Protestantism in the United States

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pilgrims Going to Church, an 1867 portrait by George Henry Boughton

Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population (or 141 million people) in 2019.[1] Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population (or 157 million people) is Protestant.[2] Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world. Baptists comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only Maryland having a sizable Catholic population due to Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.[3]

The country's history is often traced back to the

Great Awakenings
throughout the country.

Protestants are divided into many different denominations, which are generally classified as either

African-American denominations are also classified as Black churches
. Protestantism had undergone an unprecedented development on American soil, diversifying into multiple branches, denominations, several interdenominational and related movements, as well as many other developments. All have since expanded on a worldwide scale mainly through missionary work.

Statistics

The map above shows plurality religious denomination by state as of 2014. In 43 out of the 50 states, Protestantism took a plurality of the state's population.
Protestantism
  70 - 79%
  60 - 69%
  50 - 59%
  40 - 49%
  30 - 39%
Catholicism
  40 - 49%
  30 - 39%
Mormonism
  50 - 59%
Unaffiliated
  30 - 39%

Protestants in the United States by tradition according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[6]

  
Evangelical Protestant (55%)
  Mainline Protestant (32%)
  Black church
(14%)

Protestants in the United States by branch according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[6]

  
Quaker
(1%)

Protestants in the United States by denomination according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[6]

  Other denomination (55%)
  
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (2%)
  Presbyterian Church (USA) (2%)
  Episcopal Church (2%)
  Church of God in Christ (1%)
  Seventh-day Adventist Church (1%)
  United Church of Christ (1%)
  Presbyterian Church in America (1%)
  Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
(1%)
By tradition: Protestantism in the United States according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[6]
Affiliation % of U.S. population
Protestant
 46.5 46.5
 
Evangelical Protestant
 25.4 25.4
 
Mainline Protestant 14.7 14.7
 
Black church 6.5 6.5
 
By identification as
evangelical: Protestantism in the United States according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[7]
Affiliation % of U.S. population
Protestant
 46.5 46.5
 
evangelical
 30 30
 
Not
evangelical
 16.5 16.5
 
By branch: Protestantism in the United States according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[7]
Affiliation % of U.S. population
Protestant
 46.5 46.5
 
Baptist
 15.4 15.4
 
Nondenominational Protestant
 6.2 6.2
 
Methodist
 4.6 4.6
 
Pentecostal
 4.6 4.6
 
Unspecified Protestant 3.8 3.8
 
Lutheran 3.5 3.5
 
Presbyterian 2.2 2.2
 
Restorationist
 1.9 1.9
 
Anglican
 1.3 1.3
 
Holiness 0.8 0.8
 
Congregationalist
 0.6 0.6
 
Adventist
 0.6 0.6
 
Anabaptist
 0.3 0.3
 
Other
fundamentalist
 0.3 0.3
 
other
Reformed
 0.3 0.3
 
Pietist
 0.3 0.3
 
Quaker
 0.3 0.3
 
By denomination: Protestantism in the United States according to the Pew Research Center (2014)[7]
Affiliation % of U.S. population
Protestant
 46.5 46.5
 
Other denomination 25.2 25.2
 
Southern Baptist Convention 5.3 5.3
 
United Methodist Church 3.6 3.6
 
American Baptist Churches USA 1.5 1.5
 
Churches of Christ 1.5 1.5
 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1.4 1.4
 
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. 1.4 1.4
 
Assemblies of God USA 1.4 1.4
 
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
 1.1 1.1
 
Presbyterian Church (USA) 0.9 0.9
 
Episcopal Church 0.9 0.9
 
Church of God in Christ 0.6 0.6
 
Seventh-day Adventist Church 0.5 0.5
 
United Church of Christ 0.4 0.4
 
Presbyterian Church in America 0.4 0.4
 
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) 0.4 0.4
 
Chart showing dynamics of three main religious categories in the United States between 1972 and 2010.[citation needed]

Branches

Calvinism

Baptists

Part of a series on
Baptists
Baptism at Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain, 2015.
Background
Doctrine
Key figures
Organizations
icon Christianity portal
Main article: Baptists in the United States

Baptists are the largest Protestant grouping in the United States accounting for one-third of all American Protestants.

