Protestant Churches Have Become a Joke
Hardy @ Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:01 am
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Orthodox Judaism, fundamental Islam, fundamental Christianity, fundamental Catholicism, Hutteritism, traditional Hinduism, and etc. are all seeing increased numbers of adherents while their liberal counterparts are in decline after a surge in adherents in the 1960's and 1970's.
It is just the way it is.
It is just the way it is.
Boudreau, John (Knight Ridder). "Unitarian Universalist Association Growing Steadily, 4 percent annual rise exceeds that of many mainline churches " in Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Oct. 1999
I found a very good, neutral site on the subject: http://www.adherents.com
Looking over the numbers, I don't particularly see what you're talking about.
The proportion of Catholics in Canada, for example, between 1981 and 1991 dropped from 47.3% to 45.7%, diminishing to about 45% in 1998. This is a slight increase in absolute numbers, but below the rate of growth of the population overall. Figures in the US were a bit worse (28% in 1980s, 22-23% in 1999), as they were when compared to the Methodist Church in the US (13M members in the early 1980s, 13.5 in the late '90s). Numbers for the Assembly Of God church in the US were slightly more upbeat, going from 0.89% of the population in 1986 to 0.93% in 1998, but the Unitarian Universalists matched that growth rate, and the percentage who identified as "Wiccan" seem to have easily outpaced both. The US Presbytarians and United Church of Canada both declined during the '80s and into the early '90s, but have been essentially flat since then. And, meanwhile, the Mennonite population in the US has dropped from 235,000 in 1990 to 158,000 in 2005. I can attest to this, as my relatives who attend Mennonite colleges have been watching program and faculty cuts in response to diminishing enrollment. It's a big problem.
Anyway, I'm just contesting the idea of a worldwide, cross-religion movement towards conservative forms of religion. I'm not seeing it in the census figures. Different churches are going up or down, but there is no consistent trend.
grainfedprairieboy @ Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:11 am
Hardy Hardy:
The proportion of Catholics in Canada, for example, between 1981 and 1991 dropped from 47.3% to 45.7%, diminishing to about 45% in 1998. This is a slight increase in absolute numbers, but below the rate of growth of the population overall.
Though I haven't seen the figures and I am not speaking from a position of learned authority, my initial reaction is that the figures reflect several decades of significant immigration from non Christian countries.