 PCUSA loses 31,549 members during 2001 The Layman Online Tuesday, April 30, 2002 The Presbyterian Church (USA) lost 31,549 members in 2001 – continuing a trend that has seen more than 1.76 million members leave since 1965, according to unofficial data released recently by the denomination's Office of the General Assembly.
In the past five years, 137,685 Presbyterians have left the denomination – including 27,367 in 1999, 21,517 in 1998 and 22,275 in 1997. Since 1966, the average membership loss has been more than 50,000 a year, the equivalent of closing 250 churches with 200 members each annually. The loss of 31,549 members in 2001 is substantial in terms of dollars. That drains $165,632 from the General Assembly's per-capita budget, based on the $5.25 apportionment approved by the 2001 General Assembly. Including per-capita that supports presbyteries and synods, the total loss is nearly $700,000. In 2000, the loss of 34,871 members drained $174,355 from the General Assembly's per-capita budget, based on the $5.00 apportionment approved by the 2000 General Assembly. The 214th General Assembly, which will meet in Columbus, Ohio, on June 15-22, will consider a proposal to increase the per-capita apportionment another 15 cents, to $5.40. Reasons for exodus The denomination does not conduct exit polls to determine why members are leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA), but the exodus rises sharply when aspects of historical Reformed faith are under attack. In 2001, for example, the denomination's leadership came under heavy criticism when the 213th General Assembly in June was unable to unequivocally proclaim Jesus Christ alone as the way, the truth and the life. Instead, commissioners approved a resolution describing Jesus as "unique" – but not as the Lord and Savior for the world. Some of that criticism was mollified in September when the denomination's Office of Theology and Worship, in a statement released to the General Assembly Council, said, "Jesus Christ was and is the path" to God. The italicized "the" was intended to emphasize that Jesus alone is the Lord – and not "a" lord among many options. The Christological statement, titled "Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ," said the statement "Jesus is Lord" is the "foundational declaration of the earliest confession of faith." The six theological staff members in the Office of Theology and Worship supported that declaration in a four-page document that includes 12 citations from Scripture and nine from The Book of Confessions. Statement isn't authoritative While the Theology and Worship declaration bears the imprimatur of an office of the denomination, it does not countermand previous resolutions by the General Assembly Council or the 2001 General Assembly. It is essentially advisory, not authoritative. Another issue that provoked criticism was a proposed constitutional amendment, approved by commissioners at the 2001 General Assembly, that sought to delete the "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). That ordination standard, which was approved by the presbyteries in 1997 and inserted in the Book of Order, prohibits the ordination of self-affirming, practicing homosexuals and adulterers. An overwhelming majority of the denomination's 173 presbyteries – 73.1 percent – voted against deleting the ordination standard. The opposition, 127 "no" votes to 46 "yes" votes, was nearly three to one. Voting on the issue ended April 14 with the Presbytery of Alaska. Largest affirmation The 73.1 percent margin was the largest yet among the presbyteries to affirm the "fidelity/chastity" clause. The standard originally was approved in 1996-97 by 56.7 percent of the presbyteries. In 1997-98, the standard was affirmed by 66.7 percent of the presbyteries. In 2000, the denomination's staff leadership and the General Assembly Council were the targets of thousands of complaints from Presbyterians who asked that Presbyterian speakers at denomination-sponsored events be held accountable to the historic faith. The General Assembly Council declined to act on their requests. Another issue stirring dissent – and dropouts – was the decision by the denomination's highest ecclesiastical court allowing ministers to conduct same-sex unions and the subsequent vote by presbyteries not to override the court's decision. Since 1965, when membership was at its peak, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost more than 1.7 million members. Figures released by the denomination, which includes membership as of Dec. 31, 2001, 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. Aggregate loss: 1.76 million But the number at the end of 2001 was 2,493,781– a drop of -1,760,816 members, or 41.4 percent. While other mainline denominations have had membership losses over the same period, none has been as precipitous as the PCUSA's decline. 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. The largest single year's loss in the PCUS came in 1973, the year the conservative Presbyterian Church in America was organized. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.) lost 4.5 percent of its membership that year alone – the largest walkout in the history of the two denominations singly or combined. |
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