<P> Like most other mainline denominations, the RCA has had a declining membership during the last thirty years . In 2016 the total membership was less than 220,000, down from about 300,000 in 2000 and 360,000 in 1980 . In the last thirty years, the church has lost more than one third of its membership . </P> <P> Due to theological changes reflecting new interpretations of Scripture, the adoption of the Belhar Confession, the removal of the conscience clauses related to women's ordination, and growing acceptance of homosexuals as members, a number of congregations have left the RCA to join the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) which is more conservative on these issues . </P> <P> The RCA confesses several statements of doctrine and faith . These include the historic Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed; the traditional Reformed Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism (with its compendium), the Canons of Dort, and the Belhar Confession . </P> <P> The RCA opposes euthanasia . The report of the Commission on Christian Action stated in 1994: "What Christians say about issues of morality ought to be and usually is a reflection of their fundamental faith convictions . There are at least three of these convictions that appear especially relevant to the question of whether it is acceptable for Christians to seek a physician's assistance in committing suicide in the midst of extreme suffering. / A fundamental conviction Christians have is that they do not belong to themselves . Life, despite its circumstances, is a gift from God, and each individual is its steward...Contemporary arguments for the' right' to assistance to commit suicide are based on ideas of each individual's autonomy over his or her life . Christians cannot claim such autonomy; Christians acknowledge that they belong to God...Christians yield their personal autonomy and accept a special obligation, as the first answer of the Heidelberg Catechism invites people to confess:' I am not my own, but belong--body and soul, in life and in death--to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ' (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1)... A decision to take one's own life thus appears to be a denial that one belongs to God. / A second conviction is that God does not abandon people in times of suffering...Christians express their faith in God's love by trusting in God's care for them . A decision to end one's life would appear to be a cessation of that trust...Suffering calls upon people to trust God even in the valley of the shadow of death . It calls on people to let God, and not suffering, determine the agenda of their life and their death. / A third conviction is that in the community of God's people, caring for those who are dying is a burden Christians are willing to share . Both living and dying should occur within a caring community, and in the context of death, Christian discipleship takes the form of caring for those who are dying. / This is an era when many people find legislating morality a questionable practice . Should Christians promote legislation which embodies their conclusions about the morality of physician - assisted suicide?...If Christians are to be involved in debating laws regulating assisted suicide, it will be out of a concern for the health and well - being of society...As a society, there is no common understanding that gives any universal meaning to' detrimental' . In humility, Christians can simply acknowledge this, and proceed...to share our own unique perspectives, inviting others to consider them and the faith that gives them meaning ." </P>

What are the beliefs of the reformed church of america
find me the text answering this question