In two-thirds of all congregations and nine in ten PC(USA) congregations, the key pastoral leader has earned a master’s degree.  Women lead one-quarter of PC(USA) congregations, as well as one-quarter of mainline Protestant congregations, but only 12 percent of all congregations.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations on average are smaller and have older, better-educated, and less theologically conservative participants than U.S. congregations as a whole, according to the recently released 2010 Faith Communities Todaysurvey.

PC(USA) congregations also have better-educated pastors and relatively more women pastors than U.S. congregations overall, revealed the study of 12,000 congregations ― including 700 PC(USA) churches.

The median U.S. congregation (with 110 people attending regular weekend worship services) is more than 50 percent larger than the median PC(USA) congregation (with 70 people in worship).

The median percentage of regular worshipers age 65 or older in PC(USA) congregations (40 percent) is double that in all congregations (20 percent).

The median percentage of regular attendees age 18 or older who are college graduates is substantially greater in PC(USA) congregations (50 percent) than in all congregations (30 percent).

Leaders of two-thirds of all congregations describe the theological outlook of the majority of their congregation’s regularly attending adults as “very conservative” or “somewhat conservative.” Leaders of only four in nine PC(USA) congregations (44 percent) characterize the theological outlook of their congregants as such.

“The average Presbyterian congregation is relatively small and includes more older adults and fewer theological conservatives than the average congregation in other denominations,” said Perry Chang, the PC(USA) researcher who oversaw the 2010 survey of PC(USA) congregations.

“Many of the other ways that Presbyterian congregations differ are connected to one of these three factors,” he added.

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