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2007-02-06 issue:

A landscape of change

A look at members of Mennonite Church USA

by Conrad L. Kanagy

Print Article

What does it mean to be Mennonite in the 21st century? How have perceptions of Anabaptist identity changed over time? The frequency with which these questions arise among Mennonites suggests anxiety and uncertainty about possible answers. But addressing these questions is more challenging than in the past. Among other factors, the transformation of two Mennonite denominations with different cultural and historical identities, the continued assimilation of Mennonites into the larger American culture and the growth of racial/ethnic Mennonite congregations challenge efforts that offer quick and easy answers.

In 1972, J. Howard Kauffman and Leland Harder launched Church Member Profile I, a comprehensive survey of five Anabaptist denominations in North America. Joined by Leo Driedger, they conducted a follow-up study in 1989. In 2006, the Young Center of Elizabethtown College conducted a third denominational profile. The most comprehensive survey ever of Mennonites in the United States, this study included a representative sample of members in 120 congregations of Mennonite Church USA, a special sample of racial/ethnic members, a sample of Mennonite ministers and a congregational profile of participating congregations.

This article offers a summary of findings from Mennonite Member Profile 2006. It provides a “20,000-foot” view of the current Mennonite landscape in the United States as well as shifts in that landscape over the past three decades.

Mennonite identity: When Mennonites were asked to identify the two religious words that best described them, two-thirds chose “Mennonite” or “Anabaptist.” The remaining third chose other terms, including spiritual, evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal. Pastors were more likely than members to identify themselves as Anabaptist or Mennonite, with 84 percent of them doing so. Among racial/ethnic members, 41 percent described themselves by these words.

Congregational and denominational loyalty: The findings of Mennonite Member Profile 2006 generally support what sociologists know about American Christians as a whole—congregations are more important to members than are denominations and area conferences. Among members of Mennonite Church USA, 34 percent say they are “very strongly” committed to the denomination and 12 percent to their area conference. In comparison, 58 percent are “very strongly” committed to their local congregation.

At the same time, more members today (48 percent) than in 1972 (25 percent) say they will always want to remain a member of their denomination. While the current level of denominational loyalty today is slightly lower than for Conservative Protestants (52 percent) in the United States, it is higher than among Mainline Protestants (37 percent), according to The Truth About Conservative Christians by Andrew Greeley and Michael Hout (University of Chicago Press, 2006).

More new members: A major shift among Mennonites over the past three decades has been the increase in members from other denominations. We see this at several different levels:

• The percent of “noncradle” Mennonites—neither parent being Mennonite—has risen since 1972 from 17 percent to 26 percent.
• The percent of Mennonites who have been members in other denominations (including noncradle Mennonites) has increased from 14 percent in 1972 to 30 percent today.
• The percent of Mennonite members who married a spouse from another denomination has risen from 25 percent in 1972 to 39 percent in 2006.

Rapidly aging membership: The average age of Mennonites today is 54 years, five years older than in 1989. More important, however, is the rapidly shifting age distribution of Mennonites. In 1972, 54 percent of Mennonites were under age 45—within childbearing age. This number declined to 45 percent in 1989 and is only 30 percent today. This change has been more extreme for Mennonites than even for Mainline Protestant denominations, which Greeley and Hout describe as “literally dying out” because of similar changes in their age distribution. Among Mainline Protestant denominations, 42 percent of members are under 45 years of age, compared with 52 percent of Conservative Protestants.

Growing racial/ethnic congregations: The growth of racial/ethnic congregations is changing the face of Mennonite Church USA. The term racial/ethnic is a self-designation by Mennonite Church USA groups with members that include those who are African-American, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, Asian and “other than Anglo.” In the past five years, 25 percent of the denomination’s new members have been racial/ethnic, compared with just 6 percent among those members who entered the denomination more than five years ago.