Prior to 1845, most white Baptist churches were loosely affiliated as the Triennial Convention. In that year, most southern congregations left to form a new Southern Baptist Convention, which is now the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with 13.2 million members.[8] The remaining members organized what is now American Baptist Churches USA and includes 1.1 million members and 5057 congregations.[9]

African American Baptists, excluded from full participation in white Baptist organizations, have formed several denominations, of which the largest are the National Baptist Convention, with 7.5 million members and the more liberal Progressive National Baptist Convention
(PNBC), with over 2000 churches and a total membership of 2.5 million.

There are numerous smaller bodies, some recently organized and others with long histories, such as the Calvinistic Baptists,

Seventh Day Baptists.[10]

First Baptist Church in Newport). According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."[12]

Largest Baptist denominations

The

Handbook of Denominations in the United States
identifies and describes 31 Baptist groups or conventions in the United States.[13] A partial list follows. (Unless otherwise noted, statistics are taken from the Baptist World Alliance website, and reflect 2006 data.)[14]

Presbyterian

See also:
American Presbyterianism and Congregationalism in the United States

Lutheranism

Part of a series on
Lutheranism
Background
Doctrine and theology
Bible
Creeds
Book of Concord
  • Formula of Concord
    		•
    Distinctive theological concepts
    Other relevant topics
    Organization
    Movements
    Key figures
    Missionaries

    Bible Translators

    Theologians

    See also:
    Lutheran church bodies in North America
    Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland, built in 1752

    With 2.9 million members, the

    Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) with 1.8 million members,[19] and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) with 344,000 members.[20]
    The differences between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) largely arise from historical and cultural factors, although some are theological in character. The ELCA tends to be more involved in ecumenical endeavors than the LCMS.

    When Lutherans came to

    seminaries
    and church colleges were established in many places to serve the Lutheran churches in North America and, initially, especially to prepare pastors to serve congregations.

    The LCMS sprang from German immigrants fleeing the forced

    Prussian Union
    , who settled in the St. Louis area and has a continuous history since it was established in 1847. The LCMS is the second largest Lutheran church body in North America (1.8 million). It identifies itself as a church with an emphasis on biblical doctrine and faithful adherence to the historic Lutheran confessions. Insistence by some LCMS leaders on a strict reading of all passages of Scripture led to a rupture in the mid-1970s, which in turn resulted in the formation of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, now part of the ELCA.

    Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with other

    Two Kingdoms
    . It does, however, encourage its members to be politically active, and LCMS members are often involved in political organizations such as Lutherans for Life.

    The earliest predecessor synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was constituted on August 25, 1748, in Philadelphia. It was known as the

    Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States. The ELCA is the product of a series of mergers and represents the largest (3.0 million members) Lutheran church body in North America. The ELCA was created in 1988 by the uniting of the 2.85-million-member Lutheran Church in America, 2.25-million-member American Lutheran Church, and the 100,000-member Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
    . The ALC and LCA had come into being in the early 1960s, as a result of mergers of eight smaller ethnically based Lutheran bodies.

    The ELCA, through predecessor church bodies, is a founding member of the

    the Book of Concord. The WELS, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), are part of the international Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
    (CELC).

    Pentecostalism

    Part of a series on
    Pentecostalism
    Pentecostal flame
    Background
    Early history
    Theology
    Bible
    God
    Systematic theology
    Conversion
    Private doctrines
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    Key people
    Major denominations
    Related movements

    Christianity • Protestantism

    icon Christianity portal
    Further information: Pentecostalism and History of Protestantism in the United States § Pentecostalism

    Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Protestantism, that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the

    early church
    .

