Posted on 02/14/2011 5:54:53 PM PST by SmithL
Trends continue in church membership growth or decline, reports 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
New York, February 14, 2011 -- Growing churches continue to grow and declining churches continue to decline, according to the National Council of Churches' 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches.
"The direction of membership (growth or decline) remains very stable," writ es the Yearbook's editor, the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner, in the newest edition released this week. "That is, churches which have been increasing in membership in recent years continue to grow and likewise, those churches which have been declining in recent years continue to decline."
However, Lindner points out, "the rates of both growth and decline have generally slowed in comparison to recent years." Copies of the 2011 Yearbook may be ordered for $55 each at www.yearbookofchurches.org.
The 79th annual edition of the Yearbook reports a continuing decline in membership of virtually all mainline denominations. And the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's second largest denomination and long a reliable generator of church growth, reported a decline in membership for the third year in a row, down .42 percent to 16,160,088 members.
The Catholic Church, the nation's largest at 68.5 million members, reported a membership growth of .57 percent.
Membership figures reported in the 2011 Yearbook were collected by the churches in 2009 and reported to the Yearbook in 2010.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew 1.42 percent to 6,058, 907 members and the Assemblies of God grew .52 percent to 2,914,669 members , according to figures reported in the 2011 Yearbook.
Other churches that continued to post membership gains in 2010 are Jehovah' s Witnesses, up 4.37 percent to 1,162,686 members, and Church of God (Cleve land, Tenn.), up .38 percent to 1,076,254 members.
Four of the nation's 25 largest churches are Pentecostal in belief and practice, Lindner reported. "Strong figures from the Assemblies of God and t he Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) suggest an increase in the number of adherents to Pentecostal groups, though it is impossible to state unequivocally from this table since the other two charismatic churches in the ranking have not reported in some years."
The four largest Pentecostal churches are the Church of God in Christ, Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.)
Mainline churches reporting declines in membership are United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1,080,199 members; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2,770,730 members; the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2,006,343 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. down 1.96 percent to 4,542,868 members; the American Baptist Churches USA, down 1.55 percent to 1,310,505; the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), down 1.0 8 percent to 2,312,111 members; and the United Methodist Church, down 1.01 percent to 7,774,931 members.
However, ten of the 25 largest churches did not report updated figures: the Church of God in Christ; the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.; the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; Churches of Christ; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; and Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.
The 2011 Yearbook includes part two of Lindner's 2010 essay on "The New Immigrant Church," this year focusing on policy and mission.
Church financial trends are also reported in the Yearbook. The financial re porting in the 2010 Yearbook is based on the financial income reports of the 64 churches reporting. The almost 45 million members of these churches contributed almost $36 billion, showing a decrease in the total income to the churches of $26 million.
The 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches reports on 227 national church bodies. Statistics in the yearbook reflect "continued high overall church participation, and account for the religious affiliation of over 163 million Americans," the editor reports.
The Yearbook also includes a directory of 235 U.S. local and regional ecumenical bodies with program and contact information and provides listings of theological seminaries and bible schools, religious periodicals and guides to religious research including church archive listings.
Information in the Yearbook is kept up to date in two regular electronic up dates each year. Access to this Internet data is provided through a unique pass code printed inside the back cover.
Total church membership reported in the 2011 Yearbook is 145,838,339 members, down 1.05 percent over 2010.
The top 25 churches reported in the 2010 Yearbook are in order of size:
1. The Catholic Church, 68,503,456 members, up .57 percent.
2. Southern Baptist Convention,16,160,088 members, down.42 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church, 7,774,931 members, down1.01 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6,058,907 members, up 1 .42 percent.
5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no membership updates reported.
6. National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc, 5,000,000 members, no membership updates reported.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,542,868 members, down1.96 percent.
8. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., 3,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
9. Assemblies of God, 2,914,669 members, up .52 percent.
10. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 2,770,730 members, down 2.61 percent.
11. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
11. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, 2,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
13. The Lutheran Church-- Missouri Synod (LCMS), 2,312,111 members, down 1. 08 percent.
14. The Episcopal Church, 2,006,343 members, down 2.48 percent.
15. Churches of Christ, 1,639,495 members, no membership updates reported.
16. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
17. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., 1,500,000 members, no member ship updates reported.
18. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,400,000 members, members, no membership updates reported.
19. American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., 1,310,505 members, down 1.5 5 percent.
20. Jehovah's Witnesses, 1,162,686 members, up 4.37 percent.
21. United Church of Christ, 1,080,199 members, down 2.83 percent.
22. Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), 1,076,254 members, up .38 percent.
23. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1,071,616 members, no membership updates reported.
24. Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 1,043,606 members, up 4.31 percent.
25. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. 1,010,000 members, down 5 9.60 percent (due in part to a new methodology of counting members).
For more information, or to purchase a copy of the 2011 Yearbook, see www.yearbookofchurches.org. Yearbooks from earlier years may be available at a discounted price at 888-870-3325.
Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for shared ecumenical witness among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member communions -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,542,868 members, down 1.96 percent.Yeah, sure, whatever. I think they're lowballing their losses.
I finally left the pro-choice Presbyterian Church USA over 10 years ago.