Increased assimilation: In 1972, 36 percent of Mennonites lived on a farm, compared with 12 percent today. While almost twice as many Mennonites reside in large cities (250,000 or more residents) today as in 1972, this number still accounts for less than 10 percent of all Mennonites.

In their work, more Mennonites hold business and professional occupations compared with three decades ago—41 percent today and 23 percent in 1972. At the same time, twice as many Mennonites have college degrees today (38 percent) as in 1972 (19 percent).

Greater political identification: In 1972, 37 percent of Mennonites claimed no political party identity, compared with only 11 percent today. Increases have occurred for both Republicans and Democrats. In 1972, 42 percent of Mennonites identified themselves as Republicans, compared with 50 percent in 2006. During this same period the proportion of Democrats has nearly doubled, from 12 percent to 22 percent. But in the last presidential election, two-thirds of Mennonites who voted did so for George W. Bush.

Changing church attendance: While the percent of Mennonites who regularly attend church has remained about the same since 1972, church attendance for Mennonites has become largely a “once a week” event, with the percent who attend more than once a week dropping from 43 percent in 1972 to 8 percent today. In addition, the proportion who attend Sunday school has declined from 71 percent in 1972 to 53 percent today.
Conclusion: These early findings of Mennonite Member Profile 2006 have important implications for Mennonite identity as well as the future of Mennonite Church USA. Among these implications are both challenges and opportunities:

• The growth of members from other than Mennonite backgrounds is good news for a denomination interested in becoming more missional—calling all people to a primary allegiance to Jesus Christ. Integrating these members into the denomination remains a challenge, however, since they are more ambivalent about an Anabaptist identity than are other members.

• The rapid demographic shift in age among Mennonites is a critical issue for the denomination. Without a major influx of younger people, questions of Anabaptist identity will take a lower profile to the question of mere survival.

• The findings about racial/ethnic members are among the most encouraging of this study. Not only are these members younger on average, they also bring a rich spiritual diversity to Mennonite Church USA.

• The shift to Sunday morning worship as the only religious service of the week along with the decline in Sunday school attendance, pose challenges for pastors and congregations seeking to influence members who are less engaged in church and increasingly more assimilated in the broader culture.

• The forces of modern and postmodern culture—professionalism, education, individualism and suburbanization—continue to shape Mennonites, who are more assimilated in the broader culture than ever before.

• The increased political identification of Mennonites threatens to polarize members around controversial issues.

Conrad L. Kanagy is associate professor of sociology at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College and an ordained minister in Lancaster Mennonite Conference. He is author of the forthcoming Road Signs and Guideposts, which provides an in-depth look at many of the issues addressed in this article. The book will be accompanied by a set of congregational resources on DVD and CD. The following graciously reviewed and provided helpful feedback for the three essays: Ron Byler, Leonard Dow, Gilberto Flores, Keith Harder, Rodolfo Jimenez, Donald Kraybill, Marty Lehman, Iris de León-Hartshorn, Freeman Miller, Yvonne Platts, Marathana Prothro, Valentina Satvedi, Jim Schrag, Jorge Vallejos and Roy Williams. Many thanks also to the other two members of the three-denominational research team (Carl D. Bowman of Bridgewater (Va.) College and Donald Kraybill of Elizabethtown College) and to the many congregations, members and pastors who participated in Mennonite Member Profile 2006. Without their participation the study would not have been possible. Mennonite Member Profile 2006 was funded by grants from Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and churchwide agencies, including a major grant from MMA. Other financial support came from Schowalter Foundation, Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Financial Services, Eastern Mennonite Missions, Goodville Mutual Casualty Company and private contributors.

Note: The percentages for loyalty (page 9) do not add to 100, since each category

Conrad L. Kanagy is associate professor of sociology at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College and an ordained minister in Lancaster Mennonite Conference. He is author of the forthcoming Road Signs and Guideposts, which provides an in-depth look at many of the issues addressed in this article.

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