A Health Checkup of U.S. Churches

A Christian Nation of 350,000 Congregations

80% say they are sure there is a God & belong to a faith group

75% of Americans identify as “Christian”

65% claim an affiliation with a congregation

49% are claimed as adherents by all congregations

40% tell surveys they attend weekly

20% of Americans actually attend weekly

A Christian Nation?

Faith GroupingsCongregationsAdherentsPercent of Population Catholic20,58958,927, % Evangelical and Conservative Protestant 191,11250,013, % Mainline Protestant77,76022,568,2587.3% Other Faiths11,6616,667,5422.2% Latter-day Saints14,3936,267,7712.0% Black Protestant17,7544,877,0671.6% Orthodox Christian2,5511,056,5350.3% Total*344,894150,596, %

DenominationChurchesAdherents% of Pop Southern Baptist Conv.50,81619,896,2796.4% Non-denominational Churches35,49612,241,3294.0% Assemblies of God12,2582,944,8871.0% LCMS6,0402,270,9210.7% Churches of Christ12,5841,584,1620.5% Christian Ch’es and Ch’es of Christ 5,2931,453,1600.5% Seventh-day Adventist5,6651,194,9960.4% Church of God (Cleveland, TN)6,1001,109,9920.4% All Other Evangelical and Conservative Protestants 56,8607,317,3812.4% Total Evang. & Conserv. Prot.191,11250,013, %

DenominationChurchesAdherents% of Pop United Methodist Church33,3239,860,6533.2% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 9,8464,181,2191.4% Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)10,4872,451,9800.8% Episcopal Church6,7941,951,9070.6% American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. 5,2431,560,5720.5% United Church of Christ5,2251,284,2960.4% Other Mainline Protestant6,8421,277,6310.4% Total Mainline Protestant77,76022,568,2587.3%

Not Dying… But Changing

Getting Older…

Less Appealing To The Young?

Getting Both Larger…And Smaller

MEGA Proliferation

More Solitary… And More Selective About Their Friendships

The Rise of Nondenominational and Functionally-Independent Churches…

Independent Churches Are Distributed Evenly Across the Country

Networks Taking The Place Of Denominations?

Less Vital…?

Churches Have To Be Wiser… AndLess Wistfully Nostalgic

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