Posted on 10/31/2011 7:25:19 AM PDT by marshmallow
DURHAM, N.C. (ABP) – About one in five Protestant churches in America is now independent of any denomination, and about one in five Protestants attends those independent churches, Duke sociologist Mark Chaves says in his new book American Religion: Contemporary Trends.
Chaves, professor of sociology, religion, and divinity at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and director of the National Congregations Study, says the number of Protestants attending independent churches increased from 14 percent in 1989 to 19 percent in 2006.
“If the unaffiliated congregations were all in one denomination, they would constitute the second largest in number of participants (behind only the Roman Catholic Church) and the largest number of congregations,” Chaves writes. “Although most Protestant churches are denominational, a noticeable and growing minority are not formally affiliated with any denomination.”
Chaves says an increase of 5 percentage points in the number of people attending independent churches may not seem like much, but he noted that growth occurred over a period of just eight years. He adds those numbers probably understate the cultural significance of the trend, because denominational affiliations seem to be decreasingly important to congregations and their members even when they do exist.
Nearly two-thirds of Protestant mega-churches formally belong to a denomination, Chaves says, but many hide or downplay those connections. Even though the annual income of denominationally affiliated congregations increased faster than inflation between 1998 and 2006 in real dollars, the amount of money those congregations passed on to their denominational office declined from about 5 percent of their income in 1998 to 4 percent in 2006.
While some congregations reduced contributions to their denomination to protest its policies or priorities, Chaves says the decline in denominational giving is “a longer-term trend driven mainly by the rising costs of running a local congregation.”
Chaves devotes one..........
(Excerpt) Read more at abpnews.com ...
Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists and a couple others are too, non Catholic, but they are habitually termed Protestants.
Luther protested, I attend a Baptist church.
Let's drop the "protestant" when differentiating from a Catholic.
If you're Catholic and I'm not, YOU might be the protestant.
I will not duck for cover.
Catholic and non-Catholic ... PC, and undiscriminatory.
Hi marsh....
I hold that each and every different protestant sect and schismatic group holds significantly different beliefs.
I’ve found that if you get 10 protestants of varying sects together in one room, you will get disagreements about all manner of faith and morals.
Therefore, if you have ten different beliefs and there can be only “One Truth”, then a faithful and fair minded protestant would say that only one of the protestants would be right.
Whereas a Catholic would say that NONE of the protestants would be right.
So there would be only a 10% difference, but as a Catholic I must say “vive la différence”.
Lurking’
“decline in denominational giving is “a longer-term trend driven mainly by the rising costs of running a local congregation.”
I’m guessing a LOT of protesting of denominational policies such as gay ministers, social justice theologies, and not preaching the Word are at the heart of a lot of it...AFTER the rising cost of running the local congregation.
It’s because pretty much all non-Catholic denominations popped out of the Catholic church, or from a group that did. I think the Catholic/Protestant thing is accurate. Saying Catholic or Non-Catholic is like doing that bce/ce stuff..imho.
I wouldn’t want to be associated with any of the organized “religions” any more.
That kind of reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy's, "You might be a Redneck if......."
If you’re Catholic and I’m not, YOU might be the protestant.
That kind of reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy’s, “You might be a Redneck if.......”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of the catholics I’ve known don’t care a bit about the pope or the catholic orthodoxy. So what would you call those catholics?
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/132545/Congregationalism
Actually, it goes back to sixteenth century England and came across the Atlantic with the colonists.
"It’s because pretty much all non-Catholic denominations popped out of the Catholic church,"
And if that's true, then one that did not come out of the Catholic church cannot be a protestant.
By demanding a Catholic/Protestant nomenclature, the Catholic insists he is correct and the other, equally or more knowledgeable and sincers is incorrect, which flies in the face of "As much as is in thee to live peaceably with all men"
Thus the Catholic is the provocateuer (sp?), and why SHOULD I consider another that holds me in low esteem?
argumentative
football fans
/8^)
The author really needs to add Baptist churches to this figure becasue all Baptist churches are independent also. Even the members of the Southern Baptist Convention are all independant churches.
Most of the catholics I’ve known don’t care a bit about the pope or the catholic orthodoxy. So what would you call those catholics?
Answer:
They are not Catholics, therefore they are Protestants.
Lurking’
No!
Protestant!
Thus the Catholic is the provocateuer (sp?), and why SHOULD I consider another that holds me in low esteem?
knarf,
we don’t hold you in low esteem, we just hold that if you are not Catholic and call yourself Christian then you are a Protestant.
I take it that you do not accept the teachings of the Catholic Church on faith and morals.
Then, you protest that they are true, therefore, ala peanut butter sandwich, you are a Protestant.
There is no animus here, just calling a spade a spade.
Lurking’
Most of the catholics I’ve known don’t care a bit about the pope or the catholic orthodoxy. So what would you call those catholics?
They are called “cafeteria” Catholics. Pick and choose what they want to believe and what they don’t feel like believing about their own religion. Which is actually what exists in many Protestant non affiliated churches also. One church interprets the bible one way, the next one a different way.
There have always, always been a large number of independent Baptist churches unaffiliated with any denomination. These are not mega-churches.
I wonder if they were counted.
It’s been said that if you want to get rich, don’t start a business. Start a church.
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