Church Membership in U.S. Plummets during Past 20 Years

By Leanne Shinkle
WSAZ TV
April 18, 2019

https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/508744662.html

According to a new poll, the number of people attending church is on a serious decline across the United States.

The percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 percentage points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50 percent last year. That's according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday.

WSAZ spoke to a pastor in Charleston, Jesse Waggoner, who has seen several churches close their doors over the past 30 years.

Waggoner is the senior pastor at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. He started there seven years ago. At that time, the church had about 100 members.

Now in 2019, that number has gone up to 350.

Waggoner says there is no secret formula to building up a church and keeping members, but there are a few key things that help.

He says it is important to preach the same consistent message, but change the way you present the message as times change.

"We have two different styles of worship," Waggoner said. "We have an early service that is contemporary and informal, we have a traditional service that is more of what many people my age grew up with. And so whatever your choice of style, you're going to get the same message just delivered in a slightly different package."

Another thing he says is important: welcoming new people the minute they walk in the door.

"Thank you for your bravery. Because it takes a certain amount of courage to come into a place that you don't know with people you are not familiar with doing things that you don't really understand," he said.

And lastly, leaving the judgment up to God.

"The most unimportant measurement is how much runway is behind you. Whether you are landing or taking off, it all matters how much you have in front of you. What matters is what is in front of us. God is in the business of forgiving the past if we will come to him," Waggoner said.

Waggoner says they also have plans to continue growing the church.

According to the study, the biggest drops were recorded among Democrats and Hispanics among major demographic groups.

ORIGINAL STORY 4/18/19

NEW YORK (AP) -- The percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 percentage points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50% last year. That's according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday.

The biggest drops were recorded among Democrats and Hispanics among major demographic groups.

Gallup said church membership was 70% in 1999. The figure has fallen steadily since then, while the percentage of U.S. adults with no religious affiliation jumped from 8% to 19%.

Among Americans identifying with a particular religion, there was a sharp drop in church membership among Catholics -- dropping from 76% to 63% over the past two decades as the church was buffeted by clergy sex-abuse scandals. Membership among Protestants dropped from 73% to 67% percent.

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