Parish or Perish: The Lifespan and Closures of Congregations Founded Before Mass Suburbanization

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 7. Clergy and Congregations

Abstract

How many congregations founded before mass suburbanization closed amid significant population growth and local change? This study examines the lifespans of 108 congregations founded by 1920 in DuPage County, Illinois, a county west of Chicago with just over 42,000 residents in 1920 and over 900,000 residents in 2000. Analyzing the lifespan of the congregations and the 37 closed congregations shows an annual closure rate far below 1%, few congregations closing in their first two decades, few congregations closed in the postwar decades but more closed in slower growth decades, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Methodists experienced the most closures, and residents per congregation at founding had no effect on closures. Evidence from early DuPage County congregations suggests many congregations that existed before the significant social change of rapid suburban growth avoided closing and continued to operate for decades. These findings have implications for research considering congregations competing for resources and congregational closures.

Author

• Brian J. Miller, Wheaton College