Southern Baptist membership fell last year to its lowest level since 1973, even as the largest Protestant denomination in the United States saw increases in baptisms and attendance at services.
Those 2025 results were released Tuesday by Lifeway Research, the sect’s research affiliate.
Membership fell 3% to 12.3 million, continuing a nearly two-decade decline. Meanwhile, weekly worship attendance rose nearly 4% to 4.5 million.
The number of baptisms increased by 5%, reaching 263,075. This was the second year in a row that the number of baptisms exceeded those before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The denomination often uses baptism as a major spiritual vital sign, a measure of how many people are brought to the faith.
“We are grateful that Southern Baptists continue to show growth in key metrics such as baptism, worship attendance and Bible study participation,” Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said in a statement.
Scott McConnell, CEO of Lifeway Research, attributed the membership decline in part to church closures and to congregations cleaning up their membership rolls.
SBC numbers are based on self-reporting by congregations. Most of its members are in the sect’s traditional base in the South, where it was founded by a pro-slavery faction before the Civil War, although it has since developed a presence throughout North America.
The numbers are closely monitored by scholars because the Sudan Broadcasting Corporation has long represented the largest single body for evangelical Christians and keeps meticulous records.
The SBC remains by far the largest Protestant denomination in the United States partly because many other large denominations have been in greater decline. The ranks of nondenominational churches — many with evangelical beliefs and independent governance similar to Baptists — are growing. The same is true for the “classes” nothing“,” People who have no religious affiliation, even though this has been a decades-long growth faltered in recent yearsAccording to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center last year.
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