Membership loss of PCUSA reaches nearly 1.7 million Presbyterians By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, August 10, 2000 Since 1965, when membership was at its peak, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost nearly 1.7 million members, according to data released recently by the denomination. The report, which includes membership as of Dec. 31, 1999, shows that the attrition rate remains high, averaging 1.7 percent a year since 1966, the first year of the decline. In 1965, the two denominations comprising what's now the Presbyterian Church (USA) – the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) and the United Presbyterian Church (USA) - hit their peaks in membership. Combined, they had 4,254,597 members, and both had posted steady gains in previous years. But the number at the end of 1999 was 2,560,201 – a drop of 1,694,396 members, or 39.8 percent. The membership declines in the Presbyterian Church (USA) have corresponded with losses in other mainline denominations, but there have been years when losses were shaped principally by Presbyterian factors. For the former UPCUSA, the losses beginning in 1966 corresponded with a proposal in 1965 that the denomination adopt a new confession. The Confession of 1967 (the year it was adopted) was widely criticized because of its emphasis on social issues and weakened commitment to Biblical authority. Membership of PCUSA 1965 4,254,597 1970 4,049,391 1975 3,544,099 1980 3,272,518 1985 3,057,226 1990 2,856,713 1995 2,665,276 1999 2,560,201 The largest single year's loss in the PCUS came in 1973, the year the conservative Presbyterian Church in America was organized. The PCUS lost 4.5 percent of its membership that year alone – the largest walkout in the history of the two denominations singly or combined. Since reunion, the highest percentage loss occurred in 1994, the year of the controversial ReImagining God conference. Since 1966, the average membership loss has been nearly 50,000 a year, the equivalent of closing 250 churches with 200 members each annually. The loss rate has improved slightly in the last three years -27,367 came off the rolls in 1999, 21,517 in 1998 and 22,275 in 1997.

Respond to this article

News From the PCUSA Home · News · PLC Publications · The Presbyterian Layman Online Reviews · Archives · History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links