[Salvation]

The result of this varying population concentration means that the South is home to both substantial Catholic mission areas and to many communities with large Catholic churches (Map 3). Between 1971 and 2000, the number of Catholic churches in the region grew from 4,200 to 4,832, a substantial rate of increase, but not nearly as fast as the total Catholic population increased. As a result, the mean number of Catholics per church increased from 1,551 to 2,543. By contrast, there are, on average, 515 Southern Baptists per church in the South, and 310 United Methodists per church.

[Salvation]

Of the 1,424 counties in the South, 156 have no Catholic church, and another 147 have but a single church with less than 100 adherents. At the other extreme, 52 counties, and 14 metropolitan areas, have at least 5,000 Catholics per church. In 1971, only one metropolitan area, Miami, had more than 5,000 Catholics per church.