NCC
News - 13 February 2002
Posted 23 February 2002 on RELIGIOSCOPE
For
the first time, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(LDS) is reported within the five largest churches in the United
States, according to the National Council of Churches' 2002 Yearbook
of American and Canadian Churches,off press this week.
"This
ranking represents a very brisk increase in membership for a church
with a relatively brief history," said the Rev. Dr. Eileen
W. Lindner, Yearbook editor and NCC Deputy General Secretary
for Research and Planning. The LDS was organized April 6, 1830,
at Fayette, N.Y., by Joseph Smith.
"The
distinctive theological position of the LDS and the history of
its persecution make such rapid growth all the more remarkable;
however, the church's strong emphasis on outreach through both
mission personnel and electronic and print advertising makes it
unique among contemporary North American churches," she
wrote.
Members
believe Smith was divinely directed to restore the gospel to the
earth, and hold that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon - a
record of the Lord's dealings with His people on the American
continent from 600 B.C. to 421 A.D. - are scripture. The previously
fifth-ranked Evangelical Lutheran Church in America now ranks
sixth, trading places with the LDS, which the 2001 Yearbook
ranked sixth.
Denominational
Name Inclusive Membership 2002 Yearbook*
(2001 Yearbook**)
Roman Catholic
Church -- 63,683,030 (62,391,484)
Southern Baptist Convention -- 15,960,308 (15,851,756)
United Methodist Church -- 8,340,954 (8,377,662)
Church of God in Christ -- 5,499,875 (5,499,875)
Church of Jesus Christ of LDS-- 5,208,827 (5,113,409)
Evangelical Luth Church in America --5,125,919 (5,149,668)
*All data
reported in 2000 except COGIC (1991)
**All data reported in 1999 except COGIC (1991)
Source: Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches
The
2002 "top five" account for nearly two-thirds (64.87
percent) of inclusive membership reported to the Yearbook
by 66 U.S. churches. They illustrate the increasing theological,
racial and social diversity of U.S. church life.
The 2002 Yearbook is the 70th published by the National
Council of Churches and its predecessor Federal Council of Churches
since 1916. It is widely recognized as the most accurate and complete
compilation of facts and figures on U.S. and Canadian churches
and organizations.
This "chronicler of record" includes the latest data
on giving, membership, personnel and congregations for hundreds
of church groups. The directory of religious bodies provides concise
church descriptions, ecclesiology, history, leadership and contact
information. Chapters list information about cooperative organizations,
Web-based resources, research institutions, ecumenical bodies,
seminaries and Bible colleges, periodicals and collections of
church archives.
Among other findings" reported in the 2002 Yearbook:
* Local congregations continue to collect and disburse substantial
monies, totaling nearly $30 billion ($29,464,889,024) in 2000,
with 65 churches reporting. Benevolence giving (funds utilized
for the well-being of others) as a percentage of total contributions
rose markedly, from 16 percent in 1999 to 17 percent in 2000.
Total dollars contributed per capita inclusive members jumped
by $50.37, from $548.77 in 1999 to $599.14 in 2000. The likely
explanation: the U.S. economy's strength during the reporting
period.
* In 2000, women constituted 34.91 percent of total enrollment
in all member schools of the Association of Theological Schools
and 30.87 percent of the head count enrollment in the M.Div. degree
program. When ATS first began gathering enrollment data by gender
in 1972, women constituted 10.2 percent of the enrollment. Only
once in the past 25 years has the number of
women students decreased from one year to the next, that being
in 1993, with a 0.65 percent decrease.
*
African American, Hispanic and Pacific/Asian American student
enrollment all continue their steady increase since 1977, reaching
20.75 percent of total enrollment in 2000 (up from 6.3 percent
in 1977).
