CHURCH HISTORY
LECTURE 17
PROTESTANTISM TODAY I
The following are excerpts from the article “Protestants in Decline”, by Andrew Walsh, in RELIGION IN THE NEWS; Winter 2005, Vol. 7, No. 3
My comments are in [brackets]
From the Heartland the word went forth. “America’s Protestant majority is about to disappear, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago,” Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times reported on July 21. “As early as the end of this year, Protestants will likely make up less than 51 percent of the population for the first time in history, sociologists at the university’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC) surmise.”
Even more intriguing was the discovery that the Protestant share of the population has been falling very quickly, almost lurching, over the past decade, from 63 percent in 1993 to 52 percent in 2002, after holding rock steady at 63 percent for three decades. [Maybe there isn’t that much to be ‘protesting’ about anymore in Christendom.]
The United States has “been seen as white and Protestant,” Tom W. Smith, director of NORC’s General Social Survey, told the Associated Press on July 21. “We’re not going to be majority Protestant any longer.” [The typical ‘WASP’ (white anglo-saxon protestant) identification is buzzing away without much of a sting…]
“Is everything suddenly different?” asked David Van Biema in the August 16 issue of Time. “Hardly. As Boston College political scientist Alan Wolfe notes, ‘Even if Protestants dip below 50 percent, they are still twice as large as any other group. They’re always going to be the largest group, ever, of anybody.’” [But, look at Europe, especially Great Britain, where Protestantism is quickly being replaced by a very outspoken and militant Muslim immigrating and converting population!]
“America’s coming Protestant minority raises countless questions. If Protestantism no longer is privileged, in some respect, does it mean other groups will assume that mantle?” Tammeus mused. “Or, more likely, does it mean that America will be a land of many minority faiths that must find a way to live together?” [The non-denom’s are on the rise and orthodox Protestantism probably will be quickly taken over by unorthodox, unconventional, seeker-sensitive, contemporary Christian groups/fads/fellowships/movements/churches.]
What the NORC study makes clear is that the Protestant decline comes chiefly from Protestantism’s moderate and liberal “mainline” branches. And that those leaving Protestantism are young adults who no longer identify with any organized religious group—those sociologists of religion call “nones” (because when pollsters ask what religion they adhere to, they answer “none.”).
[Just how far has Protestantism declined in America in the last 50 years or so?] Richard Vara of the Houston Chronicle provide[s] a useful check list: “The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has dropped from 4.1 million members in 1960 to 2.5 million. Over the same period, membership in the Episcopal Church decreased from 3.4 million to 2.5 million and United Methodists have seen their numbers drop from 11 million to 8.3 million.” Because of the rapid growth in the nation’s population over the last 40 years, the proportional shrinkage of their groups is even greater than the raw numbers suggest.
The key changes cited in NORC study have to do with loosened mainline identity in the 1960s and 1970s and the subsequent decisions of many loosely affiliated Protestants not to raise their children as more than nominal Protestants. [The standard ‘hip’ ‘yupee’ conviction is to let your children decide for themselves on what belief they want to follow.]
“There’s some evidence that a large portion of this [change] is that a fair number of marginal Protestants are not really engaged in their faith and therefore didn’t pass it on to their kids,” NORC’s Smith told the Sun-Times. “The mom and dad would say, for example, ‘Yeah, we’re Methodists, but they never went to church.’ They’d baptize their kids and that’s about it.”
David Roozen of the Hartford Institute stated that one possibility [of why Protestantism is declining] is that the “liberal vs. conservative debate has usurped the ‘Protestant vs. Catholic’ debate in importance.” Until the 1960s, deeply shared hostility to Catholicism did a great deal to nurture a common identity among Protestants. With the Catholic bogeyman on the wane, it seems less urgent to marginal Protestants that they stay on the reservation. [They have forgotten their ‘protesting’ roots from the likes of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and the King of England. They, in fact, aren’t protesting anymore, but, rather, are befriending and even courting the once evil Catholics!]
