Why Conservative Churches Grow and Liberal Churches Shrink

Those who don't attend church regularly but are scouting for Christmas services this year might be surprised to find fewer mainline Protestant churches around these days.

Across the English-speaking world the numerical decline of mainline Protestantism is accelerating. The largest mainline Protestant denominations in the United States are the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Episcopal Church. Collectively, membership in these denominations decreases by about 1 million a year, resulting in hundreds of church closures annually.