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                                                             CHANGES IN DENOMINATIONAL PROFILES


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




Table 1
Percent of Americans Who Belong to a Local Congregation

1776

17%

1850

34%

1860

37%

1870

35%

1890

45%

1906

51%

1916

53%

1926

56%

1952

59%

1980

62%

1990

64%

2005*

69%

*From the Baylor Survey
Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

 

Table 2
Weekly Church Attendance, 1954-2005

1954 (Gallup)

44%

1968 (Gallup)

45%

1964 (American Piety)

44%

Catholics no longer required to attend every week

1973 (GSS*)

36%

1975 (GSS)

36%

1980 (GSS)

35%

1985 (GSS)

37%

1990 (GSS)

35%

1998 † (GSS)

32%

2005 (Baylor)

38%

2007 (Baylor)

36%

* General Social Survey
No GSS in 1995
Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

Table 3
Some Growing and Some Declining American Denominations

Members per 1,000 US. population

 

1960

2000

% Change

Christian Church (Disciples)

10.0

2.7

-71

United Church of Christ

12.4

5.0

-60

Episcopal Church

18.1

8.2

-55

United Methodist Church

58.9

29.8

-49

Presbyterian Church (USA)

23.0

12.7

-45

Evangelical Lutheran Church

29.3

18.2

-39

Unitarian-Universalist

1.0

0.8

-20

Liberal Protestants

152.7

77.4

-49

 

 

 

 

Southern Baptist Convention

53.8

56.3

+5

Church of the Nazarene

1.7

2.2

+35

Seventh-day Adventist

1.8

3.1

+72

Foursquare Gospel

0.5

0.9

+80

Jehovah’s Witness*

1.4

3.5

+150

Assemblies of God

2.8

9.1

+225

Church of God (Cleveland, TN)

0.9

3.1

+244

Church of God in Christ

2.2

19.5

+786

Conservative Protestants

73.3

115.9

+158

 

 

 

 

Roman Catholic

233.0

221.7

-5

Latter-day Saints (Mormon) †

8.2

18.2

+122

* “Publishers” only
† American members only
Source: Calculated from the Yearbook of American Churches, 1962 and Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2001 and published in What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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