    Pentecostalism is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no single central organization or church that directs the movement. Most Pentecostals consider themselves to be part of broader Christian groups; for example, most Pentecostals identify as Protestants. Many embrace the term

    Charismatic Movement
    , as it significantly influenced that movement; some Pentecostals use the two terms interchangeably.

    Within classical Pentecostalism there are three major orientations:

    Pentecostal World Conference
    .

    • Assemblies of God
      , Evangelical

    Mainline vs. evangelical

    In typical usage, the term mainline is contrasted with evangelical. The distinction between the two can be due as much to sociopolitical attitude as theological doctrine, although doctrinal differences may exist as well. Theologically conservative critics accuse the mainline churches of "the substitution of leftist social action for Christian evangelizing, and the disappearance of biblical theology", and maintain that "All the Mainline churches have become essentially the same church: their histories, their theologies, and even much of their practice lost to a uniform vision of social progress."[24]

    The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) counts 26,344,933 members of mainline churches versus 39,930,869 members of evangelical Protestant churches.[25] There is evidence that there has been a shift in membership from mainline denominations to evangelical churches.[26]

    As shown in the table below, some denominations with similar names and historical ties to evangelical groups are considered mainline. For example, while the

    Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and the Presbyterian Church in America
    are grouped as evangelical.

    Mainline vs. Evangelical (2001)
    Family: Total:[27] US%[27] Examples: Type:
    Baptist
    		 38,662,005 25.3% Southern Baptist Convention Evangelical
    American Baptist Churches U.S.A.
    		 Mainline
    Pentecostal
    		 13,673,149 8.9%
    Assemblies of God
    		 Evangelical
    Lutheran 7,860,683 5.1% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mainline
    Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
    		 Evangelical

    (Confessing Movement and Confessional Church)

    Reformed
    		 5,844,855 3.8%
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
    		 Mainline
    Presbyterian Church in America Evangelical
    Methodist
    		 5,473,129 3.6% United Methodist Church Mainline
    Free Methodist Church Evangelical
    Anglican
    		 2,323,100 1.5% Episcopal Church Mainline
    Anglican Church in North America Evangelical

    (Evangelical, Confessing Movement and Confessional Church)

    Adventist 2,203,600 1.4% Seventh-day Adventist Church Evangelical
    Holiness 2,135,602 1.4% Church of the Nazarene Evangelical
    Other Groups 1,366,678 0.9% Church of the Brethren Evangelical
    Friends General Conference Mainline

    Mainline Protestantism

    Main article: Mainline Protestant

    The mainline or mainline Protestant Christian denominations are those Protestant denominations that were brought to the United States by its historic immigrant groups; for this reason they are sometimes referred to as heritage churches.[24] The largest are the Episcopal (English), Presbyterian (Scottish), Methodist (English and Welsh), and Lutheran (German and Scandinavian) churches.

    Many mainline denominations teach that the Bible is God's word in function, but tend to be open to new ideas and societal changes.[28] They have been increasingly open to the ordination of women. Mainline churches tend to belong to organizations such as the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches.

    Mainline Protestant denominations, such as the

    post-graduate degrees per capita of any other Christian denomination in the United States,[32] as well as the most high-income earners.[33]

    Mainline Protestantism families.[34]

    List of denominations considered mainline

    The seven largest U.S. mainline denominations were called by William Hutchison the "Seven Sisters of American Protestantism."[38][39] in reference to the major liberal groups during the period between 1900 and 1960.

    The Association of Religion Data Archives also considers these denominations to be mainline:[25]

    The

    African American denominations. Those churches most likely to be identified as mainline include these Methodist
    groups:

    Evangelicalism

    Main article: Evangelicalism in the United States

    Evangelicalism is a Protestant

    David Bebbington has termed these four distinctive aspects "conversionism", "activism", "biblicism", and "crucicentrism", saying, "Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."[49]

    Note that the term "evangelical" does not equal

    emergent church
    " movement).

