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Differences among Denominations |
Of all specific religious denominations world wide, the largest evangelical Christian denomination is the Assemblies of God (#7 overall), followed by the Southern Baptists (#12). http://www.adherents.com/adh_rb.html#Evangelische
The largest religious denomination bearing the name Christian is the Roman Catholic system, followed by the Eastern Orthodox Church (#3 overall), the Anglican Communion (#5), the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (#6), the Watchtower Society (so-called Jehovah's Witnesses) at #11. http://www.adherents.com/adh_rb.html#Evangelische
Among churches polled, the highest percentages of born again believers were found in the Assemblies of God (81%), then other Pentecostal/Foursquare churches (80%), non-denominational Protestant churches (76%), and Baptist churches (67%). 7http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
Catholics*, at 25%, represented the the lowest number of born again believers among the 12 largest denominational groupings in America. ^7
Only 1% of Catholics fit the definition (see first section) of evangelical. ^7
Protestants remain the largest religious segment of America, claiming 56% of the adult population. Catholics represent about 22%, atheists and agnostics are about 7%, and Mormons are just under 2%. Barna Research 2001 8 http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=93 See also http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=15
Among 7,441 Protestant pastors. Asked if they believed that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God: 87% of Methodists said NO. 95% of Episcopalians said NO. 82% of Presbyterians said NO. 67% of American Baptists said N0. Pulpit Helps, December 1987
Weekly Church attendance (12 denominations polled, Christian and nominal Christian): Outside of Mormon Temple worshipers at 62%, Church of Christ churches were the highest with 37% reporting they attended every Sonday. Christian Pentecostal/Foursquare and Assemblies of God churches were close behind at 37% and 35% respectively. The lowest figure for weekly Sunday attendance was that of 6% for Catholics, and 11% for the Episcopal church.^8
Bible Reading: the highest was 75%, by those going to a Pentecostal/Foursquare church who reported they had read the Bible during the past week (besides at church), while the lowest was among Catholic at 23%.^8
Volunteer church work (during past 7 days): Mormon Temple adherents reported the highest at 40%, then Assemblies of God at 30%, with the lowest going to Catholics at 12%.^8
Donating Money (during the last month): Church of Christ churches were the highest at 29%, with Catholics being the lowest at 12%.^8
By denomination, 61% of the those associated with an Assemblies of God church said they had shared their faith at least once during the past year, followed by 61% of those who attend a Pentecostal/Foursquare church, and ending 14% among Episcopalians and just 10% among Roman Catholics.^8
Evangelism , 23% of church – going born again persons said they shared their faith in Jesus Christ with a non-Christian during the past year. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=147
The highest percentage of those who strongly agree they have a personal responsibility to share their faith was found among believers in Pentecostal/Foursquare churches (73%) [Independent Fundamental Baptists, who usually are the most committed in this, were grouped with other baptists]. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=147
Only 8% of Senior Pastors say they have the gift of evangelism, just 12% the spiritual gift of leadership; but 66% say they have the gift of teaching or preaching. Barna Research 2001.http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=103
Only 8% of born again adults give a 10th of their income to their church. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=52 http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=147
On average, weekly churchgoers donate 3.8% of their income to charity, compared to 0.8% for those who never go. Independent Sector (charitable clearing house): Atheists won't save Europe by Don Feder; http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27937
81% of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches , followed 77% by Assemblies of God believers, and ending with 26% of Catholics and 22% of Episcopalians. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
73% (highest) of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly affirm that Christ was sinless on earth, with Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists being tied at 33%, and the lowest being among Episcopalians with just 28% 7http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
64% of those in Assemblies of God churches strongly disagree that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others they will earn a place in Heaven [salvation on the basis of merit]. Only 9% (the lowest percentage) of Catholics agree.^ (See Romans 3-5, Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5, etc.). ^7
56% of Assemblies of God of strongly disagree that Satan is just a symbol of evil [rather than a real being]; only 17% Catholics concur. ^7
Catholics and Mainline Protestants tend towards more belief in a more Distant God. 5.5Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – September 2006 . http://www.baylor.edu/isreligion/index.php?id=40634
Evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants tend towards belief in a more Authoritarian God. ^
Jews tend towards belief in a Distant God and over 8% of Jews in our sample report being atheists. ^
88% of Catholics believe that they can practice artificial means of birth control and still be considered good Catholics. New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5%.