They even give abortion coverage to pastors and their families in their medical plan.
I'm now a member of the conservative Wesleyan denomination.
agreed.
I am surprised to see the Southern Baptists and LCMS down. The more recent trend has shown conservative (read Gospel preaching) do much better than liberal churches (read social justice types)
“Abortion for any reason, at any time during pregnancy, is a covered service of the Presbyterian USA denomination’s plan. The coverage includes partial birth abortion; it includes abortion by means of chemicals, such as RU-486; it includes abortions for minor dependent daughters with no requirement for parental notification.”
http://www.ppl.org/MedBenPlan_2002.html
I'm reflecting on the UCC. I grew up in the UCC during the fifties and sixties, in a small village in Ohio of about a thousand people. Probably a good hundred and fifty were UCC church members. Maybe more. Now, The UCC members are nationally, 1 in 300. That means my old church on average would now have three members in it.
What a statement about the viability of political indoctination replacing the Gospel.
Percentage wise their losses are modest compared to say the Prebys, Elcans, UCCers, and Piskies.
My guess — based partly on what I see around where I live, anectodally, is that Southern Baptist youth are going nondenominational.... A lot of the nondenom movement that I see — and again, I’m going only anecdotally, so I could totally be wrong — is rebranded Baptist.
In my neck of the woods five UCC congregations have departed from the denomination: two to the Evangelical Covenant Church, one each to the Reforemd Church in America and Reformed Presbyterian; and one strictly independent. There is at least one other “in the pipeline”.
They have several different Baptist groups in the list and they are not accounting for the Non-denominational churches.
I am a member of a large Non-denom church that is led by a former Baptist pastor. If you looked at the practices of this church you would say it's Baptist.
Of course, the aggregate numbers are only as good as the sum of the reports of the individual churches. Some of them I wouldn't throw a stick at.Many congregations never take anyone off of their roles unless they get a letter saying someone has left.
Some congregations have figured out that the time to evaluate their roster is before they schedule an important vote. This comes after several congregation passed a first vote to leave the ELCA and then were totally caught off-guard by all the people who showed up to vote "no" at the second vote.
That's my guess as well.
Isn't there some self-satisfied video about not being "Christian" but rather a "Christ-follower"? Perhaps there's a quirky movement to not identify oneself as Christian, but still believe in the Bible and prayer:
Even among the unaffiliated (~25% of Americans), it turns out many of them are religious.Some of these respondents are just saying what the pollster wants to hear, but I'd wager a lot are into DIY Christianity - which can be spiritually perilous, but probably better than nothing.Thought they rarely attend religious services, more than half (56 percent) of them believe in God and another 22 percent believe in a higher power. Fifty-five percent believe that the Bible is either the literal or inspired Word of God and 49 percent pray daily or weekly.
This phenomenon also slightly skews the poll numbers towards secularism and a post-Christian America, giving ammo to the wrong people.
I am surprised to see the Southern Baptists and LCMS down. The more recent trend has shown conservative (read Gospel preaching) do much better than liberal churches (read social justice types)
SBC internal critics such as Tom Ascol say the published numbers are grossly over what they should be. There's a lot more on the roles than show up on a Sunday. Still, even if they were a quarter their advertised size, they're pretty big.
The Catholic Church doesn't take you off the roles even after you've left, unless you do something drastic like deny your own baptism or die, making their growth statistics suspect at best.
"Roman Catholics, the largest U.S. church with a reported 69 million members, start counting baptized infants as members and often don’t remove people until they die. Most membership surveys don’t actually count who’s in the pews on Sunday. To be disenrolled, Catholics must write a bishop to ask that their baptisms be revoked..."
....it is possible, for example, to be born Catholic, married Methodist, die Lutheran and still be listed as a member of the 1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church....
"...The Catholic understanding of membership is that a person becomes a member upon baptism and remains a member for life," Gautier said. "Whether you show up at church or not is not what determines whether you're a member."
-- from the thread When It Comes to Church Membership Numbers, the Devil's in the Details
Catholics are leaving the faith at four times the rate that newcomers are joining. "Religious change is not simply a function of retention; it's a function of recruitment. It's both sides of the ledger," explains the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's Greg Smith. "In no other religious groups we looked at did we see this high a ratio people leaving versus joining."See also Roman Catholics total 64 million in U.S. ["counting Catholics is really more art than science"]
.... from the thread Does the American Catholic Church Have a Numbers Problem?
What I found amazing when delivering Christmas Free Dinner flyers to food banks is that
the Jason Lee Methodist Church (It’s an old landmark here.)
has two other churches in it.
Slavic Baptist
and
Mennonite Hispanic.
Figure that one out, huh?
not trying to flame-bait, but why is the LCMS down 1.08%? I was praying and hoping that they would get more adherents escaping from the ELCA.
Two local churches in my area house immigrant congregations - a Russian Baptist group and a Korean Methodist congregation.
That’s a legitimate question. Most people leaving the ELCA find close (or closed) communion and the LCMS prohibitions against women clergy to be dealbreakers.
thank you, I understand the difference between the LCM S and ELCA (it’s like light (LCMS) and darkness (ELCA)!), but what is the diff between LCM C and CORE and NALC?
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