1997 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
U.S. Religious Bodies with more than 60,000 Members

The table below was prepared for the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. It is for the 1997 edition of the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Religious BodyYear reportedChurches reportedMembershipClergy serving parishes \1
African Methodist Episcopal Church \219918,0003,500,000(NA)
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church19963,0981,230,8422,571
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.19955,8231,517,4004,974
Armenian Apostolic Church of America199528180,00023
Assemblies of God199511,8232,387,98217,693
Baptist Bible Fellowship International19953,6001,500,000(NA)
Baptist General Conference1995857135,008(NA)
Baptist Missionary Association of America19951,355231,1911,300
Christian Brethren (aka Plymouth Brethren)19941,15098,000500
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)19954,036929,7254,010
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ19885,5791,070,6165,525
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church19832,340718,9222,340
Christian Reformed Church in North America1996716206,789666
Church of God (Anderson, Ind.)19952,307224,0613,011
Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.)19956,060753,2303,121
Church of God of Prophecy19951,96172,8598,636
Church of the Brethren19951,114143,121844
Church of the Nazarene19955,135601,9005,111
Churches of Christ199513,0201,655,00010,000
Conservative Baptist Association of America19921,084200,000(NA)
Coptic Orthodox Church199285180,00065
Cumberland Presbyterian Church199578387,896(NA)
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America199172414,00049
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America199510,9555,190,4899,819
Free Methodist Church of North America19951,06874,707(NA)
Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches & Ministers Internat.1995650195,000725
General Association of General Baptists199087674,1561,384
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches19941,458136,380(NA)
Grace Gospel Fellowship199212860,000160
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America19775321,950,000610
Hindu \31990(NA)227,000(NA)
Independent Fundamental Churches of America199567069,857(NA)
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel19951,742227,307(NA)
International Council of Community Churches1995517250,000491
International Pentecostal Holiness Church19951,653157,163(NA)
Jehovah's Witnesses199510,541966,243(NA)
Jewish \31990(NA)3,137,000(NA)
Mennonite Church199598690,8121,350
Muslim/Islamic \31990(NA)527,000(NA)
National Assoc. of Congregational Christian Churches199542670,000600
National Association of Free Will Baptists19952,491213,7162,800
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc19872,5003,500,0008,000
National Baptist Convention, USA,Inc.199233,0008,200,00032,832
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America1992(NA)2,500,000(NA)
Old Order Amish Church199389880,8203,592
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World19941,7601,000,0004,262
Pentecostal Church of God19951,224119,200(NA)
Polish National Catholic Church of America1960162282,411141
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)199511,3613,669,4899,588
Presbyterian Church in America19951,299267,7641,522
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.19952,0002,500,000(NA)
Reformed Church in America1995908306,312855
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints19951,160177,77916,671
Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada19866867,00060
Seventh-day Adventist Church19954,297790,7312,307
Southern Baptist Convention199540,03915,663,29638,123
The American Baptist Association19861,705250,0001,740
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of N. Am.1995184300,000200
The Christian Congregation, Inc.19951,431113,2591,427
The Christian and Missionary Alliance19951,957307,3661,578
The Church of God in Christ199115,3005,499,87528,988
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints199510,4174,711,50031,251
The Episcopal Church19957,4152,536,5508,037
The Evangelical Covenant Church1995(NA)91,458(NA)
The Evangelical Free Church of America19961,224242,6191,936
The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod19956,1542,594,5555,287
The Orthodox Church in America19956002,000,000650
The Roman Catholic Church199519,72660,280,454(NA)
The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America19953765,00037
The Salvation Army19951,264453,1503,645
The United Methodist Church199536,3618,538,66219,560
The Wesleyan Church19951,624115,8671,785
Unitarian Universalists \31990(NA)502,000(NA)
United Church of Christ19956,1451,472,2134,439
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod19951,252412,4781,198

NA = Not available
\1 = Does not include retired clergy or clergy not working with congregations
\2 = Figures obtained from the Directory of African American Religious Bodies, 1991
\3 = Figures obtained from the National Survey of Religious Identification, a survey conducted by the City University of New York in 1990 and published in "One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society," by Barry Kosmin and Seymour Lachman (1993)

Source: Kenneth B. Bedell, editor, Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, annual (copyright).

Updated January 9, 1997