Methodist Family
The Methodist-Pietist family consists of churches that stress the importance of internal faith, spirituality, and Christian living over adherence to formal creeds and doctrine. The largest among these churches is the United Methodist Church, which follows the teachings of John Wesley, who in the 18th century broke away from the Church of England because of his emphasis on personal holiness. Other Methodist churches include the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Maps: Methodist Family1
Adherence Rate per 1,000 (2010)
Congregations (2010)
Top 5 Methodist Family States (2010)1 [View all states]
| Rank | State | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 425,204 | 91.90 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 340,603 | 90.80 |
| 3 | Mississippi | 266,951 | 90.00 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 832,220 | 87.30 |
| 5 | Iowa | 259,485 | 85.20 |
Top 5 Methodist Family Counties (2010)1 [View all counties]
| Rank | County | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williamsburg County, South Carolina | 12,579 | 365.40 |
| 2 | Lane County, Kansas | 633 | 361.70 |
| 3 | Decatur County, Kansas | 1,038 | 350.60 |
| 4 | Lamar County, Georgia | 6,349 | 346.60 |
| 5 | Benton County, Indiana | 2,980 | 336.60 |
Top 5 Methodist Family Metro Areas (2010)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro Area | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area | 81,089 | 254.00 |
| 2 | Orangeburg, SC, Micropolitan Statistical Area | 19,959 | 215.80 |
| 3 | Newberry, SC, Micropolitan Statistical Area | 7,778 | 207.40 |
| 4 | Georgetown, SC, Micropolitan Statistical Area | 12,465 | 207.20 |
| 5 | Oil City, PA, Micropolitan Statistical Area | 10,712 | 194.80 |
Methodist Family: Adherence Rates (1980 - 2010)1
Sources
1 Congregational adherents include all full members, their children, and others who regularly attend services. The adherence rate is the number of people per 1,000 who are an adherent of the group. For example an adherence rate of 600 means that 600 out of every 1,000 people in this area are adherents of the Southern Baptist Convention.
These data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include statistics for 236 religious groups, providing information on the number of their congregations and adherents within each state and county in the United States. Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E. Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H. Taylor supervised the collection. These data originally appeared in 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study, published by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). [More information on the data sources]
