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Your Church, May/Jun 2001
Myths We Tell Ourselves
John C. LaRue
So your church members need alarming statistics to shock them into being more concerned about the lost? I hope not. There's already plenty of evidence around us to indicate that many people still need the Lord; reporting exaggerated statistics with a negative spin is unnecessary. That's why I would like to dispel several believable but inaccurate myths about Christianity in America.
Myth #1: The percentage of adults in the United States who attend church is decreasing.
It is true that U.S. church attendance surged in the 1950s (49 percent) and then tailed off a decade later, back down to between 40 and 43 percent. And it is true that in 1996 only 37 percent of those surveyed by Gallup said they attended church weekly, the lowest percentage ever recorded.
However, church attendance in America actually has been quite stable for the last 60 years (see graphic 1). When the Gallup Poll started in 1939, 41 percent of adults said they attended church weekly. In 1999, the last year for which statistics are available, 43 percent of Americans said they had attended church in the past week. That represents a quick six-point increase from the low three years earlier.
Graph 1: Come All Ye Faithful
60 years of steady weekly church attendance
| 1940 |
41% |
| 1950 |
39% |
| 1960 |
47% |
| 1970 |
40% |
| 1980 |
40% |
| 1990 |
40% |
| 2000 |
43% |
Myth #2: More churches are closing than opening every year.
According to the Almanac of the Christian World (1993-94), there has been a dramatic decline in the church-to-population ratio in the United States over the past century. There were 27 churches per 10,000 people in 1900, compared to just 12 churches per 10,000 people in 1990.
However, this may be partially explained by the fact that individual churches continue to grow larger. Christianity Today International's own research has confirmed this trend over the past 20 years. And church growth expert Lyle Schaller reports that various denominational records indicate the average church size has tripled in the past century. Who hasn't seen at least one megachurch sprout up in or near their city?
In terms of sheer numbers, there are certainly more churches in the United States now than ever. According to Yellow Pages statistics, there are more than 350,000 listings for churches in this country, compared to about 300,000 twenty years ago. This growth in the number of churches reflects constant growth in the U.S. population.
Myth #3: Conversions to Christianity are on the decline.
Though this myth may seem true in our society, Gallup research shows the number of Americans who describe themselves as evangelical Christians has grown dramatically in the past quarter century, especially in the 1990s (see graphic 2). In 1976, 34 percent of Americans considered themselves evangelicals—those who believe the Bible is the actual Word of God, have experienced personal conviction, seek to lead non-Christians to the point of conversion, and consider themselves to be born again. By 1999 this figure had risen 12 percentage points to 46 percent. That's reason to be encouraged and to continue carrying out God's kingdom work.
Graph 2: Evangelicals on the Increase
| 1976 |
34% |
| 1981 |
38% |
| 1992 |
36% |
| 1995 |
41% |
| 1999 |
46% |
About the Research
Gallup statistics in this report come from Emerging Trends, a monthly publication of the Princeton Religion Research Center. Most of the Gallup findings are based on random samples of 1,000 adults nationwide.
John C. LaRue, Jr., is vice president of Internet research and development for Christianity Today International. He may be reached by e-mail at yceditor@yourchurch.net. Previous Special Reports can be found online.
Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Your Church magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Christian History.
May/June 2001, Vol. 47, No. 3, Page 88
Your Church
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