Church of the Brethren (1723 - Present) - Religious Group
Religious Family: Friends/BrethrenReligious Tradition: Evangelical Protestant
Description: The Church of the Brethren grew out of the 18th-century Pietist movement in Germany. It was founded in 1723 in the United States by Alexander Mack Sr., Christopher Sauer II, Alexander Mack Jr., and Peter Becker. They are also referred to as Conservative Dunkards.
Official Site: http://www.brethren.org/
Connections: Church of the Brethren
| Group (Active) | Group (Defunct) | Other |
Maps: Church of the Brethren1
Adherence Rate per 1,000 (2020)
Congregations (2020)
Top 5 Church of the Brethren States (2020)1 [View all States]
| Rank | State | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 65 | 5,375 | 3.00 |
| 2 | Virginia | 179 | 25,585 | 2.96 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 214 | 32,414 | 2.49 |
| 4 | Indiana | 80 | 9,583 | 1.41 |
| 5 | Maryland | 55 | 8,064 | 1.31 |
Top 5 Church of the Brethren Counties (2020)1 [View all Counties]
| Rank | County | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardy County, WV | 9 | 1,538 | 107.56 |
| 2 | Floyd County, VA | 13 | 1,433 | 92.60 |
| 3 | Pendleton County, WV | 9 | 508 | 82.70 |
| 4 | Gove County, KS | 1 | 189 | 69.54 |
| 5 | Rockingham County, VA | 25 | 5,505 | 65.73 |
Top 5 Church of the Brethren Metro Areas (2020)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrisonburg, VA Metro Area | 28 | 6,103 | 45.02 |
| 2 | Somerset, PA Micro Area | 22 | 2,807 | 37.87 |
| 3 | Staunton, VA Metro Area | 18 | 3,388 | 27.01 |
| 4 | Greenville, OH Micro Area | 7 | 1,377 | 26.54 |
| 5 | Altoona, PA Metro Area | 19 | 3,015 | 24.55 |
Church of the Brethren, Members (1925 - 2010)2
Church of the Brethren, Ministers & Churches (1925 - 2010)2
Church of the Brethren, Trends (1925 - 2010)2
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 120,103 | 3,500 | 1,036 |
| 1929 | 134,620 | 2,725 | 1,026 |
| 1931 | 134,102 | ||
| 1933 | 154,169 | 1,031 | |
| 1935 | 160,335 | 3,048 | 1,032 |
| 1937 | 164,784 | 1,025 | |
| 1940 | 176,908 | 1,017 | |
| 1942 | 179,843 | 1,019 | |
| 1944 | 180,287 | 1,019 | |
| 1946 | 182,497 | ||
| 1947 | 184,584 | 1,021 | |
| 1950 | 186,201 | 2,975 | 1,029 |
| 1951 | 186,358 | 3,000 | 1,030 |
| 1952 | 188,467 | 3,100 | 1,021 |
| 1953 | 190,263 | 3,103 | 1,028 |
| 1954 | 193,547 | 2,455 | 1,035 |
| 1955 | 195,609 | 2,366 | 1,049 |
| 1956 | 197,290 | 2,133 | 1,052 |
| 1957 | 199,936 | 2,246 | 1,062 |
| 1958 | 200,282 | 2,230 | 1,069 |
| 1959 | 201,219 | 2,025 | 1,070 |
| 1960 | 199,947 | 2,250 | 1,074 |
| 1961 | 200,788 | 2,223 | 1,070 |
| 1962 | 201,220 | 2,205 | 1,064 |
| 1963 | 201,958 | 2,177 | 1,069 |
| 1964 | 199,854 | 2,147 | 1,070 |
| 1965 | 194,815 | 2,118 | 1,067 |
| 1966 | 191,402 | 2,089 | 1,056 |
| 1967 | 189,558 | 2,070 | 1,052 |
| 1968 | 187,957 | 2,056 | 1,054 |
| 1969 | 185,198 | 2,027 | 1,045 |
| 1970 | 182,614 | 2,030 | 1,038 |
| 1971 | 181,183 | 2,011 | 1,036 |
| 1972 | 179,686 | 2,026 | 1,037 |
| 1973 | 179,333 | 1,990 | 1,035 |
| 1974 | 179,387 | 1,948 | 1,038 |
| 1975 | 179,336 | 1,935 | 1,041 |
| 1976 | 178,157 | 1,897 | 1,041 |
| 1977 | 177,534 | 1,929 | 1,041 |
| 1978 | 175,335 | 1,061 | |
| 1979 | 172,115 | 1,911 | 1,061 |
| 1980 | 170,839 | 1,909 | 1,063 |
| 1981 | 170,267 | 1,912 | 1,064 |
| 1982 | 168,844 | 1,913 | 1,063 |
| 1983 | 164,680 | 1,940 | 1,067 |
| 1984 | 161,824 | 2,108 | 1,044 |
| 1985 | 159,184 | 1,962 | 1,045 |
| 1986 | 155,967 | 1,963 | 1,059 |
| 1987 | 154,067 | 1,972 | 1,052 |
| 1988 | 151,169 | 1,553 | 1,079 |
| 1989 | 149,681 | 2,436 | 1,102 |
| 1990 | 148,253 | 1,541 | 1,095 |
| 1992 | 147,912 | 1,214 | 1,139 |
| 1993 | 146,713 | 1,229 | 1,135 |
| 1994 | 144,282 | 1,267 | 1,127 |
| 1995 | 143,121 | 1,966 | 1,114 |
| 1996 | 141,811 | 1,946 | 1,106 |
| 1997 | 141,400 | 1,945 | 1,095 |
| 2000 | 135,879 | 1,915 | 1,071 |
| 2001 | 134,828 | 1,833 | 1,070 |
| 2002 | 134,844 | 1,887 | 1,069 |
| 2003 | 132,481 | 1,874 | 1,062 |
| 2004 | 131,201 | 1,896 | 1,068 |
| 2005 | 128,820 | 1,838 | 1,068 |
| 2006 | 127,526 | 1,843 | 1,064 |
| 2007 | 125,418 | 1,849 | 1,055 |
| 2008 | 123,855 | 1,863 | 1,049 |
| 2009 | 121,781 | 1,863 | 1,047 |
| 2010 | 120,041 | 1,816 | 1,043 |
Sources
1 The 2020 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include data for 372 religious bodies or groups. Of these, the ASARB was able to gather data on congregations and adherents for 217 and on congregations only for 155. [More information on the data sources]
2 All data on clergy, members, and churches are taken from the National Council of Churches’ Historic Archive CD and recent print editions of the Council’s Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The CD archives all 68 editions of the Yearbook (formerly called Yearbook of the Churches and Yearbook of American Churches) from 1916 to 2000. Read more information on the Historic Archive CD and the Yearbook.
Membership figures are "inclusive." According to the Yearbook, this includes "those who are full communicant or confirmed members plus other members baptized, non-confirmed or non-communicant." Each denomination has its own criteria for membership.
When a denomination listed on the Historic Archive CD was difficult to identify, particularly in early editions of the Yearbook, the ARDA staff consulted numerous sources, including Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions and the Handbook of Denominations in the United States. In some cases, ARDA staff consulted the denomination’s website or contacted its offices by phone. When a denomination could not be positively identified, its data were omitted.
