I read yesterday that the Southern Baptists are concerned about declining membership and weighing whether they should change some of their policies. Maybe at least part of it is because they decided, as a religious organization, to align themselves in a partisan manner, with the Republican party. For me, if I did decide to attend church again, it certainly would not be at a SBC church, where one's political party seems to be as important as what one believes spiritually.

From USA Today

But with membership slightly down last year, and flat for the past five, Southern Baptists face a growing anxiety about their future as they gather for their annual meeting Tuesday in Indianapolis.

"We have peaked," Southern Baptist statistician Ed Stetzer wrote in an online commentary on the latest statistics from 2007. "...For now, Southern Baptists are a denomination in decline."

What worries Southern Baptist leaders even more than the membership numbers is a steady decline in the conversion ritual that gave their denomination its name — baptisms.

Annual rates of baptisms have steadily declined not only in recent years, but also during the past 35 years. In 2007, Southern Baptist churches reported 345,941 baptisms. That's down 12% from 2002 and 22% from 1972.

And here's an article about how some Southern Baptists feel they must reluctantly embrace McCain. Why's that? Did their PASTOR tell them to Vote Republican????

"I think most Baptists would want him to speak out more on evangelical issues than what he has but we are cautiously accepting him," said John Mann, a pastor from Springtown, Texas, west of Fort Worth.

Ugh.

Update December 2010- from March 2010-Baptist memberships still in decline, even though baptisms were up a little bit in 2009 it was still the 3rd lowest number since 1993.

Or is it a cultural issue?