Evangelical Churches Still Growing, Mainline Protestantism In Decline

By Richard Yeakley
Religion News Service

While mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. continue to experience decades-long decline, the memberships of Pentecostal traditions are on the rise, according to new figures compiled by the National Council of Churches.

The Roman Catholic Church (No. 1) and the Southern Baptist Convention (No. 2) are still significantly larger than all other North American denominations, but Catholics posted minimal growth of less than 1 percent, and Southern Baptist membership fell for a third straight year, according to the 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches.

Produced annually by the NCC, the yearbook is considered one of the most reliable recorders of church membership. The figures in the 2011 yearbook were compiled by churches in 2009, reported to the NCC in 2010 and released Monday (Feb. 14).

Mainline Protestant churches that have seen a fall in membership since the 1970s continued their decline; the Presbyterian Church (USA) reported the greatest membership drop (2.6 percent) of the 25 largest denominations.

Other denominations reporting declines include the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church as well as the more evangelical Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The membership declines in mainline churches led to a 1 percent decrease in total U.S. church membership, to 145.8 million.

Despite the national decline, some smaller denominations' memberships are increasing.

"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," writes the Rev. Eileen Lindner, the editor of the yearbook.

Pentecostal churches make up four of the 25 largest churches, and both the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) increased in membership. Only six of the 25 largest memberships increased over the previous year.

Jehovah's Witnesses experienced the greatest growth percentage overall, gaining 4.37 percent according to the yearbook. Several historically black denominations continued a years-long practice of not submitting fresh figures.

The 10 largest Christian bodies reported in the 2011 yearbook are:

1. The Catholic Church: 68.5 million, up 0.57 percent.

2. Southern Baptist Convention: 16.1 million, down .42 percent.

3. The United Methodist Church: 7.8 million, down 1 percent.

4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 6 million, up 1.42 percent.

5. The Church of God in Christ: 5.5 million, no membership updates reported.

6. National Baptist Convention, USA: 5 million, no membership updates reported.

7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 4.5 million, down 1.96 percent.

8. National Baptist Convention of America, 3.5 million, no membership updates reported.

9. Assemblies of God: 2.9 million, up .52 percent.

10. Presbyterian Church (USA): 2.7 million, down 2.61 percent.

Comments

[saspirilles]

03:12 PM on 04/13/2011

Many Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Episcopalian denominations have gone heretical in their teachings. There are still people around in these chruches who read the Bible and know when something is rotten in Denmark

[zwyziec]

06:27 PM on 04/10/2011

Look at that list of religions.

They are all "ism's" or beliefs and because they are beliefs they are not based on facts. And because they are not based on facts the believers in each spend a lot of time arguing amongst themselves having to rely on an irrelevant book of fiction as an authoritative resource.

One ism is not any better then another ism. And being a zealous believer of any ism does not make that ism true. In fact, every ism listed does not represent truth or reality.

Each one of them has a long and checked history of their own institutional "sins".

Unlike many on this site who have what they consider a "gift" of faith, nature has given me the gifts of reason; an individual conscience that I have personally formed to know right from wrong; skepticism to question and seek my truth; and objectivity, being no slave to any "ism".

That makes me a non-believer and there are many of us out there, and more coming along as we watch the rest of you wallow in your dogmatic "ism's" wrecking havoc on our society and government. We consider it a battle of good versus evil!

[studioux3]

05:34 PM on 03/18/2011

The Atheists and Agnostics should move to Britain, like honestly move to Britain.

[zwyziec]

06:32 PM on 04/10/2011

So you are in favor of a theocratic government here in the USA? That is unpatriotic and treasonous.

[American Air]

06:17 AM on 03/16/2011

Yes. Talibanization of the US is going full swing.

[riff4u]

01:50 PM on 02/28/2011

So Pauline Christianity rather than Jesus is becoming the new norm. Interesting- Paul a man who never met Jesus, other than in his own delusions, a self appointed leader, trumps the actual teachings of Jesus.

