The mess in the American Methodist Church is a disgrace. Certainly this is not the reason people "fled" -- the bleeding started long ago, with the radical leftism in the seminaries of the 60s. Also, the missionaries funded by the UMC were infected with cultural Marxism in Africa around the same time.
Catholics are doubtless familiar with Protestant complaints against their denomination; however, this politically correct pressure to change the plain meaning of the scriptures has become endemic in the mainline Protestant churches over the past 40 years and points to the value of the Catholic magisterium. There is a vacuum at the top of Protestantism.
U.S. Protestantism is also a victim of its own success, having come into sociopolitical power when the U.S. was young and ascendant. Its members often found themselves to be the "respected families" or "leading businessmen" in small-town America, and the political class -- Presidents, Senators, judges, university faculty, etc, came mainly from the ranks of Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and a few Methodists. This was true up until the end of WWI. Individuals forgot the gospel of humility as they equated church attendance with self-importance, political power and influence in the community.
The rot in the UMC came to a head in the 60s and 70s, which is when the Methodist Episcopal Church began selling off its universities (which are now leftist bastions like Duke), nursing homes (which are now politically correct Medicare outposts), etc., and consolidating with the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968. Attendance dropped dramatically in the 70s, 80s and 90s, way before anyone dreamed the U.S. would accept homosexual "marriage." The mainline Protestant denominations may never recover.
Same story in TEC (The Episcopal Church).
... Also, the missionaries funded by the UMC were infected with cultural Marxism in Africa around the same time.
Did not know that wrinkle. Thanks for the insight.
Catholics are doubtless familiar with Protestant complaints against their denomination; however, this politically correct pressure to change the plain meaning of the scriptures has become endemic in the mainline Protestant churches over the past 40 years and points to the value of the Catholic magisterium. ...
I share your sensibility ... still the RCC has some more penance to go through to account for its history of shuffling pedophile priests off to new assignments where they could prey upon the innocent elsewhere.
... There is a vacuum at the top of Protestantism. ...
Excellent laconic statement! Now the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) has elected a black president (2012) in the hope that by embracing "diversity", it will reverse membership decline. Not going to happen.
... The rot in the UMC came to a head in the 60s and 70s, which is when the Methodist Episcopal Church began selling off its universities (which are now leftist bastions like Duke) ...
Earned my MS at NCSU in 1980 just down the road from Durham and worked in W-S,NC for 15 years. I can vouch for this statement.
... nursing homes (which are now politically correct Medicare outposts), etc., and consolidating with the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968. Attendance dropped dramatically in the 70s, 80s and 90s, way before anyone dreamed the U.S. would accept homosexual "marriage." The mainline Protestant denominations may never recover.
My crystal ball thinks there will be more Protestant schisms and mergers in the decades ahead. I can imagine a merger between the liberal (US) UMC, ELCA, PCUSA, and a host of smaller like-minded denominations.
Most are sadly destroyed by Satan's attacks and if we look at the largest denominations within these, they are already pagan -- the ECUSA leading the pack (and the CoE not far behind) with the ELCA, PCUSA following
Newer groups such as Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals are break-aways from the first so are not technically Protestant as they did not break away from orthodoxy
They are also varyingly different in theology and beliefs from orthodoxy -- some close, some extremely far (for example the Oneness Pentecostals reject the Trinity, a basic Christian belief and the Seventh Day Adventists have concepts as strange as "Satan taking on the sins of the world" etc.)