John Corrigan of Florida State University, an astute historian of liberal Protestantism, told Tubbs that as liberal Protestants deemphasized doctrinal positions in the twentieth century, “it was only a matter of time before Protestantism would lose its definition.” The process of de-definition has affected liberal Protestants far more than conservative ones, Corrigan said. “Increasingly, ‘Protestant’ is coming to mean ‘evangelical Protestant.’” [Apparently, he is stating that the more liberal Protestants are dying out and the more conservative ones, which are de-defining themselves, are winning out. Religion is known for it being relatively ‘conservative’ in comparison with the culture around it; thus, if a subsection of religion is about the same in liberalness as its culture, then it looses significance and identity.]
The following is from the article “Mainline Churches: The Real Reason for Decline”, by Benton Johnson, Dean R. Hoge & Donald A. Luidens,
in “First Things” vol. 31 (March 1993): 13-18. My comments are in [brackets].
In the late 1970s, …the principal source of the decline [in Protestantism] was the tendency of many adolescents who had been confirmed in these denominations from the early 1960s on to drop out of church and not return. It was the children of the members themselves-and especially those born after World War II-who were leading the exodus. Some, of course, returned to church when they married and had children, but not enough to replenish the ranks. In the meantime, of course, the average age of the membership was steadily increasing. One can sit today in the balcony of a typical United Methodist church and look over a congregation of graying and balding heads. Unless there is a surge of new recruits, rising death rates will diminish the ranks of the mainline denominations even further in the years ahead. [What is happening in many of the ‘dying’ Protestant churches is the following the new popular trend of ‘blended worship’; this is a ‘strategy’ to keep the older (dying) members content while making a huge swerve in worship style to attract the ‘younger crowd’ (20 – 40 year olds). They will have ‘split services’ where one of the two Sunday morning services is ‘Traditional’ (that is, hymns and familiar ‘old’ songs, no drums or electric guitars, no ‘sign gift’ manifestations, and following a standard liturgy that they have been accustomed to for decades), and the other service is ‘Contemporary’ (that is, no hymns, praise and worship teams, drums and electric guitars, youthful flavoring, ‘sharing from the pulpit’, a seeker sensitive ideology, and somewhat unstructured and flexible)].
Why have so many young people departed? One theory attributes the decline to the shift toward greater individual autonomy and freedom from institutional restraints that got under way in the mid-1960s. This shift, which found its most flamboyant expression in the counterculture, was spearheaded by young white people from middle-class families [that were] affiliated with mainline Protestant churches. [They were more concerned with ‘free thinking’ combined with ‘political correctness’ than following the ancient traditions of their parents.]
Another theory traces the decline to the fact that middle-class people born since World War II are far more likely than their predecessors to have earned higher degrees, presumably absorbing in the process the agnosticism of modern academia. [Also, there is this fascination with the internet, social networks, cell phonology, reality tv shows, and the like, which causes these ‘technos’ to be generally brainwashed in liberal thought, vice the truths from God’s Word!]
But other theories attribute the decline to factors internal to the mainline churches themselves. The first of these, widely propounded in the late 1960s but no longer heard, attributes the exodus of young people to protest against the churches' supposed indifference to the sufferings and struggles of the blacks, the poor, and other oppressed groups. The advocates of this notion argued that if the church did not become "relevant" it would lose its youth. [Some say that the youth are what drives the church; if you are relevant to the youth then you will have a growing, thriving church. I say ‘hogwash’ to that! We should try and meet the spiritual needs of our youth, but the focus needs to be on the men, and their families. Jesus Christ’s focus was on fully grown men…and basically them only…][We still have race as an issue in religion but I don’t think that it is causing people to leave Protestantism…though, one could contemplate that some ‘blacks’ might leave to go to Islam (aka Farakhan).]
