I’ve been hearing about Mainline decline for my entire life.
As a lifelong participant in multiple denominations within this tradition, I don’t remember a time when I was not a part of conversation about what’s been happening and why. And, as someone who has served 9 congregations affiliated with denominations in the Mainline Protestant world, I know the practical challenges this trend presents to the local church and to denominations.
Decline – The Last 30 Years
I was confirmed in the Presbyterian Church in the 1980s, and, then, in the same congregation, preached my first sermon in the early 1990s. For me, looking at Mainline decline from 1990 to 2020 is an exercise in understanding what has changed from my teen years onward.
Additionally, by looking at the 30 year period from 1990 to 2020, one is confronted with the continuity (or, in some cases, acceleration) of decline during this period. And, one is not able to hide behind or focus on decline that occurred in the three decades leading up to this time period.
Ryan P. Burge is an American Baptist pastor, co-founder and frequent contributor to Religion in Public, and assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. And, he’s the author of 20 Myths About Religion and Politics in America (Fortress Press, 2022), which received the rare 5+ rating here on So What Faith.
Last week Burge tweeted the following graphic illustrating decline in membership among six of the seven Mainline Protestant traditions (the Disciples of Christ were omitted because rather than keeping member data on publicly accessible webpages, they secure it behind a paywall).
So What?
Reordering the list to show denominations from least to greatest decline yields
- American Baptist Churches USA – 23%
- United Methodist Church – 31%
- The Episcopal Church – 36%
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – 41%
- United Church of Christ – 52%
- Presbyterian Church (USA) – 58%
When I count how many years I’ve spent in each of the seven Mainline Protestant traditions, two rise to the top of my list
- Presbyterian Church (USA) – 25 years (10 years between 1990 and 2020)
- United Church of Christ – 12 years (10 years between 1990 and 2020)
Or, put differently, I’ve spent most of my life (and most of the last 30 years) in the two fastest declining Mainline Protestant denominations.
I’d welcoming hearing of your experiences with the seven denominations that comprise the American Mainline Protestant tradition, especially your experiences between 1990 and 2020:
- Which denomination or denominations are part of your story? in what ways? for how many years?
- How has the ongoing decline – especially the decline between 1990 and 2020 – impacted specific congregations to which you’ve belonged or led?
- How has your view of denomination shifted between 1990 and 2020? Do you see this shift as positive or negative? Explain.
Statistical Note
The decline presented in this post is real, but is also worse than it first appears. The statistics presented simply demonstrate the change in membership in each denomination. During the last 30 years, the American population has grown considerably.
Ryan Burge explains this in reality in two additional tweets.
