American Christian Denominational Statistics

From the 2003 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, here are the ten largest churches, by membership, in the USA, in order from largest.

1. The Roman Catholic Church: 65.2 million
2. The Southern Baptist Convention: 16 million
3. The United Methodist Church: 8.3 million
4. The Church of God in Christ: 5.5 million
5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 5.3 million
6. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 5.1 million
7. The National Baptist Convention USA: 5 million
8. The National Baptist Convention of America: 3.5 million
9. Presbyterian Church (USA): 3.5 million
10. Assemblies of God: 2.6 million

That means that, for 2003, the ELCA is the 6th largest church in the USA and the 4th largest Protestant church in the USA.

—from The Rev. Eric C. Shafer, Director, ELCA Department for Communication

Last updated: 2003-04-05