Mainline Protestantism has been in decline my entire lifetime. Since it is the tradition I know best and the one that has shaped and continues to shape my religious identity, I strive to understand these changes.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) was created by a merger of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Presbyterian Church in the United States in June 1983. In one of my more popular blog posts – Presbyterian Decline: PCUSA -The First 35 Years – I explored the denomination’s membership decline during its first 35 years from 3,131,228 to 1,352,678 (56.8%).
The Last 30 Years
In 1990, I was confirmed at First Presbyterian Church (Arlington, Texas) – a PC(USA) congregation. In the 30 years following that occasion the denomination accelerated its membership decline while the country experienced considerable population growth.
Recently, I experimented with some of the many data visualization tools provided by the U.S. Religion Census. Using one of those tools – Percent of the Population Claimed by Specific Religious Groups – and filtering to just see PC(USA), I captured the decline in the two images below.
In 1990, a considerable portion of the country was colored light purple or purple showing that at least 1% of the population in that area was affiliated with the PC(USA) (5% or more for the areas in purple).
By 2020, the number of areas and total square mileage of areas rendered as light purple or purple had declined dramatically. Not only did far more areas of the country have less than 1% of their population affiliated with the PC(USA), a majority of the country now was more than 99% not affiliated with the PC(USA).
So What?
It is important to note that the decline over the last 30 years has not been limited to any one region of the country. While some areas have been impacted more than others, it does not appear any area has experienced a significant growth in PC(USA) membership relative to its population.
- In North Texas and more generally throughout Texas, the percentage of areas shaded light purple or purple have declined dramatically between 1990 and 2020. Is that true of your state or region?
- If you are part of a PC(USA) congregation, how has this overall change in the last 30 years impacted your congregation?
For more information on the topic of PC(USA) membership decline check out
- PC(USA) Membership Declines by 62% (April 2022)
- Mainline Decline: 1990 to 2020 (May 2022)
- PC(USA) Membership Declines by “Only 50K” (June 2020)
Personal Note: I have spent more of my life in the PC(USA) than in all other denominations combined.