The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been losing 12-15 per cent of its membership per decade in the past. It now is campaigning to lose only 5%. It's even called the "Minus 5" Campaign. How pathetic is that?
People think the reason that churches are losing their membership has to do with the fact that they're too "old-fashioned". Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the mainstream,more "hip" mainline Protestant churches that are losing the most members. Conservative churches have gained many adherents.
When you hear people say "the church has to modernize to attract people" they have no idea what they're saying. If the Church becomes like the world, why go to Church? You have everything the Church has, at your disposal, without all the fuss and muss about rules and doctrines. Why consult with a church that says "make up your own mind".
Now, it's fair to say that the Catholic Church has been losing membership-- or rather, the number of people who attend church regularly has declined. But this is related to the liberal phenomena. It's because priests and other institutional elites don't teach the Faith, and don't make orthodoxy obligatory. If you don't teach the Faith, of COURSE they're going to become alienated in this culture; of COURSE they won't come back. Why would they?
If there's anyone responsible for the decline of the Catholic Church, it's Catholics themselves and their kowtowing to modern culture.
Those parishes where orthodoxy is omnipresent are usually the ones with the bigger congregations. They teach ALL the doctrines-- even all the unpopular ones, like the one on contraception, they act like they're true and obligatory, and they actually try to bring people into the Church.
People are really attracted to that. There's a certain magnetism about orthodoxy, about being able to state eternal truths in the face of worldly opposition, in a charitable fashion. People respect that. They find it refreshing. They may disagree, but many continue to listen, because of the air of authority it brings.
This is precisely why Pope John Paul II was the most popular pope in history. He told it like it is, he did it nicely, but he wouldn't compromise.
If Protestant churches want to gain more members, they have to do what churches that win members, do.
H/T Random Responses
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