MEMBERSHIP in the mainline Protestant denominations in the United States continues to dip even as membership in Pentecostal churches is on the rise, according to the 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches published this week.
The statistics are compiled in the yearbook by the National Council of Churches.
Pentecostal churches make up four of the 25 largest churches, and both the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) increased in membership. The Church of God in Christ has reported its membership to be 5.5 million.
The Assemblies of God church with a membership of 2.9 million reported a 0.52% increase in its number of members.
Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention retained their No.1 and No.2 positions respectively, Catholics posted a minimal growth of less than 1%.
The Catholic Church which has a membership of 68.5 million grew at 0.57% while the Southern Baptist Convention with a membership of 16.1 million dropped to 0.42% in its membership. The United Methodist Church a distant third with 7.8 million members also dropped to 1% in its membership.
It may be noted that the 2011 Yearbook has figures that were compiled by churches in 2009 and reported to the National Council of Churches in 2010.
The decline in the mainline Protestant churches, according to reports, began in the 1970s. According to the yearbook, the membership drop in mainline churches led to a 1% decrease in total U.S. church membership, to 145.8 million.
The greatest membership drop was noticed in the statistics reported by the Presbyterian Church (USA). Its membership was down by 2.6%.
Other denominations that reported decline in their membership include the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church as well as the more conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Jehovah’s Witnesses experienced the greatest growth percentage overall, gaining 4.37% according to the yearbook. The yearbook may not tell the complete story as several black denominations have not submitted fresh figures.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon church) has a membership of 6 million and grew by 1.42%. Both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are considered by mainline and Pentecostal churches as cult groups that gives credence to the views of their founders and their religious books besides the Bible.
