Religious congregations in the United States have a "mortality rate" of 1 percent, which is the lowest among other organizations, according to a newly published study.
About 10 out of every 1,000 religious congregations disband each year, sociologists at the University of Arizona and Duke University found. The low rate of demise revealed that the religious organizations are some of the strongest in the nation, the report stated.
Among volunteer-based social service groups, peace movement organizations and other groups studied over the last two decades, at least 5 percent shut their doors each year. Only child care centers in Toronto came close to the low 1 percent mortality rate that religious congregations have, the study noted.