ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) – What’s the biggest faith group in the St. Louis metropolitan area?

It’s Catholicism — with 558-thousand members — followed by Evangelical Protestants with 491-thousand and Mainline Protestants with 205-thousand followers.

These numbers are from the just released 2012 Religious Congregations and Membership Study.

Southern Baptists total 176 thousand in the metro area. Non denominational evangelical protestants another 108-thousand along with nearly 99-thousand members of the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are up big time in Missouri.

There are 66-thousand Mormons in Missouri – up 61-percent from ten years ago — an increase of 25-thousand Mormons in the state.

In Illinois, nearly 56-thousand Mormons, a 55-percent increase over the year two thousand – up nearly 20-thousand.

And in the St. Louis metropolitan area — there are 17-thousand Mormons, up 43-percent or 51 hundred new members over the past ten year.