How many persons--counting both adults and children--would you say regularly participate in the religious life of your congregation--whether or not they are officially members of your congregation? (National Congregations Study 2006-2007)
Each question was asked of a key informant from the congregation, such as a minister, priest, rabbi, or other staff person or leader.
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[Results weighted by W1] |
Related Topics
Demographic Patterns
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Size of Congregation (Demographic Patterns)
Size of Congregation by Year Founded
| Before 1900 | 1900-1950 | 1951-1999 | 2000 or Later | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 14.5% 52 | 9.5% 37 | 13.9% 79 | 18.4% 18 | 14 | 13.2% 186 |
| 26-50 | 19.0% 68 | 26.5% 103 | 22.2% 126 | 43.9% 43 | 34 | 24.1% 340 |
| 51-100 | 21.5% 77 | 28.1% 109 | 27.5% 156 | 14.3% 14 | 19 | 25.2% 356 |
| 101-200 | 23.2% 83 | 18.3% 71 | 18.7% 106 | 16.3% 16 | 13 | 19.5% 276 |
| More than 200 | 21.8% 78 | 17.5% 68 | 17.8% 101 | 7.1% 7 | 8 | 18.0% 254 |
| MISSING | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 358 | 100.0% 388 | 100.0% 568 | 100.0% 98 | 88 | 1412 |
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Size of Congregation by Political Ideology
| More on the conservative side | Right in the middle | More on the liberal side | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 8.0% 66 | 23.7% 116 | 9.9% 11 | 7 | 13.6% 193 |
| 26-50 | 27.9% 229 | 20.7% 101 | 24.3% 27 | 18 | 25.1% 357 |
| 51-100 | 28.3% 232 | 18.2% 89 | 25.2% 28 | 26 | 24.6% 349 |
| 101-200 | 20.3% 167 | 17.4% 85 | 18.9% 21 | 18 | 19.2% 273 |
| More than 200 | 15.5% 127 | 20.0% 98 | 21.6% 24 | 12 | 17.5% 249 |
| MISSING | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 821 | 100.0% 489 | 100.0% 111 | 81 | 1421 |
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Size of Congregation by Region of the Country
| New England or Mid-Atlantic | East North Central or West North Central | South Atlantic, East South Central, or West South Central | Mountain or Pacific | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 20.6% 41 | 12.2% 47 | 15.5% 111 | 1.5% 3 | 13.4% 202 |
| 26-50 | 20.6% 41 | 26.2% 101 | 26.5% 189 | 21.6% 44 | 25.0% 375 |
| 51-100 | 24.6% 49 | 22.9% 88 | 26.5% 189 | 23.5% 48 | 24.9% 374 |
| 101-200 | 15.1% 30 | 20.5% 79 | 18.2% 130 | 25.5% 52 | 19.4% 291 |
| More than 200 | 19.1% 38 | 18.2% 70 | 13.3% 95 | 27.9% 57 | 17.3% 260 |
| MISSING | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 199 | 100.0% 385 | 100.0% 714 | 100.0% 204 | 1502 |
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Size of Congregation by Religious Tradition
| Roman Catholic | White conservative, evangelical, or fundamentalist | Black Protestant | White liberal or moderate | Non-Christian | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 13.9% 11 | 11.1% 81 | 25.7% 91 | 4.9% 14 | 8.0% 4 | 13.4% 201 |
| 26-50 | 8.9% 7 | 24.3% 178 | 32.8% 116 | 22.1% 63 | 22.0% 11 | 25.0% 375 |
| 51-100 | 0.0% 0 | 28.1% 206 | 22.0% 78 | 28.1% 80 | 20.0% 10 | 24.9% 374 |
| 101-200 | 15.2% 12 | 21.8% 160 | 11.9% 42 | 22.5% 64 | 24.0% 12 | 19.3% 290 |
| More than 200 | 62.0% 49 | 14.7% 108 | 7.6% 27 | 22.5% 64 | 26.0% 13 | 17.4% 261 |
| MISSING | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 79 | 100.0% 733 | 100.0% 354 | 100.0% 285 | 100.0% 50 | 1501 |
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Size of Congregation by Theology
| More on the conservative side | Right in the middle | More on the liberal side | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 11.2% 102 | 18.6% 79 | 11.6% 14 | 7 | 13.4% 195 |
| 26-50 | 24.7% 226 | 24.1% 102 | 27.3% 33 | 14 | 24.7% 361 |
| 51-100 | 28.1% 257 | 20.5% 87 | 18.2% 22 | 8 | 25.1% 366 |
| 101-200 | 20.5% 187 | 16.5% 70 | 20.7% 25 | 8 | 19.3% 282 |
| More than 200 | 15.5% 142 | 20.3% 86 | 22.3% 27 | 5 | 17.5% 255 |
| MISSING | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 914 | 100.0% 424 | 100.0% 121 | 42 | 1459 |
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Size of Congregation by Year
| 1998 | 2006 | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 or Less | 16.9% 207 | 13.4% 201 | 14.9% 408 |
| 26-50 | 22.7% 279 | 25.0% 375 | 24.0% 654 |
| 51-100 | 24.3% 298 | 25.0% 375 | 24.7% 673 |
| 101-200 | 17.2% 211 | 19.3% 290 | 18.4% 501 |
| More than 200 | 19.0% 233 | 17.4% 261 | 18.1% 494 |
| MISSING | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 1228 | 100.0% 1502 | 2730 |
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Notes
The National Congregations Study (NCS) dataset "fills a void in the sociological study of congregations by providing, for the first time, data that can be used to draw a nationally aggregate picture of congregations" (Chaves et al. 1999, p.460). Thanks to innovations in sampling techniques, the NCS data is the first nationally representative sample of American congregations. In 2006-07, a panel component was added to the NCS. In addition to the new cross-section of congregations generated in conjunction with the 2006 General Social Survey (GSS), a stratified random sample was drawn from congregations who participated in the 1998 NCS. The 2006-07 NCS sample, then, includes a subset of cases that were also interviewed in 1998. A full codebook, prepared by the primary investigator, is available for download here. The codebook contains the original questionnaire, as well as detailed information on survey methodology, weights, coding, and more.
