Posted on 07/09/2021 11:01:34 PM PDT by Cronos
Is it a denomination? Is it a set of theological beliefs? Is it the type of group you attend? How exactly do you define a mainline Protestant?
It’s a question asked by many on Thursday (July 8), after polling outfit Public Religion Research Institute unveiled a new survey that showed white mainline Protestants outnumbering white evangelicals in America — a marked shift that surprised some observers.
To be fair, many were asking the question long before that survey — including mainline Protestants, who often don’t use the term to describe themselves. (Not to mention, the copious amount of ink spilled in efforts to nail down a precise definition for “evangelical” — a debate still ongoing.)
Not unlike their evangelical step-cousins, mainliners are in the middle of their own identity crisis — and who’s in and who’s out depends a bit on who is answering the question.
Pollsters such as PRRI and others often apply a broad brush, using “white mainline Protestant” to describe people who identify as white, non-Hispanic and Protestant, but who do not consider themselves evangelical or “born-again.”
The moniker has taken on a more precise meaning in common parlance, although its origins are somewhat murky: Some believe it originates from Philadelphia suburbs known as the “Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line” that were historically home to primarily white, wealthy churches. Regardless of the title’s source, mainline Protestants are most often associated with an array of older Protestant denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ, among others.
Established institutions differentiated mainliners from some early 20th-century fundamentalists, many of whom later rebranded as evangelicals and belonged to communities that were more diffuse in a variety of ways. The National Association of Evangelicals defines the evangelical tradition according to a set of theological beliefs known as the Bebbington Quadrilateral, but the exact parameters of evangelicalism remain, again, a matter of heated debate. And while large denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention exist, many evangelicals remain denominationally unattached to this day.
For their part, mainliner demography varies from church to church, with many congregations exhibiting a wide range of economic and racial diversity. But statistically, mainliners tend to resemble their (probable) historical namesake, skewing white and relatively wealthy. Their members can also be influential: The lion’s share of U.S. presidents — including Barack Obama, who came to Christ in a UCC church, and Donald Trump, who initially identified as Presbyterian — have hailed from mainline traditions at some point in their lives, if not during their presidency.
Mainline traditions diverged from evangelicals in several ways throughout the 20th century, usually upholding more liberal theological stances. Early movements such as the Social Gospel, which decried as sin social injustices such as economic inequality and child labor, had a lasting impact on both political progressivism in the U.S. and mainline Protestantism, informing clergy who went on to participate in the civil rights movement.
Meanwhile, mainline Protestantism often served as a counterbalance to evangelicalism. The National Association of Evangelicals and the Christianity Today publication, for example, were seen or explicitly founded as counterpoints to the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) and the Christian Century, both primarily mainline Protestant projects.
Mainline leadership still tends to lean liberal. Several (although not all) mainline denominations now formally ordain women and LGBTQ people, for example, or officiate same-sex weddings — things many evangelical Christians refuse to do. Leaders from various mainline traditions were also deeply critical of former President Trump, with many participating in protests against his policies.
Through collaborations with interfaith clergy and Black Protestant leaders, mainline clergy repeatedly found themselves in direct confrontation with Trump during his presidency, as well as with his supporters. When police forcibly cleared hundreds of racial justice demonstrators from Washington’s Lafayette Square in June 2020, law enforcement also expelled an Episcopal priest and a seminarian who were aiding protesters from the grounds of St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street. When Trump walked across the empty park and held up a Bible in front of the church a short time later, the Episcopal bishop of Washington — who oversees St. John’s — condemned him.
The cycle repeated on Jan. 6, 2021: Shortly before insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol, a group of interfaith clergy — including mainliners — gathered around a Black Lives Matter sign outside an ELCA church as a prayerful counterprotest against Trump supporters who had descended on Washington, D.C., to decry Joe Biden’s election as president.
Yet mainline pews are filled with a more politically diverse group than their pulpits, although they still skew less conservative than evangelicals. According to PRRI, 33% of mainliners identify as Republican, 35% identify as Democrat and 30% identify as independent.
Moreover, many mainline traditions splintered multiple times over the past century, giving birth to smaller, more conservative iterations. For example, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is understood to be more theologically conservative than the ELCA, just as the Presbyterian Church in America is a more conservative breakaway from what became the PC(USA).
Like many faith traditions, mainliners often belie neat definitions. Some who attend mainline churches — particularly conservative ones — may identify as evangelical or born-again, even if other members of the tradition do not. Others may switch traditions over time: Trump identified as Presbyterian when elected as president in 2016, but identified as a “nondenominational Christian” by the time he left office.
Some polling outfits have begun to take a more complicated look at the term. PRRI updated its most recent survey to designate the group as “White mainline (non-evangelical) Protestants,” and Pew Research, which used the same rubric to define mainliners for some time, recently changed the category title to “White Protestant, not evangelical.”
