Southern Baptist membership hits lowest since 1973 as attendance and baptisms rise
The Southern Baptist Convention reported a 3% drop in 2025 membership to 12.3 million, marking its lowest level since 1973, even as other measures of church activity increased, according to figures released Tuesday by Lifeway Research, the denomination’s research affiliate.
Lifeway Research’s 2025 results also showed weekly worship attendance among Southern Baptists rose by nearly 4% to 4.5 million. The denomination further reported that baptisms increased 5% to 263,075, which Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee, described as growth in key church “vital signs.”
“We are grateful Southern Baptists continue to show growth in key metrics like baptisms, worship attendance and Bible study participation,” Iorg said in a statement cited with the release.
The membership decline continued a nearly two-decade slide, with the 2025 figures showing membership fell from the prior year and remained on a downward trajectory. Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, attributed at least part of the membership dip to church closures and to congregations “cleaning up their membership rolls.”
McConnell said the SBC’s numbers are based on self-reporting by congregations. The release also described the denomination as having deep roots in the South, while noting the SBC has developed a presence throughout North America.
The SBC’s baptism numbers are closely watched because the denomination uses baptisms as a spiritual indicator of how many people are being brought into the faith. The 2025 baptisms total was the second consecutive year in which baptisms exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to Lifeway Research.
Scott McConnell and other SBC leaders said they view attendance and baptisms as positive signs even as membership continues to fall. At the same time, the release highlighted broader trends beyond the SBC, including growth in independent churches and in Americans with no religious affiliation.
Ryan Burge, a political scientist who studies religious demographics, said the baptism and attendance increases do not eliminate the likelihood of continued declines for the SBC. Burge said some members likely are shifting to nondenominational churches or leaving the faith entirely, and he pointed to death rates as a factor that will accelerate because the denomination has many older members.
“The SBC has a baby boomer problem,” Burge said. “Structurally speaking, it’s hard to outrun that demographic cliff. I just don’t think there’s anything structurally in the data that says the SBC is going to go back to where it was 20 years ago.”
In Burge’s view, even with higher baptisms and attendance, the magnitude of the membership decline still represents substantial losses. He said the 3% membership decline amounts to nearly 400,000 people—describing it as roughly the size of some small denominations.