    The contemporary North American usage of the term is influenced by the evangelical/fundamentalist controversy of the early 20th century. Evangelicalism may sometimes be perceived as the middle ground between the theological liberalism of the mainline denominations and the cultural separatism of fundamentalist Christianity.[51] Evangelicalism has therefore been described as "the third of the leading strands in American Protestantism, straddl[ing] the divide between fundamentalists and liberals."[52] While the North American perception is important to understand the usage of the term, it by no means dominates a wider global view, where the fundamentalist debate was not so influential.

    Evangelicals held the view that the modernist and liberal parties in the Protestant churches had surrendered their heritage as evangelicals by accommodating the views and values of the

    world. At the same time, they criticized their fellow fundamentalists for their separatism and their rejection of the Social Gospel
    as it had been developed by Protestant activists of the previous century. They charged the modernists with having lost their identity as evangelicals and the fundamentalists with having lost the Christ-like heart of evangelicalism. They argued that the Gospel needed to be reasserted to distinguish it from the innovations of the liberals and the fundamentalists.

    They sought allies in denominational churches and liturgical traditions, disregarding views of eschatology and other "non-essentials," and joined also with Trinitarian varieties of Pentecostalism. They believed that in doing so, they were simply re-acquainting Protestantism with its own recent tradition. The movement's aim at the outset was to reclaim the evangelical heritage in their respective churches, not to begin something new; and for this reason, following their separation from fundamentalists, the same movement has been better known merely as "Evangelicalism." By the end of the 20th century, this was the most influential development in American Protestant Christianity.[citation needed]

    The National Association of Evangelicals is a U.S. agency which coordinates cooperative ministry for its member denominations.

    Other themes

    Protestantism and American education

    According of Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States by

    Protestant background.[53] Overall, 84.2% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded to Americans in Chemistry,[53] 60% in Medicine,[53] and 58.6% in Physics[53]
    between 1901 and 1972 were won by Protestants.

    Some of the first colleges and

    universities in America, including Harvard,[54] Yale,[55] Princeton,[56] Columbia,[57] Brown, Dartmouth, Rutgers,[58] Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Amherst, all were founded by Protestants, as were later Carleton, Duke,[59] Oberlin, Beloit, Pomona, Rollins and Colorado College
    .

