2.464 million; Episcopal, 15th, down 1.55% to 2.28 million*; American Baptist, down 0.57% to 1.433 million; and, with the fastest collapse of them all, the United Church of Christ, which has made a strong push to present itself as gay-friendly, dropped 2.48% to only 1.266 million.
What may be surprisin are some of the other denominations in decline. Southern Baptists (2nd) are down again, 1.05% to 16.3 million; and Jehovah's Witnesses, (25th) which were growing just last year, dropped a significant 1.07% to 1.03 million.
Five Baptist conventions, mostly black, (ranked 6th, 12th, 13th, 20th, and 22nd) report very old, and very suspect numbers. Totalled, they would be well over 16 million, but they are believed to actually have far, far fewer members, clinging for political purposes to very old, very rough estimates.
Amazingly, not one of the 25 largest denominations in America was a growing Protestant denomination, except for the Assemblies of God which are not always counted as Protestant.
Combined, the 13 reporting churches had a total membership of 118.7 million. The memberships claimed most recently by the 12 churches that did not issue new reports a combined membership of about 30 million, but is probably closer to 20 million. Even with the very possibly significantly exaggerated estimates of these churches included, however, there are now more members in America of the Catholic Church than in all of the 19 Protestant denominations in the top 25 denominations combined!
[*The National Council of Churches reports 2,463,747 members of the Episcopal Church. This is, however, exactly the same number of members reported by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the next largest church, and it creates a data conflict with last years' numbers. The number used last years' numbers as a baseline, and subtracted this years' reported decline. Also, the Episcopal church is not counted among the 17 Protestant denominations, following the practice of the National Council of Churches, the Encyclopedia Britannica, the World Almanac, and many other references.]
Thanks for the info. I was thinking that other Christians didn't consider them Protestant but I guess its the other way around.
"" I, as a practicing Catholic, don't see it that way. We all are the body of Christ, relying on His grace, full of faith, hope and love. This should not be seen as negative in a time of such relativism. It is good news that any Christian Church is growing! The growth of Christianity is good and should be hoped and prayed for. No?""
Yes, indeed. Very beautifully said.
If you compare the number of Hispanics attending the local Spanish Mass to the number of Hispanics living in the boundaries of the Parish, you'll see that most are not in Church, and its not even close.
Not here. When Hispanics began moving into the area in large numbers, the priests actually went to their communities to celebrate mass. They have continued to add Spanish masses in all the parishes and they are still unable to accomodate the large number of Spanish speaking parishioners. There is not a huge number of Hispanics in this area. They are mostly immigrants from Mexico and are generally very hard working and very Catholic. It may not be representative of the immigrants seen in other parts of the country, but in the northern Atlanta suburbs, most of the Hispanics are practicing Catholics.
Yep, Cardinal Mahoney just can't get enough of that Catholic flotsam from Mexico to bump up the numbers. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to pay for the education, medication, and incarceration. The Catholic Charities should not get one penny of tax money, and in fact, the RCC should have its tax-exempt status revolked for taking part in politics in the US, which is against the IRS regulations.
That's just one small part of the larger picture.
Hispanic membership -- in contrast to your original comment -- is also a small part of a larger picture.
All I know is that our RCIA classes are packed with Protestants coming home to the Catholic Church.
What percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. is Catholic?
72.6 percent, according to a recent study.2 Other recent studies show similar findings ranging from 70-75 percent. Since 1960, Hispanics have accounted for 71 percent of the Catholic growth in the United States.3
Source: the USCCB.
I think you are following the fallacy of your own personal experience and drawing it out as a universal.
I should note that I am a convert myself from a white Lutheran background, but legal/illegal immigration from Latin America accounts for the bulk of the Catholic Church's growth in the U.S.
I said "renewal of Baptism" not "doover of baptism."
When you "renovate" (="renew") something, you don't build a new one, you perfect the present one. Hence, all Catholics renew their baptism formally during the Easter season, when the minor exorcism is performed in unison. ("Do you reject Satan, and all his empty promises?", etc.) And yes, the phrase used is "renewal of baptism." It is done informally frequently throughout the year, including when one, apon having received the Eucharist, blesses himself with holy water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
I meant no offense, criticism, or condescension. The denomination in question is simply called "The Orthodox Church in America," with no reference to whether it is Russian, Greek, Armenian, etc., and it is a member of the water-down-your-faith-to-get-along-with-Stalinist National Council of Churches, and from what I could discern (and I was not at all sure of this) appeared to be English-language. (Not a necessarily bad thing, either... I work for a group advocating the adoption of English. Not that I'd stress that *rituals* should be done in English, but I'm hardly alarmed if English is used in such rites.)
If the Orthodox Church is actually gaining converts, I consider that wonderful news. My post was not intended to be triumphantalist -- and I added a little fluff to try not to sound like I was saying, "haha! Our church is growing and yours is shrinking!" Rather, it was with alarm that I noted the decline of traditional Protestant sects.
The demographics refute your claim. Only 1 in 3 Mexicans in America, Mexican-Americans and Americans of Mexican ancestry consider themselves Catholic. I'd also invite you to go to your nearest Catholic church, note the parish record of members, note the local census demographics, and then compare the attendance at the six English masses and the one Spanish mass.
Again, you're using the same type of statement that I'm using to make your point...and you're taking yourself seriously in the process.
Using your own limited experience (one parish, one town, one MSA), does not a national fact make.
It is absolutely ridiculous to assert that the bulk of the Catholic Church growth in the US comes from illegals.
Yes, you can renew your baptismal vows, but that very different to going somewhere and getting baptised again, which it sounds like your friend is doing.
I was referring to Hispanics in general, NOT to illegals specifically.
Regardless, one place and one zone do not a stat make. I'm certain that visiting North Carolina, Minnesota or Wisconsin parishes would generate a much different experience than you'd have in San Antonio, San Diego or LA.
Still, looking at the big picture, and by the USCCB's own admission Hispanic immigration accounts for the bulk of the Church's growth nationwide. Are you going to argue with the USCCB, which keeps track of Church statistics?
Cite a linked source and I'll admit I'm wrong.
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