[Kewini]

08:29 PM on 03/10/2011

It;s not that we Christians favor Paul over Jesus. Instead, it's a matter of scriptural authority. WE see no contradictions between Jesus and Paul, though we of course regard Jesus as the pure Son of God and Paul as a redeemed sinner. Paul's writings as incorporated into scripture are inspired and thus authoritative. Liberal scholars have already undermined most of the authority of the 4 gospels by denying the historicity of 3/4 of Jesus' sayings, now they are undermining the authority of most New Testament epistles. Liberal "Christians" want us to think that socialism/Marxism/Feminism are the "kingdom of God" and the only real hope for "hu"mankind. Thank God, Paul said otherwise (I Corinthians 15:12-19.) I don't prefer Paul to Jesus, but I prefer Paul to liberal theology.

[JBaker]

02:30 PM on 03/12/2011

It is purely a matter of opinion, not fact, whether Paul's letters are inspired or uninspired. They are merely letters written by a man.

Conservatives are at odds with Jesus much of the time, since he favored feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc. Most conservatives regard that as liberal decadence, and vote to end health care or assistance to the poor. They call their approach 'compassionate conservatism' which means words of charity but stingy with cash.

[KBurchfiel]

12:38 AM on 03/27/2011

They're quite insightful, really. Perhaps you've read them?

[ninetailedfox]

01:42 PM on 02/24/2011

If this is where christianity is headed, it means christianity will be associated with the fundies more often. Ive heard many many liberals use the line that the fundies arent part of our club.

The first rule of making excuses for religion: always claim the religion and "fundament­a­lism/lit­er­alism" are somehow separate. Never offer any evidence of course, just rely on lack of critical thinking. After all if you can frame the fundamenta­ls of a religion as not part of it, then you will believe most anything.

[libwingoflibwing]

01:10 AM on 03/15/2011

Nine, the issue in Christianity is exactly what *are* the Fundamentals. 100 years ago those who go by the name Fundamentalists insisted that they're certain doctrines: virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, physical resurrection, literal supernatural miracles (later changed to literal future physical second coming,) and inerrant Bible. (Note these are particular ways of understanding historic Christian beliefs: Incarnation, Christ as Savior, Christ as Risen, God's Kingdom and Authority of the Bible.)

The other side of the debate, Modernists AKA Liberals, said the fundamentals of the faith are found in the teaching of Jesus: that all humans are brothers and sisters, God is the Parent of all and that we're called to live lives of peace and justice out of love. Just because the Modernists didn't spout the term "fundamental" all the time didn't mean they didn't have quite a different view of what the essence of Christianity is.

The Modernists won that battle. That's why we have Mainline Churches today and the Evangelical Churches that the Fundamentalists formed after they lost the Mainline Churches.

The truth is that Liberals and Fundamentalists have very different ideas about what Christianity is about, so much so that they say we aren't Christian. We recognize that they are Christian since it is actually a diverse family of various faiths. But we are different kinds of Christians.

I'm concerned you're right that Christianity is headed toward being more and more dominated by the Fundies. But I hope it's a reactionary moment that won't last.

[daportes]

01:00 PM on 03/16/2011

If by "mainline churches" you are reffering to those protestant denominations with ties to the early reformers, I would argue the fundamentalist split is evidence of the same desire to seperate from teachings not based on scripture as the early reformers had. The essence of Christianity is the essence of who Christ is, as related by scripture and his own words about his nature. You correctly described the fundamentalist
/modernist divide but with respect, how does a literal interpretation of scripture put the church at risk. If you believe "all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,for reproof,for correction,for training in righteousness", why should teaching its FULL council be a stumbling block. Christ commanded us to be loving and non-judgmental of non-believers without exception, but he also taught of the dire state of man being dead in his sin and in need of redemption.

