Rosa Rubicondior: US Christianity In Decline - But Not Because Of Evangelical Support For Trump And The Far Right

For Sale: Hundreds of Abandoned Churches. Great Prices. Need Work.

The Northeast is the only region for Southern Baptist growth, analysis shows

Despite the impression that their numbers are growing in line with the volume of the preaching and naked political opportunism, the Evangelical Christian churches in the USA, as represented by the Southern Baptist Convention, has actually seen a near-catastrophic decline in membership over the past 5 years, according to a report by Lifeway Research.

Lifeway Research is an evangelical research firm that is part of Lifeway Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention that conducts the Annual Church Profile in cooperation with local associations and state conventions affiliated with the SBC.

The SBC annual report is often used to indicate the statistical state of the national denomination, which decreased to 12.9 million members according to the most recent profile in May 2024, marking the lowest numbers since the late 1970s for a denomination that reached its peak at 16.3 million in 2006.

And a deeper dive into the data paints an even bleaker picture for those who make their living from preaching and tithing and generally begging for money from their captive congregations.

The only parts of the USA to have seen a growth in numbers are the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont which saw a 10% increase between 2018 and 2023.

However, Lifeway Research point out that there are only 30 SBC churches in New England, so this figure could be a statistical anomaly. For instance, an additional three members in a population of 10 is a 30% increase, which is statistically insignificant in a nationwide decline of 3.4 million. All the other states saw a decline of between 8% and 18%, but the 8% decline in the South West was only held up by the high population growth in Texas compared to the rest if the country.

According to this report in the New York Times, more abandoned churches are coming onto the market for conversion to homes, just as they have in the UK.

However, in the UK where there are strict conservation laws, a problem now facing the moribund Anglican Church is that many of its disused churches are in urban settings where they are listed buildings, and there is a general prohibition on building on graveyards, so, in addition to the decline in members, the Anglican Church, and the churches in Scotland and Wales all have the problem of having to maintain disused grade I and II listed buildings.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has experienced a notable decline in membership across most regions of the United States, with the exception of New England. Several factors have contributed to this trend:

Demographic Shifts: The SBC has historically been concentrated in the Southern United States. Changes in population dynamics, including migration patterns and urbanization, have affected church attendance and membership in these traditional strongholds.
Cultural and Generational Changes: Younger generations are increasingly identifying as religiously unaffiliated, often referred to as "nones." This shift has led to decreased participation in organized religious institutions, including the SBC.
Institutional Trust: There has been a broader decline in trust toward institutions, including religious organizations. This scepticism has impacted membership and engagement within the SBC.
Internal Controversies: The SBC has faced internal challenges, such as debates over theological interpretations and leadership disputes. These internal conflicts may have contributed to member attrition.
Sexual Abuse Scandals: Reports of sexual abuse within SBC churches and perceived inadequate responses have led to disillusionment among members, prompting some to leave the denomination.
Political Associations: The SBC's perceived alignment with certain political ideologies has alienated members who hold differing political views, leading to further declines in membership.
In contrast, the growth observed in New England may be attributed to focused church planting efforts and effective community engagement strategies tailored to the region's unique cultural context.

Southern Baptist Convention Faces Membership Decline Amid Internal Challenges:

‘What is my faith? What am I doing?’ The American evangelicals ‘deconstructing’ their religion to save it - The Guardian

Donald Trump’s support among evangelicals shows signs of weakening - Financial Times.

Although some of the buildings, such as the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian chapels, can be converted to dwellings, not so many of the churches.

However, in the USA, these abandoned churches are flooding the market For example, as reported by the New York Times:

When Louis Cahill was growing up in southern Virginia, a neighbor bought an old Catholic chapel and turned it into a home, which fascinated him. So in 2022, when he and his wife Kathy were looking toward retirement, they decided to do the same. They were enamored with the soaring ceilings and massive timber beams found in houses of worship across the South.

From their home base in Atlanta, the couple — both of whom grew up religious and eventually became atheists — scoured the Southeast. Finally, on a scouting trip last year, they stumbled upon the former Deyton Bend United Methodist Church in Green Mountain, N.C., a bohemian community in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The 3,127-square-foot brick structure, built in 1943 on about an acre, had just one bedroom.

The Cahills bought it last November for just $232,000, joining a wave of buyers who are scooping up abandoned churches from coast to coast as congregations wither and disappear. Since about 2000, the number of Americans who belong to a church, synagogue or mosque has plummeted from around 70 percent to around 47 percent in 2021. The decline has been attributed to several colliding factors, including younger Americans rejecting organized religion, the rise of regional megachurches, internal church schisms, and even the Covid pandemic.

Small churches have been especially vulnerable. In 2020, the median size of a congregation at an American church had shrunk to just 65, with countless empty buildings left behind.

Among the bleak findings for the SBC revealed by this survey are:

The smallest churches are an increasing percentage of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2018, 38% of congregations fell in the smallest category, fewer than 50 in attendance. In the 2023 ACP, those churches represented 43% of the SBC.
- Seven in 10 churches in the SBC see fewer than 100 people at their weekly worship service, including 27% that average 50-99 and 43% that average less than 50 attendees each week.
- One in 5 (20%) are between 100-249.
- Fewer large churches are part of the Convention, with 6% averaging 250-499 for their services and 4% climbing to 500 or more.
Almost 4 in 5 Southern Baptist churches (78%) are, in fact, Southern. Far fewer are located in the Midwest (11%), West (9%) or Northeast (2%) regions. Close to half (45%) are in suburban areas, compared to 28% in urban areas and 27% in the rural U.S.
Half of Southern Baptist congregations began in the 20th century, including 21% that started between 1900-1949 and 29% that began from 1950-1999. Slightly more than a quarter (27%) date their founding back before 1900, while 23% started since 2000.
Around a third of churches draw fewer than half of their worship attendees to Sunday School or other types of small groups, including 22% who say between 25% and less than 50% are involved and 9% who have less than a quarter of worship service attendees in a group.
- Two in 5 (41%) say between 50% and less than 75% also attend small groups.
- One in 5 (19%) see more than 75% to 100% involved.
- Around 1 in 10 (9%) have more in their small groups ministry than regularly attend worship services.
Increasingly, churches are drawing fewer people from worship services to Sunday School or other types of small group ministries. The percent of Southern Baptist churches with fewer than 25% of their attendees involved in a small group grew from 6% in 2018 to 9% in 2023. Similarly, the churches with 25% to less than 50% of attendees involved in a small group grew from 19% to 22%.

And the demographic time-bomb is approaching detonation as the younger age-group (18-30 years old), amongst whom the 'Nones' are by far the largest group, are quickly becoming the dominant demographic group as the older generation dies off. And this group's children are even less likely to be affiliated to any one church or religion than their parents.

Sadly, what does not emerge from these figures is something that might have been expected to happen if Christians had been true to their public image as decent people with strong support for 'family values', honesty and personal integrity, is any loss of members in response to the church's support for the odious Donald Trump, who epitomises everything a decent Christian was supposedly opposed to: a serial adulterer, fraudster, habitual liar and felon who was convicted of fraudulently misusing his political campaign funds to pay off a prostitute with whom he had had an extra-marital relationship.

In a move which has blown any pretence by evangelical Christians to be decent, honest, 'God-fearing' people, clean out of the water. Their naked political opportunism at the mere whiff of the chance of the political power to which they feel entitled, has brought out the worst in them and show the world what religion is used as a cover for. Sadly, this has not been seen as a reason to leave the evangelical churches in protest or in revulsion at their abandonment of basic moral standards and support for Repugnican Party values and racist far-right Christian Nationalism.

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