• Obesity cases increased from 24 percent in 1986 to 30 percent in 1994 among two Baptist groups -- the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention and the North American Baptists Conference, a group of roughly 400 churches in the U.S. Midwest and Canada.
• Fundamentalist Protestant congregations -- Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Assembly of God, and Church of God -- had the second-highest rate of obesity, at 22 percent.
• Catholic obesity rates remained steady at 17 percent during the research period

• Top 100 Churches in Worship Attendance (World)  (Jan 2006)
  
• Top 5 Churches in Worship Attendance by District (World)  (Jan 2006)
  
• Top 100 Churches in Worship Attendance (US/Canada)  (Jan 2006)
  1. Grove City, Central Ohio                  3,437
  2. Olathe College, Kansas City              2,759
  3. Pasadena First, Los Angeles              2,035
  4. Bethany First, Northwest Oklahoma   2,013
  5. Denver First, Colorado                     1,974
     
• Top 100 Churches in Worship Attendance by Numerical Gain (US/Canada)  (Jan 2006)
                     
  1. Yuba City First, Sacramento                 784 ('04)        1,201 ('05)
  2. Gold Creek Community, Washington 
     Pacific                                                780 ('04)        1,104 ('05)
  3. Pasadena First, Los Angeles               1,714 ('04)        2,035 ('05)
  4. Grove City, Central Ohio                   3,142 ('04)        3,437 ('05)
  5. York Stillmeadow, Mid-Atlantic           1,108 ('04)        1,352 ('05)
      
• Top 100 Churches in Worship Attendance by Percentage Gain (US/Canada)  (Jan 2006)
   
• Top 5 Churches by District in Worship Attendance (US/Canada)   (Jan 2006)
   
• Top 5 Churches in Worship Attendance by District and Numerical Gain (US/Canada)  (Jan 2006)
   
• Top 5 Churches in Worship Attendance by District and Percentage Gain (US/Canada) (Jan 2006)

How Are Southern Baptists Perceived
This summer, the Center for Missional Research partnered with Zogby International to conduct a poll of 1,210 adults. Respondents were asked if their impression of Southern Baptists is very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable. Some respondents said they were not familiar with Southern Baptists and others were not sure of their impressions.

Overall, Southern Baptists were viewed favorably (combining very and somewhat favorable) by 57 percent of adults interviewed. Unfavorable impressions were reported by 17 percent, and 24 percent were not familiar with Southern Baptists. The following chart shows how Southern Baptists compare with other denominations or faith groups. Southern Baptists, Catholics, and Methodists don't differ greatly--they have a generally good public perception. Muslims and Mormons are similar in that they do not have a good perception.

Only 6 percent of clergy and 11 percent of laity believe their own church is very involved in local politics or political issues

• 36% of ministers stated their church is somewhat involved in local political issues
• 7 % of clergy say their church is very involved in national politics
• The only type of political involvement deemed appropriate (a rating of 4 or 5) by a majority of ministers and laypeople is encouraging the congregation to vote 

The studies asked each group about their personal political views, as well as how appropriate it is for churches to be politically involved in a number of ways. Only 6 percent of clergy and 11 percent of laity believe their own church is very involved in local politics or political issues.

Among ministers, 36% say their church is somewhat involved in local political issues. On national politics or political issues, 7 %  of clergy say their church is very involved.

• Nearly half of Americans (47.2%) identify themselves as "Bible-believing"
• Only 15 percent of the population use the term "Evangelical" to describe their religious identity and barely two in 100 Americans say it is the best description.
• Just a third of persons in Evangelical Protestant congregations and denominations (32.6%) refer to themselves as "Evangelical" 
• Persons with household incomes of more than $100,000 a year are twice as likely to describe themselves as "Theologically Liberal" than are persons with household incomes of $35,000 or less a year
• Approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population have read a book in the Left-Behind series (19.0%) and/or the Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (19.0%).
• Of those who spend more than $50 a month on religious products, more than half (54.0%) are Evangelical Christians.

The survey found that the proportion of Americans who say the Republican Party is friendly to religion fell 8 percentage points in the last year, to 47 percent, from 55 percent.

• Sixty-nine percent agreed that liberals have “gone too far in trying to keep religion out of schools and government” — an increase of 3 percentage points, which is not statistically significant.
• At the same time, 49 percent agreed that conservative Christians have “gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the country,” also a 3 percentage point increase.
• Asked about “the Christian conservative movement,” 44 percent had a favorable view and 36 percent unfavorable — about the same as a year ago.
   
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• 69% of Americans say that liberals have gone too far in keeping religion out of schools and government.
• The Democratic Party continues to face a serious "God problem," with just 26% saying the party is friendly to religion.
• The proportion of Americans who say the Republican Party is friendly to religion has fallen from 55% to 47% in the past year
• The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that most Americans (59%) continue to say that religion’s influence on the country is declining
• The public is more divided on the question of whether religion’s influence on government is increasing (42%) or decreasing (45%).

An open-ended question was included in the Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2005 survey: What are the major challenges facing your congregation?  Nearly a third mentioned issues related to growth: 15% congregational growth, 8% evangelism; 7% engaging young families

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Studies of divorce have generally found that married couples who agree about their religious affiliation and involvement and who believe religion is important are significantly less likely to divorce.  However, in a study reported September 8, 2004, the Barna Group found no difference in rates of divorce between “born again” Christians and non-Christians (The Barna Group, 2004).

• According to this study, 35% of “born again” Christians and 35% of non-Christians have experienced a divorce. One of the important differences between the Barna Group’s study and other national studies appears to be that the Barna study looked especially at “Born again Christians” without regard to church affiliation or involvement. 
                  
• Faith and Marital Stability: Toward an understanding of the role of the church in marital stability, Kenneth E. Crow, Research Center, Church of the Nazarene, July 29, 2005 
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