[cothrige]

That isn't maintaining numbers. It is simply not affecting the numbers, which is a different thing. If it had the effect of maintaining them then it would have to be demonstrably the case that immigration encourages people to remain in the Church, and that just isn't true at all. As a matter of fact, by moving from a traditionally Catholic country, such as Mexico, to a traditionally Protestant one, like the US, one would expect more people to leave the Church than would otherwise stay in it. So, if anything, as long as immigration is stronger from Mexico to the US than the other way one would be able to make a better argument that immigration is actually bad for the Church's numbers.

[CynicalBear]

Ok, so you don’t have a word to replace maintaining. But dagnabit, it ain’t maintaining right?