Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1952 (Counties)

DOI

10.17605/OSF.IO/5TKP2

Summary

This study was an effort to gather the statistics of churches and church membership throughout the United States for 1952. The data presented here are county-level data based on the cooperation of 114 religious denominations in the continental United States.

Data File

Cases: 3075
Variables: 234
Weight Variable: None

Data Collection

1952

Funded By

National Council of Churches

Sampling Procedures

Self-report forms were completed by all participating religious bodies. Every denomination listed in the Yearbook of American Churches was originally approached by The National Council of Churches, bureau of research and survey. Of the 251 religious bodies listed in the Yearbook, 114 chose to participate in the enumeration.

Principal Investigators

National Council of Churches

Related Publications

(1956) Churches and Church Membership in the Unites States: An Enumeration and Analysis by Counties, States and Regions. National Council of Churches: New York

Special thanks to the Church Growth Division at the Church of the Nazarene for providing data entry which made archival of this denominational data possible.

Notes

The following is a list of participating denominations in the 1952 enumeration. If relevant, the denominational code and abbreviation (used in the 1980 and 1990 church membership studies) is included for those denominations that still exist. Denominations are categorized according to size and ordered the same way they appear in the 1956 publication (cited above).

Over 100,000 Members:
Seventh-day Adventists--413--S.D.A.
Assemblies of God--053--ASSEMB OF GOD
American Baptist Convention--019--AMER BAPT USA
Southern Baptist Convention--419--SO BAPT CONV
Church of the Brethren--157--CH OF BRETHREN
Church of God (Cleveland--127--CH GOD (CLEVE)
Church of God (Anderson--123--CH GOD (ANDER)
Church of God in Christ--143--CG IN CR(MENN)
Church of the Nazarene--165--CH OF NAZARENE
Congregational Christian Churches--175--CONGR CHR CHS
Disciples of Christ International Convention--093--CHR CH (DISC)
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of America--049--ARMEN AP CH AM
Greek Archdiocese of North and South America--246--GREEK ORTHODOX
Evangelical and Reformed Church
Evangelical United Brethren Church
Jewish Congregations--496--JEWISH EST
Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints--151--L-D SAINTS
Reorganized Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
American Lutheran Church
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod--283--LUTH--MO SYNOD
Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Wisconsin & Other States
United Lutheran Church in America
The Methodist Church--449--UN METHODIST
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
United Presbyterian Church of North America
Protestant Episcopal Church
Christian Reformed Church--105--CHRISTIAN REF
Reformed Church in America--371--REF CH IN AM
Roman Catholic Church--081--CATHOLIC
Under 100,000 Members:
Advent Christian Church--001--ADVENT CHR CH
Life and Advent Union
Amana Church Society--015--AMANA CH SOC
Baha'i Faith
Baptist General Conference of America--057--BAPT GEN CONF
Christian Unity Baptist Association
North American Baptist General Conference--313--N AM BAPT CONF
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference--415--S-D BAPTIST GC
United Baptists--436--UNITED BAPT
Bible Protestant Church
Brethren Church (Ashland Ohio)
Brethren Church (Progressive)
Church of God (New Dunkards)
Plymouth Brethren--353--CHR BRETHREN
Brethren in Christ--075--BRETHREN IN CR
Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.
General Convention of the New Jerusalem in the U.S.A.
General Church of the New Jerusalem--233--GEN CH NEW JER
Divine Science Church
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
Evangelical Congregational Church--199--EVAN CONGR CH
Evangelical Free Church of America--203--EVAN FREE CH
Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America
Apostolic Christian Church of America--040--AP CHR CH-AMER
Church of God
Missionary Bands of the World
Missionary Church Association--291--MISSIONARY CH
Religious Society of Friends (Conservative)
Religious Society of Friends (General Conference)
Religious Society of Friends (Five Yrs. Mtg.)
Religious Society of Friends (Philadelphia and Vicinity)
Central Yearly Meeting of Friends
Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends Church
Unaffiliated Conservative Amish Mennonite Church
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonites)--149--CH OF JC (BIC)
Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerites)
United Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church
Negro Missions--497--BLACK BAPT EST
Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America--163--CH OF LUTH BR
American Evangelical Lutheran Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Eilsen Synod)
Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church of America
Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church (Suomi Synod)
Conference of the Evangelical Mennonite Church
Conservative Mennonite Conference
Hutterian Brethren--257--HUTTERIAN BR
Mennonite Brethren Church of North America
Mennonite Church--285--MENNONITE CH
Old Order Amish Mennonite Church
Old Order (Wisler) Mennonite Church
Reformed Mennonite Church
Stauffer Mennonite Church
United Missionary Church
Free Methodist Church of North America--221--FREE METHODIST
Holiness Methodist Church
Lumber River Annual Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church
Primitive Methodist Church U.S.A.
Pacific Yearly Meeting of Friends
Reformed Zion Union Apostolic Church
Wesleyan Methodist Church of America
Bohemian and Moravian Brethren
Moravian Church in America (Unitas Fratrum)
Old Catholic Church in America
Open Bible Standard Churches--329--OPEN BIBLE STD
Pentecostal Church of God of America--339--PENT CH OF GOD
The Pentecostal Holiness Church--349--PENT HOLINESS
Pilgrim Holiness Church
Associate Presbyterian Church of North America
Cumberland Presbyterian Church--185--CUMBER PRESB
Reformed Episcopal Church--375--REF EPISCOPAL
Social Brethren--417--SOCIAL BRETH
National Spiritualist Assn. of Churches
Unitarian Church
United Brethren in Christ--438--UN BRETH IN CR
United Christian Church
Universalist Church of America
Vedanta Society
Volunteers of America
Church of God of Prophecy--145--CH GOD PROPHCY