You wrote:
Looking to the future, we see the tide of progressive religion rising.Not according to the 2011
Yearbook of the National Council of Churches. The NCC is what most people would call "progressive." Except for Fundies, who probably call it "demon-spawned quasi-atheist liberal apostasy."
The NCC says total church membership in 2011 was down 1.05 percent over 2010.
OK, I can hear the laughter already - "ONLY 1.05 percent?!?" But as a bitter, cold-hearted atheist, I can take comfort in looking at that number another way - about 1.5 million people dropped their church membership in just one year.
Some other findings:
Mainline churches reporting declines in membership are United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1,080,199 members; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2,770,730 members; the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2,006,343 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. down 1.96 percent to 4,542,868 members; the American Baptist Churches USA, down 1.55 percent to 1,310,505; the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), down 1.08 percent to 2,312,111 members; and the United Methodist Church, down 1.01 percent to 7,774,931 members.All those, AFAIK, are (relatively) "progressive" churches.
Four of the nation's 25 largest churches are Pentecostal in belief and practice, Lindner reported. "Strong figures from the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) suggest an increase in the number of adherents to Pentecostal groups, though it is impossible to state unequivocally from this table since the other two charismatic churches in the ranking have not reported in some years."Ah, one of my personal favorites, the Ass. of God. They're a pretty loose confederation of Pentecostal churches. Loose enough to spawn two of America's most dynamic and creative Xian leaders, Rev. Jim Jones and David Koresh.
http://www.ncccusa.org/news/110210yearbook2011.htmlBut even the Fundies are worried about their poll numbers - as covered by the no doubt strictly objective reporting from
Signs of the Last Days:
When you examine all of the most recent poll numbers, the answer is inescapable. Christian churches in America are losing members rapidly, and this trend is especially dramatic among young Americans.
According to a stunning new survey by America's Research Group, 95 percent of 20 to 29 year old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. However, only 55 percent of them attended church regularly during high school, and only 11 percent of them were still regularly attending church when in college.http://signsofthelastdays.com/archives/the-decline-of-christianity-in-america