NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the U.S.'s largest Protestant denomination, added more than 92,000 members in 2001, bringing total membership to 16.1 million.
The gain was lower than the church's increase in 2000, when the convention added 109,000 people. Baptisms in 2001 were down from the previous year by nearly 19,000 to 396,000, SBC reported.
Statistics for the annual church profile were collected from local Baptist associations and state conventions.
It's unclear how many members SBC lost when moderate Southern Baptists in several states broke away from their state conventions in protest of SBC's national leaders' conservative beliefs. Some churches maintain ties with both the state conventions and new, moderate organizations.
The next two largest Protestant denominations in membership are the United Methodists, with 8.3 million, and the Church of God in Christ, with 5.5 million followers. Roman Catholics remain the U.S.'s largest religious body, reporting more than 63 million members.
