Mainline Protestant decline is no longer debated. It is measured, tracked, and widely acknowledged. As a lifelong member of this tradition and an ordained minister within it, I have spent years paying close attention to what is happening and asking why. Nearly two years ago, I gathered much of that work into a single place: My Religion is Dying: A Deep Dive into Mainline Decline. That post serves as a hub, linking to more than 50 additional posts that explore both broad Mainline trends and Read More …
Trends
25 Years of Decline: Importance of Religious Faith in America (#2305)
Barna’s recent analysis of it's own survey data from the past 25 years reveals notable shifts in Christian commitment among American adults. Across four key indicators, each measure declined over this period. The most pronounced decline, however, was in the percentage of adults who report that religious faith is very important in their lives. Importance of Faith From 2000 to 2025 the percentage of Christians who reported that faith was central to their lives dropped by 20 percentage Read More …
Hope in Action: How the East Dallas Community Provides Food to Neighbors in Need (#2301)
For 38 years, White Rock Center of Hope has provided food to the East Dallas community. Getting Started For the first 36 of those years, Hope served individuals and families facing food insecurity through a traditional food pantry model. Neighbors could receive food once each month. While the type and quantity of food varied over time, the contents of each order were selected by volunteers, with little or no input from the recipients themselves. Reimagining Hope's Food Pantry Over Read More …
Mainline Preaching on Social Issues (#2298)
Mainline protestant clergy often preach messages on contemporary social issues. Leah D. Schade, with Amanda Wilson Harper and Wayne Thompson have been studying this topic for the last eight years. Their work to date includes engaging 7,000 preachers through four survey waves. Top Social Issues in 2025 In their most recent survey (2025), nearly 6 in 10 respondents (59%) indicated that they include social issues in their preaching, teaching, or other ministry efforts at least 10 times a Read More …
When Worship Was Folded in Half (or in Thirds) (#2295)
Growing up, I remember always receiving a bulletin every time I entered the sanctuary for worship. The tradition of bulletin usage for all services continue when I was a seminarian and during the early years of my experience in parish ministry. In 2015, I stepped away from full-time parish ministry. As I began visiting churches, I started collecting their bulletins. Those shown below were mostly collected in late 2015 to just before the COVID-19 pandemic. To create the visual I first Read More …
Another Church Closes: Saying Goodbye to Covenant Presbyterian After 70 Years (#2293)
When I visited Covenant Presbyterian Church two months ago (see My Visit to Covenant Presbyterian Church) it was clear the congregation had been in decline for some time. There was, however, no mention during the service, on the church's website, or in the printed marketing materials in the sanctuary to suggest it would soon be no more. Earlier this month I was shocked to learn this 70 year old Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation would hold its final worship service on Sunday, January 25, Read More …
100 Posts and Counting: Another Year of So What Faith (#2286)
When I launched So What Faith back in 2009, I was excited to be able to expand the reach of my writing beyond my congregation. I had no aspirations of blogging here for many years to come. Now, 17 years into this venture, I pause to reflect on the most recent year. Most Prolific Amazingly, I authored more posts here on So What Faith this year than any year in the last decade. This is my 100th post of 2025, which is 13 more than the prior high set last year and 25 more than the next Read More …
Religious Affiliation in America: If the U.S. Were Just 100 People (#2283)
It is widely known and frequently reported that the United States of America is becoming less and less Christian when considering the number of Americans who self-identify as Christian. For example, earlier this month I posted Christianity Declines by 25% in America, exploring the decline over the last 50 years. Current Breakdown Just how many Americans are affiliated with each religion? To answer this question, Becka A. Alper and Aleksandra Sandstrom frame the answer in a way that Read More …
Christianity Declines by 25% in America (#2280)
Over roughly the course of my lifetime the percentage of Americans identifying as Christian has declined by 25%. According to data from the General Social Survey, So What? All conversations about decline in particular traditions or denominations or more granular discussion about particular churches or congregations should begin with a general awareness of this cultural shift. To learn more about how declining membership in Mainline Protestant denominations as well as in Read More …
Decline Upon Decline: Metropolitan Community Churches (#2279)
The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is the largest Protestant denomination birthed in and primarily serving the LGBTQ+ community. G. Samantha Rosenthal's recent Sojourner's article has been shared across many of my social media feeds often with significant commentary. Her piece notes the denomination's historical development since its founding in 1968, including My search for longer term traditional metrics about denominational decline led me to the Association Read More …