Oct 22, 2006

Catholic Megachurches?

The Hartford Institute for Religious Research has published documentation on the characteristics and rapid growth of non-Catholic megachurches with weekend attendances of over 2,000 people and typically seven days a week of activities.
“Based on the results of this survey, we are able to conclude that there are at least 1,210 Protestant churches in the United States today with average weekly attendance of over 2,000. That is nearly double the number of megachurches that existed five years ago.”
The Hartford Institute also examines 11 myths about megachurches. Catholics would do well to read the report.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did they study the incidence of nervous breakdown in "megachurches" because in the arena of "consumer religion" you always have to have something new, fresh and entertaining.

Dust I Am said...

The reason for posting this information is that some in the Catholic church may believe this is the answer to the smaller number of priests. Perhaps that's why the word 'holistic' is being used to describe a multiplicity of services, and why closing of some churches and expansion of others are being discussed.