- Denominational Profile
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Denominational Profile
History
split into Southern Methodist Church (1939) |
| The Southern Methodist Church was founded in 1939 by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, who rejected that church's merger with the Methodist Episcopal Church and Methodist Protestant Church to form The Methodist Church in 1939. |
Membership Data
| Year | Clergy | Churches | Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | - | 48 | 6,000 |
| 1947 | - | 54 | 6,327 |
| 1950 | 40 | 51 | 5,000 |
| 1951 | 17 | 52 | 8,300 |
| 1953 | 13 | 50 | 6,500 |
| 1955 | 21 | 52 | 4,724 |
| 1956 | 18 | 52 | 5,000 |
| 1957 | 18 | 46 | 7,000 |
| 1959 | 16 | 48 | 4,608 |
| 1963 | 21 | 52 | 4,025 |
| 1971 | 63 | 150 | 9,917 |
| 1975 | 121 | 174 | 11,000 |
| 1976 | 121 | 174 | 11,000 |
| 1977 | 127 | 169 | 11,000 |
| 1983 | 94 | 152 | 7,300 |
| 1985 | 94 | 150 | 7,231 |
| 1990 | 128 | 130 | 7,572 |
| 1991 | 133 | 130 | 7,572 |
| 1992 | 139 | 133 | 7,745 |
| 1993 | 105 | 128 | 7,891 |
| 1994 | 155 | 126 | 7,876 |
| 1996 | 138 | 127 | 7,669 |
| 1997 | 151 | 122 | 7,992 |
| 1999 | 114 | 117 | 7,686 |
| 2002 | 163 | 108 | 6,493 |
| 2003 | 163 | 108 | 6,493 |
| 2004 | 163 | 105 | 6,493 |
| 2005 | 158 | 104 | 6,300 |
| 2006 | 158 | 101 | 6,000 |
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]