[Magdalen] Decline of U.S Christianity

[Lynn Ronkainen]

Well... People who go to TEC churches without being officially recognized count themselves even when/if they're not counted
Lynn, boarding plane home from Denver with many stories that will have to wait till tomorrow 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 13, 2015, at 6:47 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:

From: Zephonites--- via Magdalen

> How about the Pentecostals? Does this also affect them negatively or are
> they growing?

It's pretty much across-the-board as I read the report. But keep in mind that "Pentacostals" are usually beyond the understanding of most Mainline and RC people -- they work entirely differently. They'll start a church in a storefront of apartment, and if successful they grow enough to build a "real" church -- at which point everyone else notices them as conclude, "Gee those Pentecostals are really growing." But far more of these starts simply fail, and the person trying to lead/establish a church move on elsewhere. As there's no infrastructure for quite awhile after they're established, there's nothing to hold them in place.

> I ask this because I believe they are a significant force in South America
> and I was wondering how they are faring in the USA.

The study doesn’t cover them.

> How are the figures for TEC?

TEC is pretty much the same as everyone else, again as I read the PEW report.

Of course there are individual TEC parishes that have grown by leaps and bounds, and others that have fallen far more than the PEW averages. But those are local situations and depend on many factors, not the least of which are larger demographic/regional growth or loss) changes.

It should also be noted that actual participation does not seem to be measured in the report. Thus explains the fact that TEC has fewer than 2-million members, but take a poll and we find 6-million claim to be Episcopalians.

Though the PEW report indicates 70-million Americans claim to be Christians, other surveys indicate actual participation in about 30% or the claimed numbers overall. The last I heard, Roman Catholic ASA is about 21% of those they claim as members.

Cheers,
Jim