Church Activity

in

Springfield

Springfield, Oregon, defies the trend. In a day and age where church activity is declining, Springfield manages to report an increase in local church adherents. Compare this to national figures found in two recent Gallup Polls. Springfield's pattern of growth may be due to the large number of denominations found here in Oregon.

Denominations	# of Churches	Adherents	Percent
Catholic	199	279,650	9.84%
Mormon	228	89,601	3.15%
Lutheran	118	48,958	1.72%
Assembly of God	216	47,035	1.65%
United Methodist	177	42,209	1.49%
Presbyterian	135	38,086	1.34%
Christian	167	36,650	1.29%
Adventist	123	34,468	1.21%
Southern Baptist	120	31,260	1.10%
Source: Adherents.com

From the chart, an interesting pattern is found. Logically, the religion with the greatest number of churches would have the greatest number of adherents. The Lutheran Church is ranked third but has a significantly small number of churches compared to the others on the chart. Similarly, the denomination with the largest number of churches in Oregon, the Mormon Church, is not first but second.

Learn about Saint Alice

Learn about First Baptist

Religious Boating

Saint Alice is a Catholic Church in Springfield. It was opened in 1920. Church records show that in 1931, a mere twenty-four members attended mass. The church was plagued by near-closures due to lack of members.

Today, however, the church boasts an increase in adherents. Many changes have taken place as well. The church has rebuilt and addend on in the years since it first opened. There are many longtime members whose relatives were early principals of the church. This fact makes sense since infant baptism hit its peak in the late fifties and early sixties. These infants have families of their own who now attend the church. These many members have been faithful over the years, which might explain the increase in numbers.

Emily's Page About Saint Alice

 Gallup Poll Releases

According to the latest Gallup Poll, Americans remain "conventionally religious, but also embrace nontraditional approaches to religion." Two-thirds of Americans rate religion as important in their lives. This rate is less than results found in the 1960s but higher than what was found in the 1970s. Two-thirds of Americans also are members of a church or synagogue. Only eight percent of those polled admit to never attending any religious services

Another Gallup Poll reveals that many Americans remain "unchurched." "Unchurched"- those who are not members of a church or who have not attended church in the past six months other than for special religious holidays, weddings, or funerals.

	Percent of "unchurched"
National	44
Gender
Male	50
Female	39
Region
East	47
Midwest	41
South	39
West	52
Age
18-29	49
30-49	44
50-64	42
65+	40
Source: Gallup.com

 

As demonstrated by the table above, the West has the highest percentage of "unchurched." This figure would, of course, include Oregon. Fifty-two percent of Westerners are not members of any church. These numbers are significantly higher than the South and exceed the Midwest and East as well. Springfield, however, manages to have some report of an increase in "churched" people.

 

Springfield is just one of many exceptions that seem to defy the polls. It's increase in numbers may have to do with many factors such as population. Springfield is a growing community. It's population has dramatically increased over the last ten years.

 

There are numerous factors that can be linked to church decline. A clear and concise list has yet to be made. Many researches use only vague assumptions about lifestyle changes, technological changes, and the like to explain the reason(s) why. Hopefully, research can pinpoint the causes of decline more specifically in the near future.

Natalie Linville

Church Activity in Springfield

Thurston High School

May 19, 2000

Project in its entirety available at

The Springfield Museum

590 Main Street

Springfield, Or 97477