Dear Friend,
The Barna Research Group just recently published a study of the trends of Calvinism and Arminianism in the church in America. I thought you might find it interesting. I was surprised by it and found a stronger support of Calvinism than I supposed. While America remains mostly Arminian there are more that identify themselves doctrinally with Calvinism than I thought.
The trend of not identifying with either group remains a growing trend. I wonder if much of that is due to people just not caring anymore or have a less grasp of Scripture than what we once had. Interesting -
I am posting a small portion. You may access the entire report at:
http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/447-reformed-movement-in-am...You may also subscribe to their e-mail here:
http://www.barna.org/Some observers and journalists have described a movement among
Reformed churches, pointing to prominent Reformed pastors and new
Reformed church associations as a significant trend. A new study from
Barna Group explores whether the so-called “New Calvinism” has, as yet,
affected the allegiances of pastors and whether Reformed churches are
growing.
Clergy Identity
For the past decade the Barna Group has been tracking the percentage
of Protestant pastors who identify their church as "Calvinist or
Reformed." Currently, about three out of every 10 Protestant leaders say
this phrase accurately describes their church (31%). This proportion is
statistically unchanged from a decade ago (32%). In fact, an
examination of a series of studies among active clergy during the past
decade indicates that the proportion that embraces the Reformed label
has remained flat over the last 10 years.
Pastors who embrace the term "Wesleyan or Arminian" currently account
for 32% of the Protestant church landscape – the same as those who claim
to be Reformed. The proportion of Wesleyan/Arminian pastors is down
slightly from 37% in 2000. There has been less consistency related to
this label during the past decade, with the tracking figures ranging
from a low of 26% to a high of 37%.