Editing Christian Science practitioner (section)

== In the United States ==
In the United States, Christian Science practitioners are legally defined as [[Health care provider|health care providers]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=29 CFR § 825.125 - Definition of health care provider.|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/825.125|access-date=2020-11-13|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref> Despite the non-medical nature of their practice, Christian Science practitioners were aggressively prosecuted in the late 19th century by newly established state medical societies across the United States. Most state courts dismissed these actions because the courts ruled that they did not practice medicine.<ref>Sandvick, Clinton (2021). [https://www.academia.edu/31066333/DEFINING_THE_PRACTICE_OF_MEDICINE_LICENSING_AMERICAN_PHYSICIANS_1870_1907 "Defining The Practice Of Medicine: Licensing American Physicians, 1870-1907"] ''academia.edu''.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Practitioners
!US Population
!Practitioners per Million
![[Annual growth rate|Annual rate]]
|-
|1956
|8,300<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title = Healing Church Shows Signs It May Be Ailing|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-20-ss-4390-story.html|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|date = 1986-12-20|access-date = 2015-09-27|issn = 0458-3035|language = en|first = JOHN|last = DART}}</ref>
|168,900,000
|49
|n/a
|-
|1971
|4,965<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Christian Science Statistics: Practitioners, Teachers, and Churches in the United States|url = http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cs.html|website = www.quackwatch.org|accessdate = 2015-09-27}}</ref>
|207,660,000
|24
|{{Decrease}}4.7%
|-
|1976
|4,302<ref name=":1" />
|218,040,000
|20
|{{Decrease}}3.8%
|-
|1979
|3,878<ref name=":1" />
|225,060,000
|17
|{{Decrease}}4.4%
|-
|1986
|3,700<ref name=":0" />
|240,130,000
|15
|{{Decrease}}1.6%
|-
|1991
|2,237<ref name=":1" />
|252,980,000
|8.8
|{{Decrease}}10.5%
|-
|1996
|1,802<ref name=":1" />
|269,390,000
|6.7
|{{Decrease}}5.4%
|-
|2005
|1,161<ref name=":1" />
|295,520,000
|3.9
|{{Decrease}}5.7%
|-
|2016
|942<ref name=":1" />
|322,940,000
|2.9
|{{Decrease}}2.7%
|-
|2022
|706<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Directory of Professional Services and Church Information |magazine=The Christian Science Journal |issn=2325-3797 |publisher=The Christian Science Publishing Society |url=https://journal.christianscience.com/mediafile/file/print//JRL/2022/JRL_2022_140_DIR.pdf |date=October 2022 |access-date=2022-11-15}}</ref>
|333,330,000
|2.1
|{{Decrease}}5.2%
|}