update

[kentuckypreacher]

Just curious: does anyone have a current update view regarding Christian Science? Are they growing, declining... or what? Are "Reading Rooms" still operating? Does anyone have a list where these are located?

In the world of the cults, Christian Science is one individually unique and particularly unbelievable.

Yet, some people could be convinced to believe almost anything, no matter how absurd.

[Trinity]

Originally Posted by kentuckypreacher

Just curious: does anyone have a current update view regarding Christian Science? Are they growing, declining... or what? Are "Reading Rooms" still operating? Does anyone have a list where these are located?

In the world of the cults, Christian Science is one individually unique and particularly unbelievable.

Yet, some people could be convinced to believe almost anything, no matter how absurd.

"The Church does not issue membership figures, but outside estimates appear to suggest that Church membership is declining quite rapidly, from 268,000 members in the 1930s to 150,000 members in 1992; some estimates in 1997 gave a worldwide membership as low as 100,000. Christian Science practitioners (trained healers) appear to have declined from c. 10,000 around 1950 to 2,600–3,000 in the early 1990s.

The declining membership is probably due to a number of factors. One is that spiritual healing, once almost the unique hallmark of Christian Science, is now widely available in many mainstream Christian Churches. Another is that the Church is still very rooted in its nineteenth-century origins, with services still following the exact format laid down by Mrs Eddy. A third is the perceived authoritarianism of the Church’s Board, which caused a number of senior members to leave in the 1990s, in addition to a steady drift of ordinary members away from the Church, while still holding to its beliefs. Although numbers are difficult if not impossible to ascertain, one source has suggested that there may be more Christian Scientists outside the Church than within it."

Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements
by Peter B.Clarke
Routledge Taylor & Francis group
2006, 842 pages [p. 123]

Trinity

[Ichigo]

Hey Trinity and everyone:
I know I don't pop in as often as often as I should, but here's my 2 cents on the issue:
Christian Science I know is declining, as per Trinity statitics above. But what about Christian Science derivitives, like Science of Mind? Does anyone know if their increasing, decreasing, staying stable? Just curious.
-Ichigo(Matt)