Fastest Growing Churchs

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- The Assemblies of God, the Mormon church and the Roman
Catholic Church were the fastest-growing major denominations in the
United States last year, according to the just-released 2006 Yearbook
of American and Canadian Churches.

The Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal church, grew 1.81 percent to
almost 2.8 million members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints increased 1.74 percent to nearly 6 million people. And the
Catholic Church, by far the largest denomination in the United States,
grew .83 percent to 67.8 million parishioners.

Only three mainline Protestant churches remain among the 10 biggest
denominations in the country. The United Methodist Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church,
U.S.A., stayed in the top 10 despite experiencing declines in
membership last year.

The Methodists ranked third, with about 8.2 million members. The
Evangelical Lutherans ranked seventh, with nearly 4.9 million people.
And the Presbyterians ranked ninth with just under 3.2 million
congregants.

The Southern Baptist Convention remains the largest U.S. Protestant
group, with 16.3 million members. It is the second-largest
denomination in the country, behind the Catholic Church.

ASSOCIATED PRESS