70 % of all Catholics in the age group 18 to 44 believe the Eucharist is a "symbolic reminder" of Jesus (it is, of His death), indicating they do not believe it is Jesus actual body and blood (as Rome erroneously teaches). New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5%
Only 30% of Catholics said believe they are really and truly receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine. 1992 Gallup poll
Age 65 and over, 51% of Catholics said they believe in the above doctrine. New York Times and CBS poll of Catholics. http://www.catholicapologetics.com/ba3.htm
66% of Catholics support women's ordination to the priesthood, and 73% approve of the way John Paul II leads the church. Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs by George Gallup, Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay (Morehouse Publishing, 1999). Copyright © 2004 -- The Gallup Organization www.gallup.com
80% of Catholics believe it is possible to disagree with the pope on official positions on morality and still be a good Catholic. Time/CNN nationwide poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Sept. 27-28, 1995; subsample of 500 Catholics, MOE ± 4.5%
77 % of Catholics polled "believe a person can be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday, 65 percent believe good Catholics can divorce and remarry, and 53 percent believe Catholics can have abortions and remain in good standing. 1999 poll by the National Catholic Reporter. http://www.catholictradition.org/v2-bombs14b.htm
31% of faithful Catholics (those who attend church weekly) say abortion should be legal either in "many" or in "all" cases. Copyright © 2004 -- The Gallup Organization Gallup Survey for Catholics Speak Out: 802 Catholics, May 1992, MOE ± 4%
Catholic women have an abortion rate 29 percent higher than Protestants. Alan Guttmacher Institute http://www.catholicleague.org/research/catholic_women_and_abortion.htm
59% of all Catholic women of childbearing age practice contraception—a rate of usage statistically equivalent to that of the general population (60%). Calvin Goldscheider and William D. Mosher, "Patterns of Contraceptive Use in the United States:
Only 30 percent of Catholic (97% claim to be so) Italy attends church. In larger cities as Milan, the ratio is only 15 percent, according to church officials. Famiglia Cristiana,Catholic weekly magazine.
In Catholic France (76% claim to be so) only 12 percent say they go to church on Sunday (Vatican officials say only 5 percent in cities such as Paris). Georgetown University's Center for the Study of Global Christianity. Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff, May 2, 2005 ©Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company. http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/05/02/catholic_church_withers_in_europe?mode=PF
In Catholic Ireland (90%) less than 50 percent attend Mass even once a month, (down from 91% 30 years ago) estimates a recent church study. ^
10 percent of Protestants, 21 percent of Roman Catholics, and 52 percent of Jews do NOT believe in God. Harris Interactive Poll, Copyright © 2003 CompuServe Interactive Services, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/JewsDontBelieve.htm
Mississippi (33%), Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kentucky have the 5 highest percentages of S. Baptist, while Rhode Island (52%), Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York have the 5 highest percentages of Catholics. http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
Massachusetts ranks as the most liberal state, with Boston and Cambridge being the most liberal large cities (100, 000 or more), followed by California. http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html).
The 16 most Catholic states contain 24 of the most liberal cities. Excluding (Maryland 26th), predominately Roman Catholic states contain all but one (Seattle WA) of the 30 most liberal cities. Of states in which S. Baptists are the single largest denomination none (of the 30 cities) were found (the term “liberal: being defined according to individual contributions to PACs, election returns and the number of homosexual households: http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html). http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/Catholic_findings.htm , http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html.
See here for Table of brief casual Religio-Political relations.
Protestants make up approx. 50% of all voters, while Catholics make up 19.9% By group: Baptists at 12.9%, Methodist 8.2%, Lutheran 3.9%, Presbyterian 2.5%, Jewish 2.3%, Episcopalian 1.7% Mormons 1.4%. http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
16 percent of Jewish souls said they go to synagogue once a month or more. Harris Interactive Poll, © 2003 CompuServe Interactive Services, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/JewsDontBelieve.htm
5.5Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – September 2006 . http://www.baylor.edu/isreligion/index.php?id=40634
7http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
8Barna Research 2001 http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=93
See also http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=15
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“O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good; for His mercy for ever” (Ps. 107:1)! |
*Brief summary R. Catholicism:
The following summary can be well substantiated, and is not given not of any personal animosity towards Catholicism but as one who was a devout R. Catholic, and who sought to serve the Lord there after becoming born again, i write as one who has seen both sides, and initially and increasingly realized the tremendous contrast between Rome and Biblical regeneration (becoming born again). And having a heart for sound doctrine and a burden for souls, i wrote the following to help explain the Catholicism behind the statistics this is linked to, and to illustrate the basic difference between the gospel of such a system and that of Holy Scripture, with the prayer that souls will choose the latter to their salvation and to the glory of God. Amen!
