North Carolina

Religious Traditions, 2010

2,585,530	248,257	1,130,241	15,489	392,912	157,936	5,005,118
Evangelical Protestant	Black Protestant	Mainline Protestant	Orthodox	Catholic	Other	Unclaimed

Congregational adherents include all full members, their children, and others who regularly attend services. The 2010 reports contain incomplete counts of congregations and adherents belonging to the eight largest historically African-American denominations. These denominations are not included in the 2000 reports and are largely missing from the 1990 and 1980 reports.
[More information on the data sources]

Reports

Religious Bodies	Tradition	Family	Congregations	Adherents	Adherence Rate^†
African Methodist Episcopal Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Alliance of Baptists	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
American Association of Lutheran Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
American Baptist Association, The	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1	120	0.0
American Baptist Churches in the USA	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	40	38,740	4.8
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	207	0.0
Amish Groups, undifferentiated*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Amish; Other Groups	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	2	130	0.0
Anglican Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	---	---	---
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, The	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	428	0.1
Apostolic Faith Mission of Portland, OR	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Apostolic Lutheran Church of America	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Catholicosate of Cilicia)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	160	0.0
Armenian Church of North America (Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	420	0.1
Assemblies of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	218	41,036	5.1
Assemblies of God International Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	59	11,101	1.4
Association of Messianic Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Bahá'í	Other	Other Groups	24	5,162	0.6
Baptist Missionary Association of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1	0	---
Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches *	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Bible Presbyterian Church (General Synod)	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Brethren In Christ Church	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Buddhists	Other	Other Groups	46	---	---
Calvary Chapel Fellowship Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	10	---	---
Catholic Church	Catholic	Catholicism	180	315,606	39.2
Christian and Missionary Alliance, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	49	7,287	0.9
Christian Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	136	36,098	4.5
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	161	34,035	4.2
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Christian Reformed Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	3	314	0.0
Church of Christ, Scientist	Other	Christian Science	---	---	---
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	52	4,042	0.5
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	465	81,037	10.1
Church of God (Seventh Day)	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	---	---	---
Church of God General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	2	133	0.0
Church of God in Christ	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	1	120	0.0
Church of God of Prophecy	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	152	7,863	1.0
Church of God, Mountain Assembly, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The	Other	Latter-day Saints	112	40,936	5.1
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of the Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	16	1,805	0.2
Church of the Lutheran Confession	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Church of the Nazarene	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	72	10,731	1.3
Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	189	21,522	2.7
Churches of Christ in Christian Union	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	---	---	---
Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Community of Christ	Other	Latter-day Saints	5	383	0.0
Congregational Christian Churches, Additional (not part of any national CCC body)	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	2	691	0.1
Congregational Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Conservative Baptist Association of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	2	703	0.1
Conservative Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Conservative Yearly Meetings of Friends*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Convention of Original Free Will Baptists	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	234	46,020	5.7
Converge Worldwide/Baptist General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1	110	0.0
Coptic Orthodox Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Elim Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Episcopal Church	Mainline Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	253	80,068	9.9
Eritrean Orthodox	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Ethiopian Orthodox	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Evangelical Association of Reformed, and Congregational Christian Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Evangelical Covenant Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	7	1,207	0.1
Evangelical Free Church of America, The	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	5	1,480	0.2
Evangelical Friends Church International*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Lutheran	237	88,830	11.0
Evangelical Methodist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Evangelical Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	21	7,417	0.9
Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	54	9,294	1.2
Free Methodist Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	2	66	0.0
Free Presbyterian Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Friends (Quakers)	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	110	14,165	1.8
Friends General Conference and Friends United Meeting, dually aligned meetings*	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Friends General Conference *	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Friends United Meeting *	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1	122	0.0
Grace Brethren Churches, Fellowship of	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	11	7,161	0.9
Hindus	Other	Other Groups	10	---	---
Independent Baptist Fellowship International	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Independent Free Will Baptists Associations	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	40	2,978	0.4
Independent Fundamental Churches of America	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Independent, Charismatic Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	20	17,930	2.2
Independent, Non-Charismatic Churches	Evangelical Protestant	----	37	42,559	5.3
International Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	3	2,363	0.3
International Council of Community Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
International Pentecostal Church of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	5	291	0.0
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	328	50,265	6.2
Jain	Other	Other Groups	3	---	---
Jehovah's Witnesses	Other	Adventist	---	---	---
Jewish	Other	Judaism	34	25,545	3.2
Korean Presbyterian Church in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Korean-American Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	56	20,651	2.6
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Mennonite Church USA	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	11	781	0.1
Mennonite; Other Groups	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	5	282	0.0
Metropolitan Community Churches, Universal Fellowship of	Mainline Protestant	Other Groups	12	1,026	0.1
Missionary Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	1	8	0.0
Moravian Church in America--Southern Province	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	50	18,180	2.3
Muslim Estimate	Other	Other Groups	29	20,137	2.5
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	2	103	0.0
National Association of Free Will Baptists	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	202	26,045	3.2
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Missionary Baptist Convention, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	20	6,072	0.8
New Apostolic Church of North America, National Organization of the	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
Non-denominational	Evangelical Protestant	----	---	---	---
North American Baptist Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1	88	0.0
North American Lutheran Church	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Old Order Amish	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Orthodox Church in America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	4	384	0.0
Orthodox Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	7	408	0.1
Pentecostal Church of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	2	156	0.0
Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	738	203,647	25.3
Presbyterian Church in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	93	19,630	2.4
Presbyterian Reformed Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Primitive Baptist Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	94	---	---
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Reconstructionist Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reform Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reformed Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	7	---	---
Reformed Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	1	249	0.0
Reformed Presbyterian Church Hanover Presbytery	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	---	---
Salvation Army	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	36	7,719	1.0
Separate Baptists in Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	4	234	0.0
Serbian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	500	0.1
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA and Canada	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Seventh-day Adventist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	118	23,769	3.0
Sikh	Other	Other Groups	2	---	---
Southern Baptist Convention	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	3,717	1,512,058	187.8
Southwide Baptist Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	73	---	---
U.S. Mennonite Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	6	252	0.0
Unaffiliated Friends Meetings*	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations	Other	Liberal	22	5,181	0.6
United Church of Christ	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	234	50,088	6.2
United Holy Church of America, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Methodist Church, The	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	1,964	638,785	79.4
United Pentecostal Church International	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Reformed Churches in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	1	169	0.0
Unity Churches, Association of	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
Vineyard USA	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	12	2,837	0.4
Wesleyan Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	174	32,475	4.0
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	9	821	0.1
Zoroastrian	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
		Totals:	11,132	3,651,416