In an email to Religion News Service, Greg Smith, Pew’s associate director of research, explained that his team still uses “white mainline Protestant” to categorize people who list specific affiliations with denominations traditionally described as mainline. But when using the less specific method, he argued the broader category is a more accurate way to describe the survey question.
“We made this shift in labeling because the ‘White Protestant, not evangelical’ label is a more accurate representation of the way Protestants describe themselves when we measure religious affiliation this way,” he said. “They have told us they do not think of themselves as born-again/evangelical Christians. They have not told us they identify with a mainline denomination.”
As for mainline denominations, their churches have seen a general decline in membership in recent years. PRRI’s data suggests that may be changing, but even if it doesn’t, mainliners have yet to give up their voice in the public square, particularly when it comes to liberal activism: Both co-chairs of the influential Poor People’s Campaign — the Rev. William Barber and the Rev. Liz Theoharis — belong to mainline traditions (Disciples of Christ and the PCUSA, respectively).
You never know what new variants will break through.
The ELCA has only been around since 1988, it is hardly “old.”
Moreover, many mainline traditions splintered multiple times over the past century, giving birth to smaller, more conservative iterations. For example, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is understood to be more theologically conservative than the ELCA,...
Note he/she refers to the ELCA which was recently formed in 1988 as 'mainline' while referring to the much older genuinely mainline LCMS from which the liberals fled, as a "splinter," which it is not. The church now known as the LCMS was formed in 1847 sometime after confessional Lutherans, mostly from Saxony and facing government meddling in church affairs there, settled in the US in order to freely worship.
The old, or full name of the LCMS was The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. It was a little wordy so a hundred years after its formation from twelve congregations in the US, the name was shortened to The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
The Saxons ended up settling over here because of Unionism under Frederick William III... Federick’s 1817 move to force the unification of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church to create the Prussian Union of Churches, and thus began the persecution of orthodox [that is, original “mainline”] Lutherans who resisted the state’s intrusion into ecclesiastical affairs and suffered for it, being forced to worship in secret or cross borders to baptize their infants in other less restrictive states. Pastors were imprisoned. By 1836 the traditional Lutherans who held true to the Book of Concord had enough, and fled to America and several years later formed the LCMS. Despite the size differences, the LCMS isn’t some splinter from the much younger, hipper, and more liberal ELCA.
A joke.
I don’t know about the others you mentioned, but I am PCA (Presbyterian Church of America) and we are definitely evangelical, born again, conservative, consider the Bible literally the Word of God.
In my mind it is the ones whose churches look like prisons.
Does a Roman Catholic believe John 3:3 is true?
Bkmk
We left the Presbyterian Church USA 21 years ago when I discovered they were pro-choice & anti-Isreal. They are run by liberals at the highest levels. Some of the Mainline churches around here still haven’t reopened since the shutdowns. CNN and other media have brainwashed them so they are still terrified of Covid and afraid to open.
It’s quite possible many people today don’t want to ‘identify’ directly with a institutional type church...and that’s understandable. Not to mention people who do want a church that will satisfy their ‘itchy ears’.....truth or not.
The mainline Protestant churches in my town shut down years ago, or hold one service per week for a few seniors (in huge, beautiful buildings). Many rent their buildings out to other groups (Hispanic evangelicals, a leftist breakaway Catholic group, etc.); if they don’t use them for religious purposes they’ll become taxable properties (and it would be very costly). A Dutch Reformed church that pre-dates the American Revolution was bought by some Hispanic group, and when they had some storm damage years ago they never repaired it - there are still signs asking for donations for it. The “replacement Americans” didn’t come here to give, but to take.
It is amazing to watch European-descended Christians go extinct in an area they settled three and a half centuries ago...
Here’s what the Lutheran Communion believes in
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born[a] from above.”
http://hopelutheransanmateo.org/sermon/born-from-above/
Certainly the administration of the SBC has moved far in that direction. Many of the member churches are still orthodox evangelical but they are being marginalized more and more every year. Eventually they will be forced to flee Babylon.
A good part of what we’re seeing in the West’s decline is the almost complete collapse of mainline Protestantism in the last 50 years. What has replaced this vacuum is the dangerous “religion” of ideology, the belief in the transoformative power of the state.
Schism leads to more schism, history has proven this as more and more Catholics left the Church to start their own deal. Personally I was raised during the 60s and have returned to the Traditional Latin Rite which is where I’ll stay.
Yes. The Catholic faith teaches that when we are Baptized (Sacrament established by Jesus) we are forgiven our current sins and original sin. The Apostles and their successors were given the command by Jesus “Go therefor and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Mt 28:19
Do you believe that the Catholic faith teaches God’s Truth?
come on don’t we all love attending our local mainline church with the lesbian pastor wearing her rainbow garments?
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