Denominational Profile

History

Founded in North America in 1792 as the Church of the New Jerusalem, the Swedenborgian Church was organized as a national body in 1817 and incorporated in Illinois in 1861. Its biblically-based theology is derived from the spiritual, or mystical, experiences and biblical studies of the Swedish scientist and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).
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Membership Data

Year	Clergy	Churches	Members
1925	75	80	5,440
1929	79	79	5,303
1935	67	79	7,185
1937	-	81	4,953
1939	-	75	4,894
1941	-	70	4,780
1943	-	77	5,175
1949	-	77	5,119
1952	58	69	5,064
1953	58	63	4,219
1954	57	63	3,970
1955	56	55	4,273
1956	55	54	4,200
1957	51	54	4,212
1958	50	54	3,945
1959	49	60	3,941
1960	46	56	4,070
1961	47	52	4,053
1962	46	-	3,907
1963	47	46	3,758
1965	63	63	3,743
1966	55	56	3,743
1967	49	56	4,450
1968	54	47	2,842
1974	51	47	2,329
1975	48	45	3,500
1977	51	47	2,640
1981	53	39	1,820
1985	51	49	2,245
1988	54	50	2,423
1996	59	38	2,096
1997	53	37	2,029
1998	45	37	2,113
2000	44	44	2,104
2001	44	44	2,104
2002	54	44	2,000
2003	60	40	1,677
2004	60	39	1,802

Source

Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]