CHANGES IN DENOMINATIONAL PROFILES


DENOMINATIONAL GROUPS


Liberal Protestants


Moderate Protestants


 Conservative Protestants


Others

No Religious Preference
 


HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DENOMINATIONS IN THE U.S.


Religious pluralism was not desired our forefathers. It was adopted because

          No church was strong enough to dominate

          Sectarian groups were not strong enough to dominate

          Government supported Christian values

           The King James Bible was read in schools

           Blasphemy was a punishable offense

           Sabbath laws were enforced

           Court decisions made reference to Protestant Christianity

                    There was an expectation that Christianity would become more unified

                    America’s mission was to convert the world

                    Sects later became to be seen as a revitalization of true religion

An unregulated, free market religious economy was the solution to competition among churches and sects

Religion became a matter of individual choice
 

CHANGES IN DENOMINATIONAL PROFILE: 1776-1850


The religious profile of the U.S. has changed dramatically historically

Mainline denominations have been declining since the late 18th century

The decline went unnoticed initially because

 The overall population grew and mainline churches participated in that growth

 The church membership rate increased from 17% to 34 %

 Liberal Protestant church es continued to represent the privileged and powerful

 Elite seminaries trained ministers

 Media coverage of mainlines was respectful and posed no challenge to their position
 

The first major shift in denominational loyalty occurred following the colonial settlement
 

                                       Percent of Adherents

Denomination                  1776     1850
------------------------------------------------------

Congregationalists           20.4     4.0

Episcopalians                   15.7      3.5

Presbyterians                   19.0    11.6

Baptists                            16.9    20.5

Methodists                         2.5    34.2

Catholics                            1.8    13.9
 

Causes of Shift

          Some churches were unprepared to deal with a competitive religious economy

          Highly educated clergy disdained competitive economy

          Some churches were unprepared to move West

          Episcopalians and Congregationalists were hindered by a professional clergy, centralized organization,
          established churches in the colonies, and more complex theology

          Methodists and Baptists were aided by clergy selected from parishioner ranks, democratic organization,
          efficient organization, and a simple theology

 

 

 

 



LARGEST DENOMINATIONAL FAMILIES IN U.S., 2001

                                                              Membership
                                                       1990                  2000             % Change          

Catholic                                     46,004,000        50,873,000             11

Baptist                                       33,964,000        33,830,000             00

Methodist/                                 14,174,000        14,150,000             00
Wesleyan

Lutheran                                      9,110,000           9,580,000            05

Presbyterian                                4,985,000           5,596,000             12

Pentecostal/                                 3,191,000           4,407,000             38
Charismatic

Episcopalian/                               3,042,000           3,451,000              13
Anglican

Judaism                                       3,137,000            2,831,000           - 10

Latter-day Saints                        2,487,000            2,697,000             08

Churches of Christ                      1,769,000            2,593,000             47

Congregational/
United Church of Christ                 599,000            1,378,000            130

Jehovah’s Witnesses                  1,381,000            1,131,000            - 04

Assemblies of God                         660,000             1,106,000             68



CHANGES IN DENOMINATIONAL PROFILE: 1965-1985


Beginning in the 1960s mainline denominations experienced the first absolute membership loses in their histories
 
 

                                                 % Change in
Denomination                          Membership
----------------------------------------------------------

American Lutheran                         -08.2

Disciples of Christ                          -41.8

Episcopal                                         -20.0

Lutheran Church                             -02.5

Lutheran Church in America          -07.8

Presbyterian                                    -23.5

United Church of Christ                  -18.6

United Methodist                            -16.3

*********************************

Assembly of God                          116.0

Church of God                              147.0

Church of Nazarene                       52.0

Jehovah's Witnesses                   121.0

Mormons                                      116.0

Seventh Day Adventists                79.0

Southern Baptists                          34.0
 

Other types of religious groups grew as wel

New religious movements

Television ministries

Charismatic revival groups within denominations


Explanations for mainline losses

Conservative churches grew at the expense of liberal churches through switching

Youthful defections mounted in the 1960s as part of the protest counterculture

Baby boom children reached college age in the 1960s and 1970s