01: Figures from the new World Almanac suggest that the churches are losing “market share” in the last decade. The secular humanist magazine Free Inquiry (Winter) looks at the 1992 and 2002 editions of the World Almanac and finds that overall, U.S. church membership rose 7.16 percent during a decade in which the U.S. population grew 13.9 percent. […]

01: Confidence in organized religion has been driven down to its lowest level in six decades, according to the most recent Gallup Poll. The confidence index on established religion has declined from 60 percent of Americans holing high confidence in 2001 to only 45 percent in 2002. Pollster George Gallup finds that the sexual abuse scandal […]

01: A nationwide study of Protestant ministers shows that four out of ten of them are in serious disagreement with their denomination on politics or theology. The study, conducted by Ellison Research (press release, Dec. 11), surveyed 475 churches and ministers of almost every denomination, and found that close to 50 percent of senior pastors either […]

01: The growth of “worship wars” in churches waged between those pressing for contemporary music and others hankering for traditional liturgy and hymns is exaggerated, according to a recent Barna Poll. In a national poll of church-goers, Barna finds that battles between contemporary and traditional worshippers in Protestant churches do exist but they are limited. About […]

01: A five percent drop among U.S. Jews since 1990 is the first significant decline in over a century, reports the Washington Post  (Oct. 9). Last month RW reported on a poll using a broad definition of Jewish identity and claiming that the number of Jewish connected Americans may be expanding. The more recent Jewish Population Poll measures “core” identity, […]

01: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was the fastest-growing denomination in the last dead, followed by various Pentecostal churches, according to a new study. The study, conducted by Glenmary Research Center, confirmed previous studies showing that conservative churches have grown far faster than liberal and moderate bodies. The LDS church boosted its […]

01: There has been debate and controversy about the existence and influence of a homosexual subculture in the Catholic priesthood, but a new study confirms that such “gay cliques” are prevalent in many dioceses. The influence of such a subculture has been cited by Catholic conservatives and leaders as a factor in the rise of […]

01: American confidence in religious institutions is at a 30-year low, down to 45 percent, according to a recent Gallup Poll. The annual Gallup Poll on confidence in institutions reveal that while the Protestant confidence rate of 59 percent is about the same as a year ago, Catholic trust dropped to 42 percent. Although this year’s […]

01: Close to two-thirds of bishops have allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to keep working, “a practice that spans the decades and continues today,” reports the Dallas Morning News (June 12). A three-month study conducted by the newspaper, which involved studying the records of the top leaders in each of the nation’s dioceses, found that at least […]

01: An analysis of recent surveys showing a sharp rise in unchurched Americans during the 1990s reveals more of a disenchantment toward churches’ involvement in politics than a loss of faith. The analysis, conducted by Michael Hout and Claude Fischer, cites surveys showing that the proportion of Americans who claimed no religious preference as rising […]