c. 2005 Religion News Service Mormons Reported to Be Fastest-Growing U.S. Church (RNS) Mormons are the fastest-growing church in the United States and rose to the No. 4 slot of the country’s top 10 churches, according to annual church membership figures compiled by the National Council of Churches. The 2005 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches reports a 1.71 percent growth rate for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2003, for a total membership of 5.5 million in the United States. The numbers, obtained by Religion News Service ahead of their March 1 release date, are considered the most authoritative report on American church membership. The 2005 Yearbook (based on data from 2003) found 163 million members in 217 denominations. The Roman Catholic Church, with 67 million members, continues its strong lead in the No. 1 spot, with the third-highest growth rate of 1.28 percent. Southern Baptists maintained their No. 2 spot with 16.4 million and a growth rate of 1.18 percent. The United Methodist Church, with 8.2 million members in the United States, held on to third place. The Mormons bumped the Church of God in Christ out of last year’s No. 4 slot to fifth place, with 5.4 million members. Rounding out the top 10 were the National Baptist Convention, USA (5 million); Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (4.9 million); National Baptist Convention of America (3.5 million); Presbyterian Church (USA) (3.2 million); and the Assemblies of God (2.7 million). The Assemblies of God had the second-highest growth rate, 1.57 percent. The figures continue to look bleak for the country’s mainline Protestant churches _ Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and others _ who have been overtaken by Mormons, Pentecostals and black churches in recent years. “Of the top 10 largest churches, only three are mainline Protestant,” wrote the Yearbook’s editor, the Rev. Eileen Lindner. “These three churches are also the only churches in the top 10 ranking to report an overall decline in membership. In the top 25 churches only six are mainline Protestant and all of them report an overall loss of membership for the reporting year.” Lindner noted that Pentecostals, generally speaking, are shadowing the fast growth rates seen among Catholics and Mormons. “The growth is not in any given church but (is seen in the) prominence of Pentecostals within the top 25,” she said in an interview. “Ten years ago there wasn’t one, now there are three in the top 25.” The Yearbook also reported $32 billion in giving for 63 churches who released financial reports, an increase of $800 million from 2002. The average per capita annual donation was $669, an increase of $9.95 from the previous year. XXX Following material is suitable for graphic The 10 largest churches in the United States, in order, are: _ Roman Catholic Church: 67.2 million _ Southern Baptist Convention: 16.4 million _ United Methodist Church: 8.2 million _ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 5.5 million _ Church of God in Christ: 5.4 million _ National Baptist Convention, USA: 5 million _ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 4.9 million _ National Baptist Convention of America: 3.5 million _ Presbyterian Church (USA): 3.2 million _ Assemblies of God: 2.7 million __ Kevin Eckstrom UPDATE: Felony Charges Dropped Against Religious Protestors of Gay Event

(RNS) Charges were dropped Thursday (Feb. 17) against four evangelical Christian men arrested for protesting at a Philadelphia gay and lesbian pride event.

Members of the Philadelphia-based evangelical Christian group Repent America, the men were charged with three felonies _ criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation and inciting to riot _ and five misdemeanors. The four had become causes celebres for social conservatives, who portrayed the charges as an attack on religious free speech.

In an unusual alliance, The American Civil Liberties Union joined conservative groups in criticizing the charges as heavy-handed.

Pamela Dembe, Court of Common Pleas judge, acquitted the men after viewing video footage of the Oct. 10 “Outfest” event and deciding criminal conduct had not taken place.

“There wasn’t even a shred of evidence,” said Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family Association who is representing the defendants in a civil rights suit.

Fahling, who was in Philadelphia for the Thursday ruling, said his clients “breathed a deep sigh of relief.”

The ruling supports free speech for Christians and for broader society, according to Fahling.

“It means for my clients they’ll be able to go back into the streets and preach,” he said.

Eleven Christian protestors were arrested Oct. 10; charges against six were dropped in December. One, a minor, awaits separate court proceedings Friday (Feb. 18.)

All 11 will continue to pursue a federal suit accusing the City of Philadelphia and the district attorney of violating their civil rights and state law.

