The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern

by Milton J. Coalter (Editor), John M. Mulder (Editor), Louis B. Weeks (Editor)

Overview

The meaning of the declining membership in mainline Protestant denominations has been hotly contested since the 1960s. Drawing on statistical analysis of membership trends, congregational surveys, individual interviews, research on disaffiliation, and case studies of congregations and presbyteries, this volume examines patterns and causes of congregational growth and decline in the Presbyterian church.

Through its examination of American Presbyterianism, the Presbyterian Presence series illuminates patterns of change in mainstream Protestantism and American religious and cultural life in the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664251505
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	12/01/1990
Series:	The Presbyterian Presence
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Milton J. Coalter is Library Directorand William B. and Mildred L. Nivison Professor at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virgina. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

John M. Mulder was formerly President and Professor of Historical Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of several books on Presbyterian history.

Louis B. Weeks is President Emeritus of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and is the author or editor of twelve books on Presbyterianism and mainstream Protestantism.

Editorial Reviews

This volume in the ``Presbyterian Presence'' series provides background information on membership trends since colonial America and then studies results from congregational surveys and individual interviews, as well as information from case studies and research on denominational defection. Repeatedly, the editors find unintended and even paradoxical results from human actions: they therefore call for deeper appreciation for the unity of the church. Recommended for clergy, sociologists of religion, and for laypersons concerned with church growth, membership retention, and clergy hiring.

Library Journal