The Disappearing, Shrinking Church in America

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http://www.allaboutgod.net/forum/topics/the-disappearing-shrinking-...

Why the dramatic and continuing decline of the so-called "mainline" Protestant Churches in America over the past half century? [8][9][12][13] [14]  Should their falling membership numbers be a cause for concern?  Why or why not?  What is the wider significance of this trend and its implications for the church or body of Christ generally?

Meanwhile, certain nondenominational or loosely denominational mega churches and Pentecostal and charismatic bodies [10][14], such as the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, TN), as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and Jehovah's Witnesses [11], have experienced rapid growth.

The religious landscape in America is changing--be it good, bad or indifferent.

• United Methodist Church -- This denomination's membership has declined by 7%, or 590,000, over the last 10 years.  Membership has fallen in every year since the UMC was formed in 1968. [1]
• Evangelical Lutheran Church -- ELCA reported a membership decline of nearly 1,000,000 over 20 years, from 5.23 million to 4.27 million in 2010.  About 1,000 congregations have folded during the same period, leaving 10,000.   In one year alone, from 2009 to 2010, membership fell by 270,000.  [2]
• Presbyterian Church USA -- PCUSA has lost of 20% of its membership in the last 10 years.  In 2000, there were 2.5 million members.  In 2010, it had shrunk by 500,000 to 2 million. [3]
• Episcopal Church -- Peaking at 3.4 million members in the mid-1960s, there are only 1.95 milllion today.  Since 2000, membership has fallen by 16%.  Seven of every 10 churches has an average Sunday attendance of 100 or less.  [4], [7]
• United Church of Christ -- This denomination stopped publishing membership statistics in 2008.  Then, its membership stood at 1.1 million as compared to 1.7 million in 1980.  Membership fell by 44% since the mid-1960s. [5]
• Canada -- The United Church of Canada, formed in 1925 through a merger of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist Churches, has seen its membership fall by half since 1965 and Sunday School enrolled is down by 90% since 1961, according to the Ottawa Citizen. [6]

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