CURRENT RESEARCH

Members of mainline Protestant and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations show the highest levels of civic engagement and volunteering in the U.S., a new study finds. The American Enterprise Institute study, conducted by Scott Winship and Thomas O’Rourke, used the Social Capital Index developed by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress and state- and county-level data from the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. Adherents of certain religious traditions and denominations were found to be overrepresented in areas with high or low levels of social capital. States with higher shares of mainline Protestants and “other” religious groups had significantly higher social capital than states where such adherents were largely absent. Among these “other” religious groups, the researchers found it to be Latter-day Saints (LDS) adherents who made the difference. Once the LDS-dominated state of Utah was excluded, the correlation between the adherence rate of “others” and state-level social capital fell to nearly zero.
These relationships were seen more strongly at the country level. Counties with higher shares of LDS and mainline Protestants also tended to have the highest levels of social capital, “suggesting that there may be something unique about these religious traditions that encourages social capital development in communities,” Winship and O’Rourke write. They argue that the more public orientation of mainline Protestantism has influenced the pro-social attitudes of adherents and other residents. In contrast, while evangelicals are more likely to attend church than their mainline counterparts, helping them to build social capital through such participation, they tend to concentrate this social energy within their congregations rather than engaging the wider community. Even with regard to family unity, where evangelicals have been strong advocates, these conservative Protestants tend to have weaker family bonds, with more divorce than mainline Protestants.

(The study can be downloaded here: https://www.aei.org/articles/the-mainline-protestant-ethic-and-the-spirit-of-social-capitalism/)

A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) finds a shrinking proportion of Americans—16 percent—saying religion is the most important thing in their lives, but also resiliency in congregational involvement. The rate of people who say that religion is the most important thing in their lives has decreased from 20 percent in 2013 to 16 percent today. Nearly 3 in 10 say religion is not important to them at all, which is up from 19 percent 10 years ago. The PRRI survey of 5,872 American adults finds that 57 percent seldom or never attend religious services (compared with 45 percent in 2019). There is also a higher degree of congregational switching taking place, with 24 percent of Americans saying they now belong to a religious congregation other than the one they grew up in—an increase of eight percentage points from 2021. But an overwhelming number of regular attenders (82 percent) state they are optimistic about the future of their congregation, with 89 percent saying they are proud to be associated with their church.
(The PRRI study can be downloaded here: https://www.prri.org/research/religion-and-congregations-in-a-time-of-social-and-political-upheaval/)

A new study finds that Hebrew schools, a staple of supplementary Jewish education for children, are in decline in Conservative and Reform branches but are expanding with the growth of Chabad-affiliated education programs that often serve families with little or no Jewish background. The study, conducted by the Jewish Education Project and based on a survey of 706 schools operating for over 20 years, found an overall enrollment decline when looking at the totality of these educational programs. Most notably, it found that Chabad, a branch of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement, has increased its reach in terms of both students and school count, while the Conservative movement is on the decline. The Reform movement continues to educate over 50 percent of all students in supplementary schools. Most Orthodox synagogues do not have Hebrew school programs. There are almost 150 fewer Conservative schools than there were at the time of the 2006–2007 census, but only a two percent decline in the proportion of enrolled students. Eighty-seven percent of Conservative schools enroll less than 150 students, compared to Reform schools, of which 74 percent have less than 150 students.

Source: Kerem Shalom.

A growing number of combined Reform and Conservative schools responded to the survey, although they tend to be smaller on average than either Reform or Conservative schools. The Reform movement has, on average, the most schools when compared to other movements. Reform schools are also, on average, the largest by enrollment. More than half of all students who enroll in a Hebrew school do so at a Reform school—or even more if the joint Reform and Conservative programs are counted. Although there are very few (52) schools that have over 300 students, the 20 largest schools nationwide are all Reform. When compared with the enrollment data from the 2006–2007 census, there are very few schools significantly larger now than they were 15 years ago. The decrease in students is proportionately larger than the decrease in schools, although the average school size has also decreased, and every single grade is, on average, smaller. Bar and Bas Mitzvah ceremonies remain a point of “graduation” from supplementary schools, with just shy of about 50 percent of eligible students in 6th and 7th grade enrolling, and less than 20 percent in all grades 8th and beyond. But when asked, most survey respondents said that the most important purpose of supplementary schools was to foster students’ sense of belonging to the Jewish people.

(The Hebrew school study can be downloaded from: patways.jewishedproject.org)

As in England, church growth is taking place in Scotland through the rapid growth of migrants, especially in cities, a new study finds. Writing in the current issue of the International Bulletin of Mission Studies (April), Sheila Akomiah-Conteh notes that Scottish churches have largely been in a state of decline for the past 60 years. But the secular narrative is changing as “Thousands of new and innovative churches and Christian groups are emerging…One of the most significant contributors to these pockets of church growth in contemporary Britain is migration,” Akomiah-Conteh writes. In one of the first studies of church growth in Scotland, she focuses on the city of Glasgow, which has seen the founding of 110 new churches between 2000 and 2016; 65 percent of the new churches planted were ethnic minority churches, with 79 percent of these being African. The new churches almost outnumber all the Presbyterian churches in the city. The projected decline of churches for 2020 has recently been revised due to the growth of ethnic churches (as well as new “Fresh Expression” congregations in the Church of England and Scotland). Although the researcher does not provide updated figures, she notes that the growth of these churches in Scotland is continual. The fact that these churches draw new members mainly from within their ethnic groups [see April RW for more on this issue] means that they are filling an important niche in Scotland’s urban centers.

Source: SIM By Prayer.

(International Bulletin of Mission Research, https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ibm)

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