American Non-Catholic Christianity Is Becoming Post-Denominational, as Shown by United Methodist Collapse
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Methodist Decline and Post-Denominational America | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." November 8, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author says American Protestants and evangelicals no longer care much about denominations. He points to the United Methodist Church's huge membership losses and to the big Highland Park church in Dallas leaving the denomination, taking nearly all its members with it. He thinks other large churches will follow and that Christianity is becoming more individual and self-directed.
Conclusion
American non-Catholic Christianity is now post-denominational: denominational loyalty is collapsing, larger and more vital congregations will increasingly break from their denominations, and Christianity is becoming more individualized, with wide social implications.
Premises
- The United Methodist Church fell from 11 million members in 1968 to 3.8 million in 2025, with a loss of over 174,000 in the last year alone, even after the 2019-2023 schism that removed nearly 8,000 conservative churches.
- Highland Park, the second-largest United Methodist congregation, left the denomination by a 90 percent vote without taking a side in the sexuality debate, apparently because it no longer saw the denomination's usefulness.
- After Highland Park's departure, the continuing United Methodist congregation drew only about 100 attendees, while nearly 8,000 attended Highland Park Methodist, suggesting that members follow their local congregation rather than the denomination.
- Few non-elderly Americans are strongly committed to United Methodism or any specific denomination, and members increasingly question why they should defer to distant denominational authorities.
- Growth in American Christianity is almost entirely nondenominational, while the Southern Baptist Convention, the Assemblies of God and the Mainline denominations have shrunk or stagnated, and only small niche denominations are growing slightly.
- Large, vital congregations have the resources to exit denominations and will increasingly be impatient with denominational commitments, whether liberal or conservative.
Assumptions
- The experience of United Methodism and a few high-profile congregations is representative of American non-Catholic Christianity generally.
- Highland Park's motives were chiefly about the denomination's lack of utility rather than other factors such as property, finances or local politics.
- Attendance at the two Highland Park congregations on one Sunday indicates lasting member loyalty patterns.
- Growth in nondenominational churches reflects rejection of denominational identity rather than other factors.
- Current trends, such as the 174,000 annual loss, will continue roughly linearly or accelerate.
- Megachurches' ability to leave and their incentives to do so will lead them to leave once charismatic founders depart.