[Sanity Inspector]

11:02 PM on 02/23/2011

"It is my belief, as a friendly neutral in all such high and ghostly matters, that the body of doctrine known as Modernism is completely incompatible, not only with anything rationally describable as Christianity, but also with anything deserving to pass as religion in general. Religion, if it is to retain any genuine significance, can never be reduced to a series of sweet attitudes, possible to anyone not actually in jail for felony. It is, on the contrary, a corpus of powerful and profound convictions, many of them not open to logical analysis. . .What the Modernists have done . . . [is] to get rid of all the logical difficulties of religion, and yet preserve a generally pious cast of mind. It is a vain enterprise. What they have left, once they have achieved their imprudent scavenging, is hardly more than a row of hollow platitudes, as empty [of] psychological force and effect as so many nursery rhymes. . . . Religion is something else again-in Henrik Ibsen's phrase, something far more deep-down-diving and mud-upbringing. Dr.
Machen tried to impress that obvious fact upon his fellow adherents of the Geneva
Muhammad [i.e., Calvin]. He failed-but he was undoubtedly right."
-- H. L. Mencken, "Dr. Fundamentalis", an obituary of Rev. J. Gresham Machen, Baltimore Evening Sun (January 18, 1937), 2nd Section, p. 15.

[Sanity Inspector]

10:50 PM on 02/23/2011

"The visible church is all the people who get together from time to time in God's name. Anybody can find out who they are by going to look.
The invisible church is all the people God uses for hands and feet in this world. Nobody can find out who they are except God.
Think of them as two circles. The optimist says they are concentric. The cynic says they don't even touch. The realist says they occasionally overlap."
-- Frederick Buechner, "Church", Wishful Thinking, 1971

[ninetailedfox]

01:45 PM on 02/24/2011

Ive heard of this visible church and invisible church. How do people know who is going to heaven and who isnt? they dont, because they have never been and come back. Those that havent should trust their instincts, and those that have should at least talk about it, unfortunately, thats where you get people that make stuff up.

[johmich5]

11:50 AM on 02/21/2011

It is Good to hear that Christianity is still alive an well in America, despite the radical secular left's tyrannical attempt to abolish it.

[robertradliff]

11:00 PM on 02/22/2011

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." - John Adams

"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise." – James Madison

do you rely think it's only today's modern "tyrannical" liberals that did NOT approve of religion? Our founding fathers had nothing but disdain for religion, end of story.

[johmich5]

11:17 AM on 02/25/2011

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Thomas Jefferson

Ten Commandments are inscribed in the marble of the United States Supreme Court.

There is a stained glass window in the U.S. Capitol depicting President George Washington kneeling in prayer.

At the top of the Washington Monument is embedded a plaque which boldly proclaims in Latin, "Praise Be Unto God."

"In God w We Trust" on US currency.


In the 1892 Supreme Court ruling in Church of the Holy Trinity vs. U.S. (citing 87 precedents), "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."

"...my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe,..."-George Washington

"...And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:..." -Abraham Lincoln's

Etc>>etc>>etc

[ninetailedfox]

01:47 PM on 02/24/2011

Christianity's greatest enemy isnt the left, its christianity itself.

Christian A: Youre not a real chrsitian

Christian B: youre not a real christian

Evil turns in upon itself.

[johmich5]

10:56 AM on 02/25/2011

Joh 9:16 NRSV-CE Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.' But others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?' And they were divided.

Mat 12:24-28 NRSV-CE But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.' (25) He knew what they were thinking and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. (26) If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? (27) If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. (28) But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

The Catholic Church stands undivided 2000+ years as the oldest living Theocracy in history.

Selfishness is divided and secularism is based on selfish hedonistic implosive tendency.
That is evil turning on its self like a dog eating it's newborn pups.

[brokerthanu]

11:06 PM on 03/06/2011

What cracks me up is that they always say "real Christian" or "good Christian" like it's a good thing.

[Stanley Schulte]

11:51 PM on 02/17/2011

It was said "that when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the American flag and carrying a cross."

