RELIGION (Josh McDowell research 2005 and prior) “2005's NEWEST MINORITY” “Protestants no Longer Dominant Religious Group by Year's End” “Call it the un-Reformation: The number of people in the United States who identify themselves as Protestant dropped from 62% in 1993 to 52% in 2002. The steady decline over the decade means that Protestants may no longer be the majority by the end of this year, according to researchers who conducted the study for the University of Chicago.” “The numbers who said they belonged to a Protestant denomination or who called themselves ‘non-denominational Protestants’ had held steady for two decades.” “Count me out: Those who say they currently have no religion rose from 9% to 14%. Among younger people, the percentage is even higher. Of those born after 1980, 27% claim no religion. Some who opted out of the Protestant classification chose to call themselves ‘Christians.’ That category, which did not exist before 1993, jumped to 2.3%. Also rising, Mormons. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints accounts for 2% of respondents, which researchers included in the Protestant count.” “Ex-ex cathedra: The numbers of Catholics (25%) and Jews (2%) remained steady, but the ‘other’ groups, including Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, increased from 3% to 7% over the decade. Implications of the changing religious landscape, according to Calvin College political scientist Corwin Smidt: the loss of a shared Protestant vocabulary and viewpoint in schools, neighborhoods, and voting booths. ‘Growing pluralism forces examination of our commonality,’ he says.” (“2005’s Newest Minority, leadership journal, Christianity Today, Fall 2004 http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/004/8.7.html) ______________________ “A PROFILE OF PROTESTANT PASTORS IN ANTICIPATION OF ‘PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH’" “The survey discovered that one-third of the nation's Protestant congregations are headed by pastors who claim to be seeker-driven. This is somewhat surprising given the lack of growth in church attendance during the past decade and in light of the fact that only 8% of all pastors claim to have the spiritual gift of evangelism.” “Some pastoral attributes are obvious and have remained consistent over time: more than nine out of ten Senior Pastors are men, are married, and serve full-time. More than four out of five have a college degree and the median age of pastors is slightly under 50. In fact, pastors often do not mirror the attributes of their congregations: they are more likely than their congregants to be college educated, married, over the age of 40, live in a rural location, and to earn less than Research - 2005 and prior
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