Executive summary: We’re seeing the biggest birth rate since the Baby Boom. Liberal churches need to pay attention to this demographic trend, by welcoming multiethnic families with young children.

So what’s the biggest news for liberal religion in the U.S.? No, it’s not the lousy economy that’s tempting churches into cutting hours for religious educators and other staff members. No, it’s not the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president, which is already changing people’s perceptions of race and racial boundaries.

The biggest news for liberal religion in the U.S. is contained in a report released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Here’s the relevant quotation from the report’s abstract:

“In 2006, births and fertility rates increased for most states, age groups, and race and Hispanic origin groups. A total of 4,265,555 births were registered in the United States in 2006, 3 percent more than in 2005, and the largest number of births in more than four decades.” [emphasis mine] Link to full report.

In short, 2006 saw the largest number of babies being born since 1961 — the largest number of babies being born since the Baby Boom. Some of the implications for liberal churches are obvious:

(1) Good child care: We had better have good child care in place on Sunday mornings, so that when all those toddlers born in 2006 show up, their parents see clean, safe, pleasant play areas staffed by professional, friendly child care providers.

(2) Increase DRE hours: Many liberal churches are facing budget shortfalls, and have to cut staff salaries in order to balance the budget. The obvious course of action is to cut the minister’s hours or salary, while increasing the line item for the Director of Religious Education. (I say this as a minister in a cash-strapped church, because I know the long-term solution to our immediate revenue problems involves attracting families with young children — if I want to have a job at all, I had better make sure there are lots of kids in my church.)

(3) Become a multiethnic church: The birth rates of white folks are not rising as fast as some other ethnic groups. To have access to the biggest potential pool of newcomers, liberal churches cannot be limited to being ethnic churches, e.g., it’s not going to be enough to be a white folks’ church any longer. Barack Obama’s election broke the second-to-last big racial barrier, the last one being all-white churches. To survive and thrive, white and other racially limited churches have to break that last racial barrier.

(4) Improve kid’s programming: Liberal churches need compelling religious education programs that make kids want to come to church, that help kids learn more, and (key point) that make parents believe that church is vital for their kids. I think that means going beyond limited models of Sunday school. More of my thoughts on this here, but here’s one key point: “For school-aged children, the mix of programs might include multi-generational activities (common worship experiences, social events, intergenerational choirs) along with mixed-age programs for children (workshop rotation, and special projects such as young people’s choir and plays) in addition to closely graded classes containing only one age group.”

(5) Finally, pay attention to demographics: We all know that there are condo complexes that are limited to “active adults over 55,” and some liberal churches might be able to exploit that same idea to build thriving churches of aging Baby Boomers. But my bet is the most secure demographic niche to target right now is white and non-white families with young children — that’s where the growth is, and that’s where the future of the liberal churches lies.