[johmich5]

11:15 AM on 02/21/2011

Wikipedia gives an example of fascism:
…."The Nazis decriminalized abortion in cases where fetuses had hereditary defects or were of a race the government disapproved of, while the abortion of healthy "pure" German, "Aryan" fetuses remained strictly forbidden.[173] For non-Aryans, abortion was often compelled. Their eugenics program also stemmed from the "progressive biomedical model" of Weimar Germany.[174]

In 1935 Nazi Germany expanded the legality of abortion by amending its eugenics law, to promote abortion for women with hereditary disorders.[175] The law allowed abortion if a woman gave her permission and the fetus was not yet viable,[176][177] and for purposes of so-called racial hygiene.[178][179"…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Abortion.2C_eugenics_and_euthanasia

http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents/show.php?sangerDoc=238946.xml

This definition of fascism sounds a more like the Secularist Liberal Democrat legislation that has implemented Margaret Sanger’s Planned Parenthood style eugenics, then the pro-life agenda, of the Religious Right.

[onlyThis]

11:09 PM on 03/13/2011

About 50% of all fertilized eggs are spontaneously aborted before the women even knows she's pregnant. Now who is the greatest abortionist in history? Why does your god kill half of his children before they are even born. BTW I got that percentage from a fertility clinic web site not from a pro-choice or pro-life site.

[onlyThis]

11:16 PM on 03/13/2011

Also, how many unwanted children have you adopted? How many severely handicapped children have you brought into your home? Do not misunderstand me, I am not pro-abortion, I actually have a mentally handicapped child, but if you are not ready to step up and adopt these kids then you have no right to demand an end to choice.

[Kewini]

08:17 PM on 03/10/2011

I'd have far more respect for liberals if they didn't over-use such abusive terms as "fascist" for people different from them. Liberals like you strike me as abusive and uncharitable and intolerant.

[ninetailedfox]

04:34 PM on 02/17/2011

Christianity in general has been getting the special treatment for too long. Ive heard rumors there are court cases that let people off cause they believe in Jesus. Churches get tax free status. ive heard far too many christians whine that those other sects arent true christians, yet there are more and more incidents of fantatical christians making total jerks of themselves in the media. lets cut the tax free status of churches please!

[JBaker]

02:33 PM on 03/12/2011

Many churches are little more than political machines for right wing totalitarians, such as Jerry Falwell racket, among many others.

Some religions focus on personal improvement and what may vaguely be called spiritual enlightenment. Such religions also tend to focus on non-violence.

Other, more western religions, focus on group conformity, with a strong emphasis on sin and punishment, and have a long history of violence.

[veryradiant]

02:53 PM on 03/12/2011

One should give to charities from their heart. And if a charity is worth its existance, it doesn't need special tax status. So I don't support tax deductions for charitible giving and tax free status for those organizations. So in that way I am in agreement with you.
But to only block these tax benefits for churches and not other charities shows some other form of reasoning. You many want to reevaluate your motivations on this issue.

[joeyfoto]

02:02 PM on 02/17/2011

The most hopeful news in this long list of cults is this: "Jehovah's Witnesses experienced the greatest growth percentage overall, gaining 4.37 percent according to the yearbook."

You know why I would think that's so great? Because JW's don't vote. They are not doing the political biding of some ambitious psychopath, like Pat Robertson. I think Witneses believe crazy things, but what a person chooses to believe is none of my business. The important fact is that Jehovah's Witnesses are not growing their numbers in order to impose their beliefs upon the rest of us, by the force of a majority, in that anti-democratic spirit that our founders warned us against as "the tyranny of the majority."

To attempt to tyrannize a secular, pluralistic society with 51% of very contentious votes on divisive social issues, is the agenda of the religious right. Their anti-democratic ambition must be rejected if liberty is to survive in America, which is not a given.

[johmich5]

11:47 AM on 02/21/2011

Don't you mean the Tyranny of the secular upon the religious imposed by radical secular lefties with the overreaching separation decision of the 1947 Everson v. Board of Education decision.

