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2010 Census of Orthodox Christian Churches in the USA Now Complete
JOHNSTOWN, PA (ACROD) - Data is now available from the 2010 US Orthodox Christian Census which our diocese participated in. This census was part of the national “Religious Congregations and Membership Study 2010, that was conducted by Alexei Krindatch, a researcher engaged by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America.Complete article here.
The following represents a summary of the research findings:
What is the US National Orthodox Census and what it tells us about?
The 2010 US Orthodox Christian Census provides information on:
Data on adherents and regular attendees are available for each local Orthodox parish (congregation), each national American Orthodox Christian Church and for each geographic area and each county of the USA.
- parishes and monastic communities in American Orthodox Christian Churches including the so-called Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches;
- Church “adherents” - the most inclusive category of church membership which includes children and anyone participating even occasionally in church life;
- Church “regular attendees” - the persons attending church on the regular basis.
Why is this National Orthodox Census unique?
The data in the Census was obtained directly from the local Orthodox parishes - not from the national church headquarters or regional judicatories (dioceses). Therefore the 2010 National Orthodox Census provides the most reliable and accurate information on the Orthodox Christian Churches in the United States.
What is the total membership in all American Orthodox Christian Churches combined?
There are roughly 1,044,000 adherents of the various Orthodox Christian Churches in the United States. This figure includes 227,000 members of the Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches such as Coptic, Armenian, Syriac and Malankara Indian Orthodox Churches. The American Orthodox Christians worship in 2,380 local Orthodox parishes which belong to 20 different national Orthodox Church bodies including 6 Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Are American Orthodox Churches growing?
The answer to this question is “Yes.” From 2000-2010, the total number of Orthodox parishes in America increased for 16 percent.
The fastest growing groups among national Orthodox Churches in the US are: Bulgarian Orthodox Eastern Diocese (+122% increase in parishes), Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese (+121%), and Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church (+89%). Out of twenty national Orthodox Churches participating in 2010 US Orthodox Census, only three declined in number of parishes during 2000-2010: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church and Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Catholicosate Cilicia)...
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What's the status of the Macedonians? Are they still non-canonical?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that only the Copts(does "Coptic" include Ethiopian and Eritrean?) and Malankara Orthodox have a majority of their "adherents" as regular attendees.
I don't know what it means, but it's interesting.
Fascinating article. And yes, the Macedonians are non-canoniocal as is HOCNA.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised at the percentage of regular attendees for the Antiochian Archdiocese. I thought that it was the "nutty convert jurisdiction" it would be a lot higher.
ReplyDeleteNutty convert jurisdiction?
ReplyDeleteHumpf!
I expect to see continued growth in the South and Southwest. No idea what to do about the Northeast, but something needs to happen.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked by these numbers because I had always assumed that the number of Orthodox in the USA was about 4 to 5 million, and about half a million in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI looked up on Wikipedia and at this site, the numbers they show are like what I thought they would be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_by_country
Where does Wiki get their numbers? Without ever seeing this entry before, I had the same notion of Orthodox population. By the way, I am Greek Orthodox.
That's a good question. I've seen some explanations before - largely having to do with familial relations and cultural origins.
ReplyDelete