Shifting Religious Landscape in Connecticut

So much for that old-time religion.  Declining enrollment in Catholic schools is only part of the bigger religion trend in Connecticut, as is reported in the 2010 U.S. Religious Congregations & Membership Study, an update of a 50-year-old national census released Tuesday by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.  Hartford Courant columnist Susan Campbell describes  it asthe most detailed report of its kind, with county-level information on 236 religious groups from Amish to Congregationalists, Hindus to Methodists. In Connecticut, the report paints a radically changing religious landscape where evangelical Protestant groups are growing, while more mainline groups such as Roman Catholic and United Church of Christ churches are losing adherents. In Connecticut, the report said Catholics saw an 8.7 percent drop in membership since 2000, and the loss of 12 congregations, while in the same period, United Church of Christ membership dropped 22.7 percent, with a loss of 11 congregations.