Roman Catholic Church
Denominational Profile
Notes
| The Roman Catholic Church first colonized what was to become the United States in 1565. Through processes of immigration and evangelism it became the largest denomination in America in the late nineteenth century and remains so today. |
Membership Data
| Year |
Clergy |
Churches |
Members |
| 1925 |
24,352 |
17,380 |
16,047,914 |
| 1929 |
26,925 |
18,166 |
17,173,148 |
| 1931 |
- |
- |
14,441,011 |
| 1933 |
- |
18,085 |
20,199,594 |
| 1935 |
31,029 |
18,242 |
20,609,302 |
| 1937 |
- |
18,428 |
21,322,688 |
| 1940 |
- |
18,733 |
21,284,456 |
| 1943 |
- |
18,976 |
22,945,248 |
| 1944 |
- |
14,791 |
23,419,700 |
| 1945 |
- |
14,523 |
25,286,178 |
| 1946 |
- |
- |
24,402,124 |
| 1950 |
43,889 |
15,533 |
28,634,878 |
| 1951 |
44,459 |
20,443 |
29,241,580 |
| 1952 |
45,064 |
15,723 |
30,253,428 |
| 1953 |
45,271 |
20,618 |
31,476,260 |
| 1954 |
46,785 |
20,794 |
32,403,332 |
| 1955 |
48,165 |
21,086 |
33,396,648 |
| 1956 |
49,725 |
21,121 |
34,563,852 |
| 1957 |
50,881 |
21,327 |
35,846,476 |
| 1958 |
52,953 |
21,617 |
39,509,508 |
| 1959 |
53,796 |
23,346 |
40,871,304 |
| 1960 |
54,945 |
23,393 |
42,104,900 |
| 1961 |
55,858 |
23,374 |
42,876,664 |
| 1962 |
56,818 |
23,412 |
43,847,936 |
| 1963 |
57,616 |
23,541 |
44,874,372 |
| 1964 |
58,930 |
23,490 |
45,640,620 |
| 1965 |
59,491 |
23,668 |
46,246,176 |
| 1967 |
59,979 |
23,734 |
46,864,912 |
| 1968 |
60,123 |
23,814 |
47,468,332 |
| 1969 |
59,525 |
23,812 |
47,872,088 |
| 1970 |
58,510 |
23,708 |
48,214,728 |
| 1971 |
57,778 |
23,796 |
48,390,992 |
| 1972 |
57,332 |
23,880 |
48,460,428 |
| 1973 |
57,070 |
23,998 |
48,465,440 |
| 1974 |
59,287 |
23,753 |
48,701,836 |
| 1975 |
59,234 |
24,135 |
48,881,872 |
| 1976 |
58,713 |
24,158 |
49,325,752 |
| 1977 |
58,903 |
24,468 |
49,836,176 |
| 1978 |
58,856 |
25,542 |
49,602,036 |
| 1979 |
59,059 |
24,161 |
49,812,176 |
| 1980 |
58,845 |
24,188 |
50,449,840 |
| 1981 |
58,534 |
24,277 |
51,207,580 |
| 1982 |
57,870 |
24,071 |
52,088,776 |
| 1983 |
57,891 |
24,260 |
52,392,936 |
| 1984 |
57,317 |
24,275 |
52,286,044 |
| 1985 |
57,183 |
24,251 |
52,654,908 |
| 1986 |
53,382 |
23,561 |
52,893,216 |
| 1987 |
53,522 |
23,552 |
53,496,864 |
| 1988 |
52,948 |
23,091 |
54,918,948 |
| 1989 |
53,111 |
23,500 |
57,019,948 |
| 1990 |
53,088 |
23,685 |
58,568,016 |
| 1991 |
52,277 |
19,971 |
58,267,424 |
| 1992 |
50,907 |
19,863 |
59,220,724 |
| 1993 |
50,320 |
19,787 |
59,858,040 |
| 1994 |
49,947 |
19,723 |
60,190,604 |
| 1995 |
49,009 |
19,726 |
60,280,456 |
| 1996 |
49,071 |
22,728 |
61,207,912 |
| 1998 |
47,199 |
19,584 |
62,018,436 |
| 1999 |
46,063 |
- |
62,391,484 |
| 2000 |
46,075 |
- |
63,683,032 |
| 2001 |
45,713 |
- |
65,270,444 |
| 2002 |
44,487 |
19,484 |
66,407,105 |
| 2003 |
44,212 |
19,431 |
67,259,768 |
| 2004 |
43,422 |
19,297 |
67,820,833 |
| 2005 |
42,271 |
18,992 |
69,135,254 |
| 2006 |
42,307 |
19,044 |
67,515,016 |
| 2007 |
57,814 |
18,479 |
67,117,016 |
| 2008 |
57,897 |
18,674 |
68,115,001 |
| 2009 |
41,361 |
18,372 |
68,503,456 |
| 2010 |
40,291 |
18,199 |
68,202,492 |
Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The National Council of Churches' data collection was discontinued after the 2012 Yearbook was published, and has been resumed by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). The tables and graphs will be updated when the new collection is available. See the Yearbook of Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]
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