Decline is the one word summary we all know summarizes the state of American Christianity, especially when focusing on membership numbers. It is true that the decline came earlier for Mainline Protestants, but also true they've been joined by Evangelicals. According to sociologist Ryan Burge, only one major Protestant denomination, "has seen consistently positive year over year growth over the last four decades." That denomination is the Assemblies of God. AoG on SWF The Assemblies of Read More …
Pentecostal
The Decade of Christian Decline (#1268)
2000-2010 can best be labeled as a decade of decline for American Christianity. David Roozen's recent piece in the Christian Century provides an important look at just how rapid the decline was for conservative/evangelical Protestants, mainline/oldline Protestants, and Roman Catholics. As a percentage, the declines were oldline/mainline: 13% Catholic: 5% conservative/evangelical: 1% So What? After decades of progressive Christianity, it should not be surprising to see Read More …