Islam ‘one of fastest growing religions’ in United States

The number of mosques in the United States is on the increase, according to a study of 41 religious denominations by Hartford Seminary.

The number of mosques in the nation increased 42 percent between 1990 and 2000- to at least 1,200- outpacing the 12 percent average increase among evangelical Protestant denominations and the 2 percent average increase among mainline Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox groups.

Sixty percent of the 416 randomly selected mosques reported at least a 10 percent increase in membership between 1995 and 2000, according to the seminary’s “Faith Communities Today’ survey released in March, which surveyed more than 14,000 religious congregations in 41 faiths. Researchers continue to mine the data for new findings.

Forty-eight percent of Mormon congregations reported similar growth numbers, as did 39 percent of evangelical Protestant congregations and 29 percent of Roman Catholic and Orthodox parishes. About 27 percent of mainline Protestant congregations reported such an increase.

Megachurches of all denominations ranked above Muslims at number one, with a reported average increase of 83 percent.

The increase suggests “Islam is one of the fastest growing religious groups in the United States,” said professor David A. Roozen, director of Harford Seminary’s Institute for Religion Research and a co-director of the study.

The study also found that Muslims placed a greater emphasis on fasting than many followers of other faiths. Some 90 percent of mosques heavily emphasized fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, while less than 20 percent of all non-Muslim congregations (including Greek and other Orthodox traditions) emphasized fasting during such periods as Lent.

About 69 percent of mosques surveyed in the study offer prayer services five times a day throughout the year, while 71 percent of the mosques offer religious education classes on the weekend.

The margin of error for the study (cosponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations) is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

(RNS)