American Christianity

Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States, with 70.6% of polled American adults self-identifying themselves as Christian in 2014.[1] The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, with almost 247 million Christians (although other Christianized countries have higher percentages of Christians among their populations).

## Contents

* 1 Protestantism in the United States
* 2 Roman Catholicism in the United States
* 3 Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the United States
* 4 Asian and African Orthodox Christianity in the United States
* 5 See also
* 6 Notes

## Protestantism in the United States[edit]

See also: Protestantism

Given that most of the original 13 colonies were founded by Protestant Christians, it is not surprising that Protestants make up the majority of Christians (and religious adherents overall) in America.

Michael Brown wrote:

“  |  Several decades ago, church statistician and demographer David Barrett began to report the surprising news that around the world, the most rapidly growing faith was Spirit-empowered Christianity, marked by clear gospel preaching, belief in the literal truth of the Scriptures, and the reality of God’s presence. (The data were compiled in the prestigious “World Christian Encyclopedia,” published by Oxford University Press.)...

This is confirmed in the new Pew Forum report, which showed that evangelical Protestant churches in America grew by 2 million from 2007 to 2014 whereas the so-called mainline (liberal) Protestant churches declined by 5 million, meaning that evangelical Protestants now make up the largest religious group in the nation. (Although this is not part of the Pew Forum survey, my surmise is that the evangelical churches that are most Bible-based and make the most serious, grace-empowered demands on their congregants are, generally speaking, the ones that are growing rather than declining.)[2]

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In their 2010 journal article entitled, Secularism, Fundamentalism or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043 published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vegard Skirbekk and Anne Goujon wrote that the "prevailing view ...envisions the continued growth of “strong religion” (Stark and Iannaccone 1994a)."[3] See also: Baylor University researchers on American Christianity

Professor Eric Kaufmann wrote:

“  |  In North America, only small Anabaptist sects like the Hutterites (population 50,000), Amish and some Mennonites maintain a Haredi-like fertility premium, and will emerge as significant groups in rural areas over several generations...

Conservative Christians as a whole will have a stronger presence in the white America of 2050 than they do today, and a more powerful national voice if they can forge alliances with traditionalist Hispanic Catholics, as shown in the recent success of Proposition 8 (anti-same sex marriage) in California.[4]

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## Roman Catholicism in the United States[edit]

According to Pew Research in 2014, Roman Catholics made up about 20.8% of Americans.[5]

See also  Roman Catholic Church

Disputed

* SSPX traditionalist Catholicism Latin mass

## Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the United States[edit]

See also: Eastern Orthodox

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) as of 2000 reported about 1 million Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox adherents in the US, or 0.4% of the total population.[6]

## Asian and African Orthodox Christianity in the United States[edit]

Sometimes known as Oriental Orthodox See also: (Indian) Malankara Orthodox Church , Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and Coptic_Church

Churches founded by St.Thomas the Apostle and St. Mark the evangelist now have Dioceses in the United States

## See also[edit]

* Canadian Christianity
* American atheism
* Infant baptism
* Essay: Water baptism cannot save, the Church cannot save, Born again by faith alone
* Future of Christianity
* Christianity in Africa
* Christianity in Asia
* Christianity in Australia
* Christianity in Europe
* Christianity in North America
* Christianity in South America

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ "America's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. May 12, 2015.
2. ↑ Why conservative churches are still growing
3. ↑ Secularism, Fundamentalism or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043, Journal for the Sientific Study of Religion, vol. 49, no. 2 (June) 2010, Vegard Skirbekk and Anne Goujon,
4. ↑ Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century\ By Eric Kaufmann
5. ↑ Religion in the United States, Pew Research
6. ↑ "ARDA Sources for Religious Congregations & Membership Data". ARDA. 2000. Retrieved 2010-05-29.