Demographia

Christian Church Membership in the
United States: 1960-2002

NOTES
Churches with 200,000 and over members in 2002-2004
1960 data reflects current religious organization
(Mergers since 1960)

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (In Thousands)            
Church 1960 Membership Rank 2002-4 Membership Rank Change Rank
African Methodist Episcopal Church 1,166 16 2,500 12 114.4% 14
African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion 770 17 1,433 20 86.1% 16
American Baptist Association 648 19 275 43 -57.6% 37
American Baptist Churches in the USA 1,521 13 1,434 19 -5.7% 28
Antiochan Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 125   360 36    
Armenian Apostolic Church NA   414 33    
Armenian Orthodox Church of America 125 32 360 36 188.0% 12
Assemblies of God 509 20 2,687 10 427.9% 5
Baptist Bible Fellowship International NA   1,200 22    
Baptist Missionary Association of America NA   235 46    
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1,801 12 786 30 -56.4% 36
Christian Churches & Churches of Christ NA   1,000 24    
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 392 22 850 29 116.8% 13
Christian & Missioinary Alliance 57 34 389 35 582.5% 4
Church of Christ Scientist NA   880 28    
Church of God in Christ 393 21 5,500 5 1299.5% 2
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) 140 31 247 44 76.4% 17
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) 180 30 945 26 425.0% 6
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) 1,487 14 5,599 4 276.5% 8
Church of the Nazarene 308 24 644 31 109.1% 15
Churches of Christ 2,163 10 1,500 16 -30.7% 32
Conservative Baptist Association of America 300 25 200 48 -33.3% 34
Coptic Orthodox Church NA   300 41    
Episcopal Church 3,444 7 2,320 15 -32.6% 33
Evangelical Free Church of America 31 37 243 45 683.9% 3
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 5,300 4 4,985 7 -5.9% 29
Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches NA   327 38    
Greek Orthodox Diocese of North and South America 1,200 15 1,500 16 25.0% 24
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 83 33 306 40 268.7% 10
International Pentecostal Holiness Church 53 35 213 47 301.9% 7
Jehovah's Witnesses 273 26 1,022 23 274.4% 9
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 2,391 9 2,513 11 5.1% 26
National Baptist Convention of America 2,669 8 3,500 8 31.1% 23
National Baptist Convention USA 5,256 5 5,000 6 -4.9% 27
National Missionary Baptist Convention NA   2,500 12    
Orthodox Church in America 755 18 1,000 24 32.5% 22
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World 45 36 1,500 16 3233.3% 1
Presbyterian Church in America NA   311 39    
Presbyterian Church (USA) 4,108 6 3,241 9 -21.1% 30
Progressive National Baptist Convention NA   2,500 12    
Reformed Church in America 226 29 279 42 23.5% 25
Roman Catholic Church 42,105 1 66,407 1 57.7% 21
Salvation Army 273 26 455 32 66.7% 19
Seventh-Day Adventist Church 317 23 918 27 189.6% 11
Southern Baptist Convention 9,732 3 16,248 2 67.0% 18
United Church of Christ 2,022 11 1,297 21 -35.9% 35
United Methodist Church 10,798 2 8,251 3 -23.6% 31
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod 252 28 403 34 59.9% 20
             
MEMBERS PER 1,000 UNITED STATES POPULATION          
Church 1960 Members per 1,000 Population Rank 2002-4 Members per 1,000 Population Rank Change Rank
African Methodist Episcopal Church 6.5 16 8.7 12 34.0% 14
African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion 4.3 17 5.0 20 16.3% 16
American Baptist Association 3.6 19 1.0 43 -73.5% 37
American Baptist Churches in the USA 8.5 13 5.0 19 -41.1% 28
Antiochan Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America   1.3 36    
Armenian Apostolic Church     1.4 33    
Armenian Orthodox Church of America 0.7 32 1.3 36 80.0% 12
Assemblies of God 2.8 20 9.3 10 230.0% 5
Baptist Bible Fellowship International     4.2 22    
Baptist Missionary Association of America     0.8 46    
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 10.0 12 2.7 30 -72.7% 36
Christian Churches & Churches of Christ     3.5 24    
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 2.2 22 3.0 29 35.5% 13
Christian & Missioinary Alliance 0.3 34 1.4 35 326.6% 4
Church of Christ Scientist     3.1 28    
Church of God in Christ 2.2 21 19.1 5 774.8% 2
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) 0.8 31 0.9 44 10.3% 17
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) 1.0 30 3.3 26 228.2% 6
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) 8.3 14 19.4 4 135.4% 8
Church of the Nazarene 1.7 24 2.2 31 30.7% 15
Churches of Christ 12.0 10 5.2 16 -56.7% 32
Conservative Baptist Association of America 1.7 25 0.7 48 -58.3% 34
Coptic Orthodox Church     1.0 41    
Episcopal Church 19.1 7 8.1 15 -57.9% 33
Evangelical Free Church of America 0.2 37 0.8 45 390.0% 3
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 29.4 4 17.3 7 -41.2% 29
Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches     1.1 38    
Greek Orthodox Diocese of North and South America 6.7 15 5.2 16 -21.9% 24
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 0.5 33 1.1 40 130.4% 10
International Pentecostal Holiness Church 0.3 35 0.7 47 151.2% 7
Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5 26 3.5 23 134.0% 9
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 13.3 9 8.7 11 -34.3% 26
National Baptist Convention of America 14.8 8 12.2 8 -18.0% 23
National Baptist Convention USA 29.2 5 17.4 6 -40.5% 27
National Missionary Baptist Convention     8.7 12    
Orthodox Church in America 4.2 18 3.5 24 -17.2% 22
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World 0.3 36 5.2 16 1983.5% 1
Presbyterian Church in America     1.1 39    
Presbyterian Church (USA) 22.8 6 11.3 9 -50.7% 30
Progressive National Baptist Convention     8.7 12    
Reformed Church in America 1.3 29 1.0 42 -22.8% 25
Roman Catholic Church 233.9 1 230.6 1 -1.4% 21
Salvation Army 1.5 26 1.6 32 4.2% 19
Seventh-Day Adventist Church 1.8 23 3.2 27 81.0% 11
Southern Baptist Convention 54.1 3 56.4 2 4.4% 18
United Church of Christ 11.2 11 4.5 21 -59.9% 35
United Methodist Church 60.0 2 28.7 3 -52.2% 31
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod 1.4 28 1.4 34 -0.0% 20

Sources
World Almanac and Yearbook of American Churches

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completing the blanks in the tables above, or any corrections.

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