It’s the nondenominational, Muslim and Mormon communities that have seen the most growth in the Cape Fear region in the last decade.
Amanda Greene of Wilmington Faith and Values reports about the new 2010 U.S. Religion Census from the Association of Religion Data Archives.
The survey, which tracked county growth in religious bodies nationwide, was released in early May. New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties each saw religious growth in the last decade. Brunswick County had the largest faith boom, growing by thirty percent. Of course, that matches the county’s fast physical growth as well. Mormon wards grew by one hundred and fifty-nine percent in Pender County and eighty-one percent in New Hanover. With three mosques now in Wilmington, the Muslim population rose by about two hundred percent. And for the first time, nondenominational churches slightly outnumber Southern Baptist churches in New Hanover, according to the survey.