    See also

    References

    1. ^ "In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace". Pew Research Center. October 17, 2019.
    2. ^ Gallup, Gallup. "2017 Update on Americans and Religion". Gallup.
    3. ^ "The Lords Baltimore, Who Established Religious Freedom". ThoughtCo. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
    4. ^ The Calvinist Roots of the Modern Era by Aliki Barnstone, Michael Tomasek Manson, Carol J. Singley
    5. ^ The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes
    6. ^ a b c d "America's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. May 12, 2015.
    7. ^ a b c "America's Changing Religious Landscape, Appendix B: Classification of Protestant Denominations". Pew Research Center. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
    8. ^ a b Aaron Earls, Southern Baptists grow in attendance and baptisms, decline in membership, baptistpress.com, USA, May 9, 2023
    9. ^ a b SBC Summary of denominational statistics American Baptist Churches U.S.A.
    10. ISBN 0-8054-6055-1
      .
    11. ^ Newport Notables Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
    12. ISBN 1-4051-1865-2
    13. ^ Atwood, Craig D., Frank S. Mead, and Samuel S. Hill. Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th ed. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.
    14. ^ [1] Archived April 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
    15. ^ "National Baptist Convention - Envisioning the Future Exceptionally - About Us". www.nationalbaptist.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
    16. ^ 2019 Texas baptists annual meeting
    17. ^ Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian (May 1, 2023). "PC(USA) church membership still in decline". www.pcusa.org.
    18. ^ "Summary of Congregational Statistics as of 12-31-2022" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. December 31, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
    19. ^ "LCMS Inc. Annual Report- 2021". Retrieved July 7, 2022.
    20. ^ "WELS annual report". Retrieved January 20, 2022.
    21. ^ Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. "Pentecostalism". Retrieved September 24, 2008.
    22. ^
      ISBN 978-0-7391-2102-3
      .
    23. ISBN 0-88243-457-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
      )
    24. ^ a b Bottum, Joseph (2008). "The Death of Protestant America: A Political Theory of the Protestant Mainline". First Things.
    25. ^ a b Mainline protestant denominations
    26. ^ "The U.S. Church Finance Market: 2005-2010" Non-denominational membership doubled between 1990 and 2001. (April 1, 2006, report)
    27. ^ a b From a 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States, based on a 2001 study of the self-described religious identification of the adult population for 1990 and 2001; Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; Ariela Keysar (2001). "American Religious Identification Survey" (PDF). City University of New York.; Graduate School and University Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
    28. ^ The Decline of Mainline Protestantism Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
    29. ^ a b Faith, Education and Income
    30. ^ Pew Research Center 2015b, p. 133.
    31. ^ Pew Research Center 2008, p. 85.
    32. ^ US Religious Landscape Survey: Diverse and Dynamic (PDF), The Pew Forum, February 2008, p. 85, retrieved September 17, 2012
    33. ^ Leonhardt, David (May 13, 2011). "Faith, Education and Income". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
    34. ^ a b B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (December 19, 2011). "The Episcopalians: An American Elite With Roots Going Back to Jamestown". New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
    35. ^ Irving Lewis Allen, "WASP—From Sociological Concept to Epithet," Ethnicity, 1975 154+
    36. S2CID 146933599
      .
    37. ^ Baltzell (1964). The Protestant Establishment. p. 9.
    38. ^ Protestant Establishment I (Craigville Conference) Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
    39. ISBN 0-521-40601-3
    40. ^ a b c d e "NCC -2009 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches". Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
    41. ^ PC(USA) Congregations and Membership — 1997-2007
    42. ^ Reformed membership
    43. ^ ICCC membership
    44. ^ membership
    45. ^ UFMCC membership
    46. ^ Moravian Northern Province membership
    47. ^ Moravian Southern Province membership
    48. ^ Eskridge, Larry (1995). "Defining Evangelicalism". Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
    49. ^ Bebbington, p. 3.
    50. ^ George Marsden Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism Eerdmans, 1991.
    51. ^ Luo, Michael (April 16, 2006). "Evangelicals Debate the Meaning of 'Evangelical'". The New York Times.
    52. ^ Mead, Walter Russell (2006). "God's Country?". Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
    53. ^ a b c d Harriet Zuckerman, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States New York, The Free Press, 1977, p.68: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population. Thus 72 percent of the seventy-one laureates but about two thirds of the American population were reared in one or another Protestant denomination-)
    54. ^ "The Harvard Guide: The Early History of Harvard University". News.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
    55. ^ "Increase Mather"., Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Encyclopædia Britannica
    56. ^ Princeton University Office of Communications. "Princeton in the American Revolution". Retrieved May 24, 2011. The original Trustees of Princeton University "were acting in behalf of the evangelical or New Light wing of the Presbyterian Church, but the College had no legal or constitutional identification with that denomination. Its doors were to be open to all students, 'any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding.'"
    57. ISBN 0231130082
      .
    58. ^ "A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University".
    59. ^ "Duke University's Relation to the Methodist Church: the basics". Duke University. 2002. Retrieved March 27, 2010. Duke University has historical, formal, on-going, and symbolic ties with Methodism, but is an independent and non-sectarian institution ... Duke would not be the institution it is today without its ties to the Methodist Church. However, the Methodist Church does not own or direct the University. Duke is and has developed as a private non-profit corporation which is owned and governed by an autonomous and self-perpetuating Board of Trustees.

    Further reading

    General
    Particular

    External links

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