September 18, 2002
Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
On September 18, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the number of Catholics in the Atlanta metro area more than doubled over the last 10 years... And defying a national trend, most mainline Protestant denominations in the area --- such as United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (USA) --- gained members in the same time period... Southern Baptists held their No. 1 position in the South and in metro Atlanta. However, the survey does not account for "Black Baptists," which include several large national groups and could total more than 8 million churchgoing Americans --- many of them in the South."