The population of North Carolina was 8,049,313 in 2000; in 1990 it was 6,628,637. The total population changed 21.4%. The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (3,651,416) included 45.4% of the total population in 2000.

^* In an effort to better match the ASARB standards for adherents, a few religious bodies changed the way their adherents were reported in 2010, including the Catholic Church, Amish groups, Friends groups, Jewish groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Non-denominational Christian Churches, and the United Methodist Church. This change does not affect any of the data in the newly released 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. In fact, the data for these groups are now more comparable to that of other bodies than it was in previous decadal reports.

However, the change in methodology can distort assessments on growth or decline between 2000 and 2010 for each of these groups. County-level 2000 data using the new methodology are not readily available. ASARB staff has adjusted some 2000 county-level adherent statistics to allow for a more accurate picture on growth or decline. The revised maps and charts are now available on-line at www.usreligioncensus.org for those who are interested in these trends.

Source

2010 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include statistics for 236 religious groups, providing information on the number of their congregations and adherents within each state and county in the United States. Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E. Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H. Taylor supervised the collection. These data originally appeared in 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study, published by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). [More information on the data collection]

^†The adherence rate provides the number of adherents of a particular group per 1,000 population. For example, in 2010 the Episcopal Church had an adherence rate of 7.6 in Autauga County, Alabama. This means that about 8 out of every 1,000 people in Autauga County were Episcopalian.