Another theory, highly popular among religious conservatives today, makes the opposite argument. It contends that people have left the mainline churches in protest against the support that denominational officials and agencies have given since the mid-1960s to left-wing causes such as abortion rights and Third World revolutionary movements. According to its proponents, those who have deserted the mainline churches have done so in search of a richer spiritual diet. [Could question: are people leaving mainline Protestant churches today because of these groups’ drift towards liberalism? Well, they sure are drifting to the left… but, so is the population… thus, it is hard to tell.]
A third intra-religious theory was advanced by Dean M. Kelley in his controversial book, ‘Why Conservative Churches Are Growing’, published in 1972. Kelly argued that the mainline denominations have lost members because they have become weak as religious bodies. Strong religions provide clear-cut, compelling answers to questions concerning the meaning of life, mobilize their members' energies for shared purposes, require a distinctive code of conduct, and discipline their members for failure to live up to it. Weak religions allow a diversity of theological viewpoints, do not and can not command much of their members' time or effort, promote few if any distinctive rules of conduct, and discipline no one for violating them. In short, strong religions foster a level of commitment that binds members to the group; weak religions have low levels of commitment and are unable to resist influences that lower it even further. [This is an amazingly insightful viewpoint; oh that it might be true! We independent Baptists need to stay true to our convictions and leave intact churches that our firm in their beliefs, uncompromising, standing strong on godly standards, and, at the same time, reaching out with love to a lost and confused world around us!]
STATISTICS ON CONTEMPORARY PROTESTANTISM
33% (2.1 billion) of the world claim to be of the “Christian religion”. Of these 2.1 billion “Christians” worldwide,
57% (18% of total)(1.2 billion) are Catholic;
12% (4% of total)(250 million) are Orthodox;
30% (9% of total)(630 million) are Protestant.
In America, 310 million (55% of the population) claim to be Protestant (2007).
Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001 (Pew Research)
Religion / 1990 Est.Adult Pop. / 2001 Est.
ADULT Pop. / 2004 Est.
Total Pop. / % of U.S. Pop.,
2000 / % Change
1990 - 2000
Christianity / 151,225,000 / 159,030,000 / 224,437,959 / 76.5% / +5%
Nonreligious/Secular / 13,116,000 / 27,539,000 / 38,865,604 / 13.2% / +110%
Judaism / 3,137,000 / 2,831,000 / 3,995,371 / 1.3% / -10%
Islam / 527,000 / 1,104,000 / 1,558,068 / 0.5% / +109%
Buddhism / 401,000 / 1,082,000 / 1,527,019 / 0.5% / +170%
Agnostic / 1,186,000 / 991,000 / 1,398,592 / 0.5% / -16%
Atheist / 902,000 / 1,272,986 / 0.4%
Hinduism / 227,000 / 766,000 / 1,081,051 / 0.4% / +237%
Unitarian Universalist / 502,000 / 629,000 / 887,703 / 0.3% / +25%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid / 307,000 / 433,267 / 0.1%
Spiritualist / 116,000 / 163,710 / 0.05%
Native American Religion / 47,000 / 103,000 / 145,363 / 0.05% / +119%
Baha'i / 28,000 / 84,000 / 118,549 / 0.04% / +200%
New Age / 20,000 / 68,000 / 95,968 / 0.03% / +240%
Sikhism / 13,000 / 57,000 / 80,444 / 0.03% / +338%
Scientology / 45,000 / 55,000 / 77,621 / 0.02% / +22%
Humanist / 29,000 / 49,000 / 69,153 / 0.02% / +69%
Deity (Deist) / 6,000 / 49,000 / 69,153 / 0.02% / +717%
Taoist / 23,000 / 40,000 / 56,452 / 0.02% / +74%
Eckankar / 18,000 / 26,000 / 36,694 / 0.01% / +44%
In February and March 2002 the Pew Research Council conducted a survey of 2,002 adults. Questions about religious preference were included. People who identified their religious preference as Christian were asked about which branch of Christianity they belonged to.
