1. Religion & Public Life in Compiled by Chad Bragg

2. Religion & Public Life in

3. New England: Demographic Layout “A Tale of Two New Englands”

4. New England Religious Affiliation

5. New England vs. National Religious Affiliation (Self-Identification)

6. New England Denominations Gains & Losses from 1990 - 2000 Denomination Percent Gain/Loss Nazarene51.9% Mormon47.8% Assemblies of God23% Southern Baptists8.9% Overall Population5.4% Catholics4.4% Lutherans (ELCA).3% Jews-3.1% United Church of Christ-10.4% United Methodists-10.9% Episcopalians-19% American Baptists-20.3% Unitarian-Universalists-27.8% “Even the Southern Baptist Convention, a real fish out of water in the New England region, expanded 9 percent.” -Stephen Prothero (pg. 29) “When it comes to Protestantism, the Region is mimicking national trends too, with evangelicals gaining on their mainline counterparts.” -Stephen Prothero (pg. 38)

7. Catholicism Striving and in Crisis Majority of the Population Catholic (38.5%) Sex abuse scandal Low/Dropping attendance < 30% of Catholics attending weekly Mass Nearly 20% of Boston Catholics polled said they had considered joining a non-Catholic church during the past year Significant drop in financial giving Lay activism Low number of seminary graduates

8. Mainline Protestants: in decline UCC, Episcopal, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalists Outnumber conservative Protestants by 3 to 1 in most NE States Liberal theologically and politically Abortion, same-sex marriage, anti-war Episcopal Church – openly gay bishop Politically and socially active Ecumenical Strategies Interfaith, not just interdenominational Emphasis on unity, tolerance, and civic virtue “not selling well” (pg 102)

9. Conservative Protestants Prospering in the Margins Only 27 % of the regions Protestants are evangelical The reverse of the nation as a whole SBC churches grew 500% between 1970 and 1990 230 congregations / 35,000 members (2003) Benefit from the high influx of immigrants into the region Half of the current churches are non-English Speaking congregations Very few “mega-churches” (3 total)

10. Conclusion Growing Evangelicalism Highly Catholic Very “Tolerant” Mostly Lost “As a Catholic, I would never vote to diminish the sanctity of the church sacrament of marriage. As a human being, I will never deny someone their equal rights. It is my belief that the only requirement of civil marriage is enduring love and respect.” -Sen. Martin Montigny (pg. 147) “I’m a New Englander, so I’m not used to wearing religion on my sleeve and being open about it.” - Howard Dean (pg. 13)