Title
Dearly departed: How often do congregations close?
Abstract
We establish for the first time a national mortality rate for religious congregations by determining the 2005 status of congregations in the 1998 National Congregations Study sample. The annual mortality rate for religious congregations is 1 percent, which is among the lowest mortality rates ever observed for any type of organization. This unusually low mortality rate probably indicates an organizational population whose weakest members live on in a weakened state rather than an organizational population that is unusually robust all the way down to its most vulnerable members.
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2008.00410.x
Publication Date
6-1-2008
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Shawna L., Jessica Hamar Martinez, Catherine Hoegeman, Gary Adler, and Mark Chaves. "Dearly departed: How often do congregations close?." Journal for the scientific study of religion 47, no. 2 (2008): 321-328.
Journal Title
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
