Debating Decline

Re Injecting Enthusiasm, February
I note February’s editorial mentions “the decline now being felt among Evangelicals.” I’d be interested in knowing what evidence it’s based on. New evidence is always useful. The statement seems to conflict with the recent work of Dr. Reg Bibby, who sees Catholics and Evangelicals in a different place than Mainliners. 

There are various factors in a denomination’s growth or decline. For about 90 years the Presbyterian Church in Canada has likely blamed the United Church, yet the PCC’s decline has continued. 

Demographics/theology? The relationship is complicated. Within demographics, looking at why the church has been transformed by society is a needed piece; and the role of theology is more complex than dismissing concerns about “so called liberal theology.”