Unlike typical cults or cultic systems, the Roman religious system does not require strict doctrinal conformity to all it's teachings, but typical of all such systems, she fosters implicit trust/dependence upon something less than Christ alone, that of the Roman Catholic System. Catholics typically therefore believe in a Jesus that will save them partly upon their own merit and that of the Catholic institution, which autocratically declares itself to be the one true church, to whom all are to submit. Her autocratic Caesario-Papacy and vast hierarchical system is much patterned after the Romans Empire in which the church found itself, and lacks the necessary Biblical warrant. While Peter's brethren – type leadership among the apostles is manifested, he is not seen ruling over the other apostles or church as an elevated supreme demi – god after the manner of Rome. Nowhere do we see even one command given to the church to submit to Peter as it's supreme Head, nor one example of him doing so as Rome examples. Not once does Peter refer to himself as the supreme head of the church, but as “an apostle” and “an elder” (1Pet. 1:1; 5:1). In addition, while the Holy Spirit in Scripture clearly gives us instructions for ordaining Bishop/Elders (not priests) as overseers of the church (1Tim. 3:1-7), nowhere is their any provision given for a successor to Peter. All told Rome's interpretation of her foundational text, Matthew 16:13-19, is unsubstantiated by the rest of Scripture. And without the papacy, all of Rome's pretensions to supreme power, and all Her spurious doctrines – which depend upon a presumed apostolic power to effectively add to the Bible – fall.
In addition to resting her case for the papacy essentially upon circular reasoning – namely, that according to her interpretation of Mt. 16:13-19) only her interpretations can be correct in any conflict – Rome also seeks to validate her presumed preeminence via a supposed historical linkage back to the apostles. Yet the authenticity of the, or a, true church does not rest upon any real or supposed historical linkage back to the apostles, any more than the authenticity of a true Jew rests upon physical linkage back to Abraham, as Rm. 2:28, 29 declares. Rather in both cases, authenticity is based upon Abrahamic type faith in the apostolic gospel, which knows nothing of salvation by proxy, or justification that depends on Romish rituals, but which justifies the destitute sinner with the imputed righteousness of Christ the moment they cast all their faith upon the risen Lord Jesus (and thus follow Him:. Acts 10:34-47). Praise ye the Lord!
In contrast, the average Catholic hears no convicting preaching that brings him to realize that he is a guilty and needy sinner who has nothing to offer God that he may gain Heaven nor escape Hell, and thus look directly to God in Christ for mercy, trusting in Him and His sinless shed blood and righteousness for salvation. Instead, the main, modern conveyance of Rome is that souls, not matter how nominal a practitioner they be, will be taken care if they die in Her hands. Though she makes many authoritative pronouncements which give her a form of Godliness, punishments for deviation are seldom enforced, and unholy liberalism and anti - Biblical practices (abortion, homosexuality, etc.) typically reign more where she reigns, as compared with areas where the evangelical Christian faith is believed. At the end, Catholics, from abortion and homosexual – promoting politicians to saloon owners to pious widows, are daily sent off to Heaven in Catholic funerals by way of purgatory. The latter is a Biblically non-existent place which the Roman system provides as a way out of through gifts and performances given by the Catholics on earth. The extreme form of this was the sale of indulgences in the Middle Ages. The extravagant Papal palace in Rome was built partly by the income provided by that manner of extortion! Meanwhile the overall effect of such faith in a system has been generations and a present populace of Catholic souls who are largely Biblically ignorant, and have little to no zeal for God's word, heart-felt Biblical worship or evangelism, and are usually either indifferent or antagonistic toward those who preach Jesus and His gospel of grace (Gal. 4:29). This is also much the case with any “institutionalized” church (Anglican, etc.), which becomes more form than substance In contrast, when Catholics or such like become truly born again (many do, thank God), the opposite becomes manifest, but they must leave such spiritually dead systems of bondage and blindness if they will continue in God's Word (versus the traditions of men), and know true and holy spiritual liberty. Praise ye the Lord!
It is the the Lord Jesus Himself who said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” And that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 3:3; 4:24). This can only happen when a soul is convicted of his sins, and realizes his utter inability to either gain Heaven nor escape Hell on any of his own merits or that of a church, and casts all his faith upon the Risen Lord Jesus for salvation, turning from sin to Him (cf. Acts 10:34-47). This decision is shown in baptism (by immersion) in identification with the Lord Jesus, and then in following Him in fellowship with a Bible believing/preaching church. If we rest in the Biblical Jesus as our Savior, we will overall follow Him as our Lord. May all lost souls who read this, by the grace of God, make that decision and know the “grace of God in truth” (Col. 1:6). To the glory of God. Amen!