Wikipedia:
...."Another early user of the term was James Madison, the principal drafter of the United States Bill of Rights. In a 1789 debate in the House of Representatives regarding the draft of the First Amendment, the following was said:
August 15, 1789. Mr. [Peter] Sylvester [of New York] had some doubts...He feared it [the First Amendment] might be thought to have a tendency to abolish religion altogether...Mr. [Elbridge] Gerry [of Massachusetts] said it would read better if it was that "no religious doctrine shall be established by law."...Mr. [James] Madison [of Virginia] said he apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that "Congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law."...[T]he State[s]...seemed to entertain an opinion that under the clause of the Constitution...it enabled them [Congress] to make laws of such a nature as might...establish a national religion; to prevent these effects he presumed the amendment was intended...Mr. Madison thought if the word "National" was inserted before religion, it would satisfy the minds of honorable gentlemen...He thought if the word "national" was introduced, it would point the amendment directly to the object it was intended to prevent.[18]"....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state

[TanzaniaTeacher]

02:40 PM on 02/24/2011

Please, you are not the oppressed in this equation.

[SkelDaddy]

04:15 PM on 02/16/2011

Take the 1st, 2nd, 8th and 11th letters in 'evangelical' and what do you have?

[ninetailedfox]

04:35 PM on 02/17/2011

If you scramble evangelical you get evil angel

[libwingoflibwing]

01:20 AM on 03/15/2011

No you don't. ::chuckle::

You get CA Evil Angel

[Phong Le]

03:43 AM on 03/04/2011

Cool! Anagrams! God spelled backward it Dog. It has nothing to do with the article, but ....

[libwingoflibwing]

01:22 AM on 03/15/2011

and Dogma spelled backwards is "Am God." Now that one's a bit freaky, any one who forces Dogma on us is acting like a child saying I "Am God."

[Ichigo Kurosaki]

03:15 PM on 02/16/2011

The core problem with Evangelism is that it is so completely the OPPOSITE of the teachings of Jesus Christ. If Jesus actually came to us, today, with the same message he had 2000 years ago, Evangelicals would be the FIRST to line up to crucify him for "blasphemy".
I'd have more respect for these "Christians" if they actually acted in Christ-like manner.

[SkelDaddy]

04:15 PM on 02/16/2011

One of the major problems that evangelicals have is that they are actually followers of Paul, not Jesus.

It has been said that Catholicism is the triumph of Peter over the Apostles, that Protestantism is the triumph of Paul over Peter and evangelical fundamentalism is the triumph of Paul over Jesus.

Take the 1st, 2nd, 8th and 11th letters in 'evangelical' and what do you have?

[reasonable111]

12:40 AM on 02/17/2011

This illustrates ignorance of Christianity.

The gospels illustrate what Jesus said to the people and the disciples and what he did for us from a historical perspective. Paul writes how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ works, with instruction how it works and why it works, and also why some reject the Son of God.

Your perspective is skewed.
Paul's epistles augment and complement the works of Christ, and are instruction how to be a good Christian after the ascension.

[ninetailedfox]

04:44 PM on 02/17/2011

One of the biggest logical fallacies among christians: being a liberal is better than being a fundie. A christian is still a christian.

[ninetailedfox]

04:38 PM on 02/17/2011

Evangelical, Liberal, Moderate. All christians say the others arent true christian, You know what, youre all true christians and you might be in trouble for breaking one of the rules: Judge not lest you be judged.........

[libwingoflibwing]

01:29 AM on 03/15/2011

Usually when conservatives say who is and who isn't a "true" Christian or a "real" Christian what they really mean is who is or isn't going to heaven, since they believe that only "true," "real" Christians go to heaven.

But liberals tend not to think that only "real" Christians go to heaven. A lot of us are like me and are universalists.

Thus the distinction between "real" and not so real Christians then becomes a fallacy. All those who say they believe in Jesus as the center of their faith (Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists believe in Jesus too, but not as the center) are by definition Christian.

Now if we're going to have "real" Christian mean those who follow Jesus fully then the only real one since Christ was probably St. Francis. So I agree with you, let's not judge who is and who isn't "real."

But that doesn't mean I will stop saying that hatred, exclusion, force and trying set up a Theocracy are just out and out WRONG.

[Vikingdave]

12:51 PM on 02/16/2011

Religion is like it's twin, Politics. Both ultimately strive to win hearts and minds.Everyone has the right to believe what they wish. That's obvious. But when religion is used as a bludgeon, as the current abortion wars in congress and state houses,clearly are about. That is a call to oppose these draconian measures.