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Americans have fewer Protestant churches to attend, a recently released survey shows. While 3,000 churches were started in the United States, 4,500 closed in the year before COVID-19.
The Lifeway Research 2019 survey covered 34 denominations and groups. Just five years earlier, 4,000 Protestant churches opened while 3,700 closed.
The numbers coincide with a bleak 2020 poll by Gallup that showed a decline of membership of all churches, synagogues, and mosques to less than 50% for the first time in 80 years, data shows.
Gallup started collecting data in 1937, when church membership was 73%, compared to 47% last year, as the country was in the throes of the COVID-19 lockdown. Although most states had stay-at-home orders except for essential services at some point in 2020, 10 states refused to allow church services of any kind.
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US Protestant churches endured a difficult 2020, including starting the year with fewer congregations.
In 2019, approximately 3,000 Protestant churches were started in the US, but 4,500 Protestant churches closed, according to estimates from Nashville-based Lifeway Research.
The evangelical research organization analyzed congregational information from 34 denominations and groups representing 60 percent of US Protestant churches to arrive at the church plant and closure numbers for 2019.
The current closure gap indicates a shift from Lifeway Research’s previous analysis. For 2014, an estimated 4,000 Protestant churches were planted, while 3,700 closed in a year.
“Over the last decade, most denominations have increased the attention they are giving to revive existing congregations that are struggling,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “This has been more than a fad. This has been a response to a real, growing need to revitalize unhealthy congre