Survey Response / %, March 2002Protestant / 52
Catholic / 24
Mormon
(Latter-day Saints) / 2
Orthodox / *
Non-denominational / 0
Something else (Specify) / 2
Not practicing any religion / 0
Don't know/Refused / 2
TOTAL CHRISTIAN / 82%
Largest denominational families in U.S., 2001 (Pew Research)
Denomination / 1990 Est.Adult Pop. / 2001 Est.
Adult Pop. / 2004 Est.
Total Pop. / Est. % of U.S. Pop.,
2001 / % Change
1990 - 2001
Catholic / 46,004,000 / 50,873,000 / 71,796,719 / 24.5% / +11%
Baptist / 33,964,000 / 33,830,000 / 47,744,049 / 16.3% / 0%
Methodist/Wesleyan / 14,174,000 / 14,150,000 / 19,969,799 / 6.8% / 0%
Lutheran / 9,110,000 / 9,580,000 / 13,520,189 / 4.6% / +5%
Presbyterian / 4,985,000 / 5,596,000 / 7,897,597 / 2.7% / +12%
Pentecostal/Charismatic / 3,191,000 / 4,407,000 / 6,219,569 / 2.1% / +38%
Episcopalian/Anglican / 3,042,000 / 3,451,000 / 4,870,373 / 1.7% / +13%
Judaism / 3,137,000 / 2,831,000 / 3,995,371 / 1.3% / -10%
Latter-day Saints/Mormon / 2,487,000 / 2,697,000 / 3,806,258 / 1.3% / +8%
Churches of Christ / 1,769,000 / 2,593,000 / 3,659,483 / 1.2% / +47%
Congregational/
United Church of Christ / 599,000 / 1,378,000 / 1,944,762 / 0.7%
Jehovah's Witnesses / 1,381,000 / 1,331,000 / 1,878,431 / 0.6% / -4%
Assemblies of God / 660,000 / 1,106,000 / 1,560,890 / 0.5% / +68%
Top Ten Largest Religious Bodies in the United States (Pew Research)
Rank / Religious Body / Year / Membership1 / Catholic Church / 2002 / 66,407,105
2 / Southern Baptist Convention / 2003 / 16,400,000
3 / United Methodist Church / 2002 / 8,251,042
4 / Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / 2004 / 5,599,177
5 / Evangelical Lutheran Church in America / 2003 / 4,984,925
6 / Church of God in Christ / 1991 / * 4,500,000
7 / Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) / 2001 / 3,595,259
8 / National Baptist Convention of America / 1987 / 3,500,000
9 / Assemblies of God / 2002 / 2,687,366
10 / Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod / 2003 / 2,512,714
Top 10 Religious Bodies with Most Churches in the U.S., 1990 (Pew Research)
Religious Body / Churches / Adherents / Adherentsper Church
Southern Baptist Convention / 37,893 / 18,923,085 / 499
United Methodist Church / 37,203 / 11,072,711 / 298
Catholic / 22,400 / 53,308,466 / 2,380
Churches of Christ / 13,092 / 1,680,041 / 128
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) / 11,416 / 3,543,706 / 310
Assemblies of God / 11,144 / 2,160,839 / 194
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America / 10,899 / 5,222,445 / 479
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / 9,207 / 3,540,484 / 385
Jehovah's Witnesses / 8,547 / 1,381,000 / 161
Episcopal Church / 7,299 / 2,429,013 / 333
Religious Bodies which are the Largest Church in One or More U.S. States, 1990 (Pew Research)
Denomination / Number of Statesin which this
Church is the
Largest Denomination / States
Catholic / 36 / Rhode Island (63%), Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, Michigan, California, Maine, Nebraska, Texas, Hawaii, South Dakota, Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Montana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Alaska (8%)
Southern Baptist Convention / 10 / Mississippi (33%), Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia (12%)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / 2 / Utah (71%), Idaho (27%)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America / 1 / North Dakota (28%)
United Methodist Church / 1 / West Virginia (10%)
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