The institute is part of Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

Most congregations—51 percent—report growth. The survey defines growth as an increase of at least 5 percent in Sunday-morning attendance for the five-year period starting in 1995.

"Our survey is a very upbeat window on the faith-based community," Dudley says.

The survey (www.fact.hartsem.edu) is a cooperative project of 41 denominations, which represent about 80 percent of the 300,000-plus congregations in the United States. Survey participants included leaders from 14,301 congregations of Protestants, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, and others. Congregations were selected to match the regional distribution of the U.S. population.

The study, funded by the Lilly Endowment and religious groups, reports that half of U.S. congregations have fewer than 100 people attending regularly. Evangelicals founded 58 percent of all new church congregations between 1990 and 2000. Among evangelicals, the Assemblies of God mounted the largest effort in launching new congregations.

The survey found churches that "uphold high standards of personal morality were the most alive and had the most support and growth."

Mormons and Muslims have started more congregations than liberal and moderate Protestants and Roman Catholics combined—about 20 percent of the congregations founded in the last decade.

But liberal and moderate Protestant churches are emphasizing ...