Thread: Gallup: Church membership down sharply past two decades

I had heard that church membership has been declining, but had no idea
how sharply. According to Gallup, there has been a 20 percentage point
drop since 1999.


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Christian and Jewish Americans prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, respectively, Gallup finds the percentage of Americans who report belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque at an all-time low, averaging 50% in 2018.

U.S. church membership was 70% or higher from 1937 through 1976, falling modestly to an average of 68% in the 1970s through the 1990s. The past 20 years have seen an acceleration in the drop-off, with a 20-percentage-point decline since 1999 and more than half of that change occurring since the start of the current decade.

The decline in church membership is consistent with larger societal trends in declining church attendance and an increasing proportion of Americans with no religious preference.

This article compares church membership data for the 1998-2000 and 2016-2018 periods, using combined data from multiple years to facilitate subgroup analysis. On average, 69% of U.S. adults were members of a church in 1998-2000, compared with 52% in 2016-2018.

The decline in church membership mostly reflects the fact that fewer Americans than in the past now have any religious affiliation. However, even those who do identify with a particular religion are less likely to belong to a church or other place of worship than in the past.


https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/...o-decades.aspx

Doesn't surprise me

Beyond the decline is the graying of the church.

The church is so ripe for revival!!


Stats don’t surprise me. Most churches are nothing more than social clubs with programs for everyone.

I resigned the pastorate of the church we had been helping the past 2 years. This church is nondenom, community country bumpkin everybody loves everybody even witches, kind of “church”. My mission is completed and in record time. So many places are dead, though they have a reputation for being alive. This church and so many others are caught up in idolizing the second greatest commandment while neglecting the first, God Himself. The blind leading the blind in happy procession crowding the ditch.

Originally Posted by FireBrand

I resigned the pastorate of the church we had been helping the past 2 years. This church is nondenom, community country bumpkin everybody loves everybody even witches, kind of “church”. My mission is completed and in record time. So many places are dead, though they have a reputation for being alive. This church and so many others are caught up in idolizing the second greatest commandment while neglecting the first, God Himself. The blind leading the blind in happy procession crowding the ditch.

You say that you completed your mission but you don't sound like you're very happy with how things went ?

Originally Posted by Colonel

You say that you completed your mission but you don't sound like you're very happy with how things went ?

I am not happy with them at all. This was a mission in keeping with the calling and giftings the Lord has given. He puts me in broken churches to bring order and intimacy with God. This place just wants to stay stuck. And yes, I am very happy to be finished there.

The "me generation" has been a horrible steward of just about everything, church included.

Originally Posted by FireBrand

I am not happy with them at all. This was a mission in keeping with the calling and giftings the Lord has given. He puts me in broken churches to bring order and intimacy with God. This place just wants to stay stuck. And yes, I am very happy to be finished there.

Why did they reject your messages as it seemed people were responding to what you were teaching about the Holy Spirit
Was there some hard cases that influenced the others to not accept