_ Celeste Kennel-Shank

Church of England Endorses Report on International Rift Over Homosexuality

LONDON (RNS) The Church of England gave its full backing Thursday (Feb. 17) to the Windsor Report, which addressed divisions within the Anglican Communion in the aftermath of the ordination of an openly gay American bishop.

At the same time, the Church of England’s general synod was reminded by the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, that the search for reconciliation could not be without cost.

He reminded the synod that there were some moments when the Christian church, or part of it, took risks, citing actions taken during the Reformation and later the decision to ordain women to the priesthood.

“The trouble is that risk really is risk,” said Williams, the Anglican Communion’s worldwide spiritual leader. “You don’t and you can’t know yet whether it is justified. The church is capable of error and any local church is capable of errorâÂ?¦ ”

Hence when one portion of the church decided it must take a conscientious risk there were “inevitable results” in the form of hurt, misunderstanding, rupture and damage.

Like many Protestant denominations, The Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States, has been torn by issues relating to homosexuality for years. Divisiveness increased following the consecration of the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire and moves in the Canadian Diocese of New Westminster toward authorizing a service for blessing same-sex unions.

The Windsor Report, issued last year, examined the aftermath of Robinson’s ordination and urged the Episcopal Church to express regret. Liberal church leaders in the United States have apologized for the pain they have caused, but not for the principles of equality they say they stood for in supporting Robinson.

Conservatives in the United States have protested by, among other things, withholding contributions to the national church, arguing that the Bible prohibits homosexual relations.

Emphasizing that there were “very difficult decisions” ahead for Anglicans, and that there would be “no cost-free outcome,” Williams concluded by asking what it was for the church to be a truly counter-cultural community.

“It may be for the church to take a firm stand against the erosion of objective morality and biblical truth,” the archbishop said. “Indeed, I believe that this is part of it. It may be for the church to act courageously on behalf of those who are oppressed or marginalized. Again, I believe that is so.

“But isn’t the ultimate distinctive counter-cultural fact about the church our capacity to live sacrificially for the sake of each other? How we do that Windsor doesn’t tell us: only the Holy Spirit does.”

_ Robert Nowell

Gibson to Release Less Violent Version of `The Passion’

(UNDATED) Mel Gibson has trimmed five to six minutes of violent scenes from his movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The new version, “The Passion Recut,” will open on 500 to 750 screens beginning March 11. The movie’s running time was initially 127 minutes.

“The Passion of the Christ” sparked a huge controversy, with Jewish leaders accusing Gibson of portraying Jews as responsible for Jesus’ death. Nevertheless, the film grossed $370.3 million in U.S. theaters and $3.2 million in video rentals since its initial release last year.

“There are no new scenes, and the cuts are limited to the more violent aspects of the film, if that’s the right term,” Bruce Davey, Gibson’s partner at Icon Productions, told Daily Variety. “The scourging scene in particular has been substantially adjusted.”

“I can understand why Gibson removed the violence,” said Frank K. Flinn, adjunct professor of religious studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Flinn is a long-time “Passion” critic and a practicing Catholic.

He said that if Christ had been beaten as badly as Gibson’s portrayal, “he would have died at the pillar because three-quarters of his torso was flayed.”

A spokesperson for Newmarket Films, the movie’s distributor, said that Gibson recut the film to soften it and make it more accessible to a wider audience.

Although the original “The Passion of the Christ” received an R rating, Gibson hoped that his recut version would earn a PG-13. But even with the deleted scenes, the Motion Picture Association of America gave it an R. So Gibson decided to release the new version to theaters without a rating.

“Studios don’t (release a movie unrated) very often,” said Joan Graves, chair of the MPAA’s Clasification and Rating Board.

Newmarket said that it currently has no plans to release a DVD or video version of “The Passion Recut.”

_ Angela Aleiss

Quote of the Day: the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition

(RNS) “Mr. Wallis and the religious left are trying to train liberals to speak like religious Americans. No matter how well you train a wolf to say “baaaaaa,’ it doesn’t change an important fact _ he is still a wolf.”

_ The Rev. Lou Sheldon, founder and chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, about efforts by progressive evangelicals like the Rev. Jim Wallis to help Democrats speak to religious voters.

MO/JL/ RNS END