A church on every corner: Christianity in South Carolina
Samantha Meyeres, Staff Writer
South Carolina might not be the buckle of the Bible Belt, but it is certainly woven into the leather of it. There may be a church on every corner and a Bible on every bedside table, but is there a person in every pew?
A recent religious landscape study by Pew Research Center showed that the number of Americans who identify as Christians is declining, though in recent years that decrease is slowing.
The study depicts a steady decline in professing Christians in the United States from 2007 to 2019, dropping from 78% to 63%. Over the past couple years, the percentage has stabilized, with the latest report at 62%.
Those statistics are from across the United States, the population in South Carolina is slightly higher. A 2024 report by the Public Religion Research Institute showed that around 72% of South Carolina residents identify as Christian. That statistic includes the different Protestant denominations as well as Catholic.
This means that just under three quarters of the population of South Carolina answered Christian when asked what their religious affiliation is, not necessarily that they follow every practice or belief.
Frankie Melton is an associate professor of Christian studies at North Greenville University and also serves as the pastor at Heath Springs Baptist Church. He has been a pastor for 32 years, serving at his current church for 17 of those, and a professor for 10 years.
Melton said that from his perspective the decline shown is not reflective of a decrease in Christians, but rather a decrease in church attendance.
“I do not believe Christianity can decline,” he said, “because once you have come to Christ, once you know Him as your Savior, once your name is written down in Heaven, you cannot be lost. It cannot decline.”
Melton said that 80-90% of people in Lancaster county, where his church is located, are unchurched, but it is difficult to find someone who says that they are not a Christian. This juxtaposition stems from the fact that South Carolina is in the midst of the Bible Belt where Christian philosophies are embedded in the culture but not necessarily in practice.
Melton said he believes that the decline in attendance is largely due to the decreasing sense of obligation to attend church.
“There are lots of churches, but a majority of the people are not attending those churches on any given Sunday morning because people no longer feel any social pressure to attend church,” Melton said.
The Pew Research study reflected this as well, stating that of the 62% of adults who identify as Christians, only 33% said that they attend a religious service at least once a month.
The cause of this decrease in church attendance could be due to a variety of reasons including generational differences, shifting cultural priorities, being hurt by people in the church and, as mentioned by Melton, less social pressure.
Where there used to be an emphasis on the church as a non-negotiable part of life, American society has shifted toward promoting more individualistic mindsets.
Some members of younger generations are stepping away from the church and from Christianity due to experiences they have had or seen members of older generations experience. Others are not opposed to church, but have made it less of a priority in the midst of busy lives.
In South Carolina, every pew might not be as full as it used to be, but the majority of the state still identifies as Christian. There may be less people in churches, but it is more likely that those in attendance are not there due to obligation or social pressure.
“The church is not declining,” Melton said, “but rather it’s being more well-defined.”
