“Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life.. not the Catholic church”
True, but if anyone wants to play the nmbers game, far more Catholics become Protestants than Protestants become Catholics.
About 10% of the population of the U.S. actually consist of former Catholics according to a Pew study.
http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
As a percentage of the population, the Catholic Church has not grown in many years (about 25%). The only reason they have grown in absolute numbers is immigration both legal and illegal.
The scary thing is the number of people who claim no religious affiliation whatsover has skyrocketed. This represents a failure of Christian Evangelism in both the Catholic and Protestant Churches.
God never said that a majority of the world would be saved, He called us the remnant..
71% of U.S. Catholic population growth since 1960 is due to Hispanics (2001) U.S. Census Bureau.
Excepting the above, religious bodies bodies gaining members between 1990 and 2000 generally are considered “Conservative Protestants,” while most of those showing a decrease in number of adherents generally are considered “Moderate” or “Liberal” Protestants. http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/Catholic_findings.htm
39% U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, with 67% of Latinos voting for Obama over McCain. USCCB Committee on Hispanic Affairs. Hispanic Ministry at the Turn of the New Millennium, 1999
You might find this interesting:
http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2005/RAND_WR211.pdf
A RAND Labor and Population study (December 2004) which used the most recent data on religious populations from the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) showed,
Evangelical Protestants continuing to grow, but at slower rates than that of the population. Mainline Protestants continue to decrease, even in areas of some population growth. Catholics are increasing slightly, but likely only because of Hispanic and immigrant population influxes. some writers (e.g., Kelley, 1972; Roof & McKinney, 1987) have claimed comparative Evangelical strictness in doctrine and practice has led to comparative growth,
Evangelical Protestants “have typically sought more separation from the broader culture, emphasized missionary activity and individual conversion, and taught stricter adherence to particular religious doctrines,” while Mainline Protestants “have typically emphasized an accommodating stance toward modernity, a proactive view on issues of social and economic justice, and pluralism in their tolerance of varied individual beliefs.”
Evangelical Protestants [14.2% nationwide] are nearly twice as prevalent in the South as elsewhere. Mainline Protestants [9.4% nationwide] are more prominent in the North Central states Most of the 62 million Catholics [22% nationwide] are in the Northeast (more than all other groups combined) and North Central regions. Catholic population growth, however, has been greatest in the South and West Catholics and Jews are about twice as prevalent in the Northeast as elsewhere.
Recent data showed Muslims concentrated in large metropolitan counties and Eastern religious congregations concentrated in counties with Asian populations.