Arizona Church Records

History
In 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives reported that the three largest denominational groups in Arizona were the Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and non-denominational Evangelical Protestants. The Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Arizona (at 930,001), followed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 410,263 members reported, and then non-denominational Evangelical Protestants, reporting 281,105 adherents. The religious body with the largest number of congregations is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (with 836 congregations) followed by the Southern Baptist Convention (with 323 congregations). Source: Wikipedia

Finding Aids
An inventory that can help you find church records is:
 * Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Arizona. Phoenix, Arizona: Division of Professional and Service Projects, WPA, 1940.
 * The Church in Arizona: A Brief History History of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, lists the various parish churches.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
The Family History Library has an extensive collection of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints records. The library has histories of local Latter-day Saint congregations and an overview of colonization in:


 * McClintock, James H. Mormon Settlement in Arizona: A Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert. Phoenix, Ariz.: Manufacturing Stationers, 1921. book 979.1 K2m; film 1033844 item 10. The entire book is on Project Gutenburg.
 * Early, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church records for Arizona Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the FamilySearch Catalog . Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.
 * George S. Tanner. Mormon Settlements in Arizona. J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, 1970.  A collection of primary sources relating to the Mormon Pioneer colonization efforts along the Little Colorado River and the surrounding area. Most materials collected by George S. Tanner. Includes diaries, histories, correspondence, financial records, biographies and autobiographies, and clippings.

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society United Presbyterian Church in the United States 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (215) 627-1852 Fax: (215) 627-0509

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Phoenix Archives 400 East Monroe St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 354-2475 The diocese includes the counties of: Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave and Yavapai. NOTE: The diocesan archives does not do any genealogical lookups. However, they will assist a person find their own Sacramental records if they do not know the parish where they took the Sacrament.

Diocese of Tucson Archives 300 S. Tucson Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716 Phone: (520) 886-5201

The diocese includes the counties of: Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz and Yuma

The counties of Apache and Navajo are included in the Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico.

The Arizona Historical Society houses early Spanish Catholic Church records in collections such as “Archivo General de la Nacion” and “Archivo Colegial Franscano of Queretaro, Mexico.”

Missions
Missions were established by religious denominations to serve the Indians.


 * Calabazas
 * Bicuna
 * Guevavi
 * Purisima Concepcion
 * San Agustin de Tucson
 * San Pedro y San Pueblo de
 * San Xavier del Bac
 * Sonoita
 * Tumacacori

Arizona Recensement