Presbyterian Church USA released its annual report last week which shows the denomination has lost 1 million members over the last 15 years. Farther down in the report, it states nearly 200 pastors stepped away from the pulpit and 133 congregations broke away from the relatively new denomination that can be traced to a historic merger in the 1980s.
Jeff Walton, of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, says those 1 million active members have left PCUSA since 2009 after decades of decline that averaged 4.5% annually.
“I would guess, within the next two years,” Walton predicts, “the denomination will drop for the first time below 1 million members.”
Like other Protestant denominations, the history of the Presbyterian church can be traced to Europe and the Protestant Reformation, in particular to John Calvin and his Reformed Theology. The denomination’s roots began in Ireland and became PCUSA after the New England colonies gained independence from Great Britain. From there the denomination battled over slavery during the Civil War then, at the turn of the century, fought liberal theology that denied Christ's virgin birth. The first woman was ordained in 1956.
The current denomination formed in 1983 when Presbyterian Church in the United States, or PCUSA, joined with UPCUSA, the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
According to Walton, most churchgoers in a PCUSA congregation are older in age, with fewer young families attending. So the COVD-19 pandemic delivered a wallop to many elderly-filled churches that were already struggling to fill the pews.
Like other liberal mainline denominations, he says, the decline in the PCUSA can be traced back to church leaders leaving biblical orthodoxy behind in the name of progress.
“Presbyterian Church USA has a heavy emphasis on social justice, and they tend to be involved in some of the issues that you would see on the political left,” Walton tells AFN. “It tends to be one that is theologically and politically more progressive than you would see among most American Christians.”
One glaring example of that cultural shift, Walton and IRD report, is a 17% jump in members who identify as “genderqueer” or “nonbinary.” That category was added for members in 2022, Fox News reported at the time.
The liberal views within PCUSA also surfaced last year, when the denomination supported anti-Israel protests on college and university campuses.
By contrast, Walton says, the more conservative Presbyterian Church in America has held its ground.
“It is not a denomination that is in significant, consistent decline, like the PCUSA has been for quite a long time now,” he advises.
