The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern

The meaning of the declining membership in mainline Protestant denominations has been hotly contested since the 1960s. Drawing on statistical analysis of membership trends, congregational surveys, individual interviews, research on disaffiliation, and case studies of congregations and presbyteries, this volume examines patterns and causes of congregational growth and decline in the Presbyterian church.

Through its examination of American Presbyterianism, the Presbyterian Presence series illuminates patterns of change in mainstream Protestantism and American religious and cultural life in the twentieth century.

Milton J. Coalter is Library Directorand William B. and Mildred L. Nivison Professor at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virgina. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

John M. Mulder was formerly President and Professor of Historical Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of several books on Presbyterian history.

Louis B. Weeks is President Emeritus of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and is the author or editor of twelve books on Presbyterianism and mainstream Protestantism.