Boone County’s diverse religious landscape is unusual compared to the rest of the country.

In Boone County, 60 percent of the population said they do not belong to a religious group, according to a 2000 report from the Association of Religious Data Archives.

Of those who do belong to a faith group, 47 percent are evangelical Protestants, 30 percent are mainline Protestants, 17 percent are Catholics and 5.2 percent practice other religions.

These numbers are significantly different from national statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.

Nationwide, only 26 percent of people belong to evangelical Protestant churches, 18 percent belong to mainline Protestant churches and 23 percent are Catholic.

The biggest discrepancy comes among those who are unaffiliated. Only 16 percent of people nationwide said they did not belong to a religious group, compared to six of every 10 in Boone County.

Evangelical Protestantism is the most common theology in Boone County, and the religious archives say that it is still growing. In Columbia, however, the Baptist community is facing a different transformation.

John Baker has been pastor at First Baptist Church since 1997. When he came, the congregation had 500 people, but it has grown only to 525 in the past decade.

“Most downtown churches are experiencing a plateau or decline,” Baker said. “People like churches close to home, so suburban churches are gaining membership.”

The transitory nature of Columbia is also contributing to the slow growth.

“There are many people who may only be here for a few years who will attend services but never sign on the dotted line,” Baker said. “Membership has had its day in the sun.”

Another explanation for the membership changes could be a lack of devotion to one congregation.

“There is no brand loyalty in churches,” Baker said. “Families with small children go to congregations with effective children’s ministries. Then, if that church has a poor youth ministry, they will move to a different church when their kids get older.”

Young parents are one demographic that Baker said he, along with many other established Baptist churches, is struggling to attract.

“People like new things,” Baker said. “It’s easier to start something new than fix something old. Something new is more appealing to young people, so they become the base.”

“Never underestimate the social element of a congregation,” he added.

Despite a lack of noticeable growth, Baker said the Baptist community in Columbia is still a strong one. “This is still a vigorous spiritual community, just not in the same worship buildings.”

Baker said 50 percent of his members attend weekend services, which is fairly standard.

First Baptist is a member of the American Baptist denomination following their split from the Southern Baptist Convention about nine years ago. That has played a large part in their membership.

“There is a Southern Baptist following that comes through Columbia,” Baker said. “We don’t get any of those people anymore.”

Columbia has 27 Southern Baptist congregations, according to the religious archives.

The group that has sustained the greatest net loss nationally is the Catholic Church, according to Pew. Of adults surveyed, 31.4 percent said they grew up Catholic but only 23.9 percent remained in that faith. The Catholic Church has lost membership in Boone County as well. From 1990 to 2000, Boone County experienced a 19.3 percent drop in Catholic adherents, according to the religious archives.

Still, the Catholic Church is the third largest religious body in Boone County with 9,463 adherents, the religious archives reported. It is also the second largest in Missouri, trailing only evangelical Protestants.

Columbia is home to three of the five Catholic congregations in Boone County, one of which is Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Monsignor Michael Flanagan has been pastor since 1990. When he arrived, there were about 1,400 families in the congregation; now, there are 2,000.

Flanagan said Columbia has a fairly small Catholic population for a city its size, which can be largely attributed to its history.

“There was never a Catholic-based ethnic group here,” Flanagan said. “Jefferson City is about half the size of Columbia, but it is about 30 percent Catholic. Columbia is a city where Catholics have settled into; there was no base.”

Despite the low numbers, Flanagan said there is still a strong percentage who attend church on Sundays. In Columbia, 50 percent of Catholics go to church. Flanagan said the national average is roughly 25 percent.