An article by the Association of Religion Data Archives (@ReligionData) says, “Even though research shows spiritually alive churches are the most likely to grow, the percentage of US congregations reporting high spiritual vitality declined from 43% in 2005 to 28% in 2010, according to the latest Faith Communities Today survey.”
The drop was accompanied by a decline in the emphasis given to spiritual practices such as prayer and scripture reading across nearly all groups aside from white evangelicals and congregations with 1,000 or more attenders.
The most notable slide occurred among white mainline Protestant denominations, which have been aging and losing members faster than any other major religious group.
The reasons are varied:
· Declining financial health in the recession saps morale
· Aging memberships are less likely to embrace new forms of worship
· Some denominations have shifted emphasis away from personal piety toward social service programs.