Survey: Protestant majority disappearing in the USA

[dosdog]

Survey: Protestant majority disappearing in the USA
Between 1993 and 2002, the share of Americans who said they were Protestant dropped from 63% to 52%, after years of remaining generally stable, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-07-20-survey-protestants_x.htm

Protestant churches struggle to fill pulpits
Protestant leaders in the past five years have been anxiously discussing shortages in their own ranks.

Reasons for shortages
Protestant church officials cite many factors for why people choose not to go into ministry, including more interest in high-paying professions, the cost of attending seminary, a failure by churches to recruit and a growing secular mindset in society.

Seminaries that once attracted “the best and the brightest” now “take almost all who apply, whether or not they show high promise for ministry,” wrote Barbara Wheeler, president of Auburn Theological Seminary, which surveyed seminaries in 1998.

In many seminaries, the admission requirement became that “you had to have in range of a 98.6 temperature,” said R. Robert Cueni, president of Lexington Theological Seminary.
usatoday.com/news/religion/2004-04-21-clergy-gns_x.htm

The 1,200 or so megachurches (defined as churches where 2,000 or more people attend weekend worship) are only one-half of 1% of all U.S. churches and account for only 5% of all weekend worship attenders," Thumma says.
“And my sense, after years of examining megachurches, is that 80% of the people who join, including those who go through new member classes, are gone within the first two years.”
usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-04-22-church-switch_N.htm

 

[Righteousone]

Maybe Kalt would benefit from this post.

 

[James1982]

Unsurprising.

Some denominations, frankly, have overplayed their hand and people start to see them for what they are. They get too worldly, or get too caught up in whatever the issue of the day is, or get too “feel good” so that you get filled with the spirit at church, and then drain like a sieve the minute you leave.

IMO, even Lutheranism is not sinless in that regard, despite being “the original protestants”. ELCA Lutheranism having wandered the farthest off the reservation of the lot. MI Synod Lutherans are trending that way, but are more middle of the road. WI Synod Lutherans cling to conservatism, but they are apparently dropping in numbers and not that big anyway (somewhere in the arena of 300k members if I recall). The WI Synod Lutherans that do the best to me in terms of growing and retaining members always seem to be the “modern” ones- so who knows where they will be in 20 years, after some of the hard-line conservative congregations continue to decline. First it’s the culture that changes, then the doctrines, it seems.

Though, I will say that Catholics have their issues as well.

 

[Righteousone]

Unsurprising.

Some denominations, frankly, have overplayed their hand and people start to see them for what they are. They get too worldly, or get too caught up in whatever the issue of the day is, or get too “feel good” so that you get filled with the spirit at church, and then drain like a sieve the minute you leave.

IMO, even Lutheranism is not sinless in that regard, despite being “the original protestants”. ELCA Lutheranism having wandered the farthest off the reservation of the lot. MI Synod Lutherans are trending that way, but are more middle of the road. WI Synod Lutherans cling to conservatism, but they are apparently dropping in numbers and not that big anyway (somewhere in the arena of 300k members if I recall). The WI Synod Lutherans that do the best to me in terms of growing and retaining members always seem to be the “modern” ones- so who knows where they will be in 20 years, after some of the hard-line conservative congregations continue to decline. First it’s the culture that changes, then the doctrines, it seems.

Though, I will say that Catholics have their issues as well.

Yeah, but I’d rather have an issue in the Catholic church, than in another.

 

[Brian_Millar]

I was hoping the topic was in regards to them joining the Catholic church, rather then leaving any form of worship all together. This is not good, it’s showing there is more damage being done by many of these churches then what the ones that are good are making up for. How can we as Catholics show the protestant that is now questioning his faith to join us? If we could, we would be able to bring in these lost sheep.

 

[fbl9]

I was hoping the topic was in regards to them joining the Catholic church, rather then leaving any form of worship all together. This is not good, it’s showing there is more damage being done by many of these churches then what the ones that are good are making up for. How can we as Catholics show the protestant that is now questioning his faith to join us? If we could, we would be able to bring in these lost sheep.

perhaps it is the mixing of OSAS and only the elect are saved doctrines that are doing this.if i beleived in these doctrines then fell into sin then i could easily say well God doesn’t want me because i was able sin He didn’t protect me.plus when you are taught to be humble yet your “pastor” rides around in only the best way the message doesn’t seem true. also when one is taught pure hate from the pulpit it is kinda hard to see the love anymore,ie anti-catholic types.too kinda quote Ozzy Osbourne “too many churches and only one God” from one of his tunes.

 

[adrift]

I have no faith in polls. They word them to get a particular answer. One poll in which I recently participated asked “which do you trust more environmentalist or oil men.” When I said neither, they politely hung up.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I see this as very sad. Protestants have a lot of the grace of God to offer society.

 

[paarsurrey]

dosdog; 3558884:

Protestant church officials cite many factors for why people choose not to go into ministry, including more interest in high-paying professions, the cost of attending seminary, a failure by churches to recruit and a growing secular mindset in society.

Hi

In my opinion, the Protestants may further lose the ground to the AtheistsAgnostics, sometimes also called secular persons. The Protestants house is already much divided (into 30000 plus denominations) and quite in disarray. Jesus was a simple straithforward person who had very rational and reason oriented teaching; till Paul imported mythical creeds from pagans and made Protestantism a complicated, mythical and a faith full with mysteries, hardly appealing to reason. The Protestants must mend their ways with Jesus to gain ground from the secular AtheistsAgnostics.

I love Jesus and Muhammad.

Thanks

 

[paarsurrey]

Maybe Kalt would benefit from this post.

Who is Kalt btw?

Thanks

 

[Tonks40]

Looks like they kinda give up after switching and/or staying with a faith for many years. This is one reason why I always try and encourage my non-Catholic friends who at first attended their churches not to give up in going to church and to keep their faith strong.

(Of course, deep inside, I do hope and pray that they consider the Catholic Church - but that is of the Holy Spirits doing. All I can do is pray).

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Hi

In my opinion, the Protestants may further lose the ground to the AtheistsAgnostics, sometimes also called secular persons. The Protestants house is already much divided (into 30000 plus denominations) and quite in disarray. Jesus was a simple straithforward person who had very rational and reason oriented teaching; till Paul imported mythical creeds from pagans and made Protestantism a complicated, mythical and a faith full with mysteries, hardly appealing to reason. The Protestants must mend their ways with Jesus to gain ground from the secular AtheistsAgnostics.

I love Jesus and Muhammad.

Thanks

Peter taught that Paul’s writings were scripture.
2 Peter 3:14-17:

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

Hence we know that the disciples, those who knew Jesus best, believed that Paul’s teachings were entirely in line with God’s will and with Jesus’ beliefs. Thus, the most reliable available testimony about Jesus affirms that Paul’s teachings had no divergence from what Jesus taught and believed.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Looks like they kinda give up after switching and/or staying with a faith for many years.

Be careful not to generalize.

 

[paarsurrey]

Unsurprising.
Some denominations, frankly, have overplayed their hand and people start to see them for what they are. They get too worldly, or get too caught up in whatever the issue of the day is, or get too “feel good” so that you get filled with the spirit at church, and then drain like a sieve the minute you leave.

Hi

I think the Protestants and Catholics should unitedly face the challange of the secular mindset of the AtheistsAgnostics; otherwise they will futher lose the ground.

Thanks

 

[Brian_Millar]

Hi

I think the Protestants and Catholics should unitedly face the challange of the secular mindset of the AtheistsAgnostics; otherwise they will futher lose the ground.

Thanks

I agree with you on this matter, both sides have too much in common not to unite on this matter.