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Mainline Protestant
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<h2 id="terminology">Terminology</h2> <p>The term <i>mainline Protestant</i> was coined during <a href="/facts/Fundamentalist%25E2%2580%2593Modernist_Controversy/wcT8jy7a">debates between modernists and fundamentalists in the 1920s</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Several sources claim that the term is derived from the <a href="/facts/Philadelphia_Main_Line/JWgVyt7T">Philadelphia Main Line</a>, a group of affluent suburbs of Philadelphia; most residents belonged to mainline denominations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> Today, most mainline Protestants remain rooted in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler define the term as follows: "the term 'mainline Protestant' is used along with 'mainstream Protestant' and 'oldline Protestant' to categorize denominations that are affiliated with the National Council of Churches and have deep historical roots in and long-standing influence on American society."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>In the US, Protestantism is generally divided between mainline denominations and <a href="/facts/Evangelicalism_in_the_United_States/F1dPAlEj">evangelical</a> or <a href="/facts/Conservative_Christianity/Ue6eJ4xd">theologically conservative</a> denominations. In other parts of the world, the term <i>mainline Protestant</i> is not used. Instead, the term "<a href="/facts/Ecumenical/1Yyzv1zM">ecumenical</a>" is used to distinguish similar churches from evangelical denominations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Some have criticized the term <i>mainline</i> for its alleged <a href="/facts/White_Anglo-Saxon_Protestants/B3MSj66k">White Anglo-Saxon Protestant</a> ethnocentric and elitist assumptions, and its erroneous association with the term "mainstream" since it almost exclusively described <a href="/facts/White_Americans/H6ToYC5Q">White American</a>, non-<a href="/facts/Christian_fundamentalism/DKCYquuA">fundamentalist</a> and non-<a href="/facts/Evangelicalism/64I65VDK">evangelical</a> Protestant Americans from its origin to the late twentieth century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h3><i>Mainline</i> vs. <i>mainstream</i></h3> <p>The term <i>mainstream Christian</i> in academic usage is not equivalent to <i>mainline Protestant</i> and is often used as an attempt to find impartial sociological vocabulary in distinguishing <i><a href="/facts/Orthodoxy/AWYLuw2w">orthodoxy</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Heresy_in_Christianity/BzrI9laX">heresy</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> Hence in Christological and doctrinal reference <i><a href="/facts/Mainstream_Christianity/kcjvCVsB">mainstream Christianity</a></i> is often equivalent to <i><a href="/facts/Trinitarianism/2eElg705">Trinitarianism</a></i>. Mainline Protestantism should not be confused with <a href="/facts/Nicene_Christianity/kcjvCVsB">Nicene Christianity</a> which is more widely accepted as having the "mainstream Christianity" designation that also includes <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholics</a>, <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Eastern</a> and <a href="/facts/Oriental_Orthodox_Churches/Hr4jF7La">Oriental Orthodox</a> believers, and non-Mainline Protestants such as <a href="/facts/Evangelicalism/64I65VDK">Evangelical</a>, <a href="/facts/Christian_fundamentalism/DKCYquuA">Fundamentalist</a>, <a href="/facts/Charismatic_Christianity/3lrFNeNY">Charismatic</a>, <a href="/facts/Confessionalism_(religion)/u9slJeT7">Confessional</a>, <a href="/facts/Confessing_Movement/qcmH6u8P">Confessing Movement</a>, the historically <a href="/facts/Black_church/Y2oFgbkW">Black church</a>, and <a href="/facts/Global_South_Fellowship_of_Anglican_Churches/E1LSm012">Global South</a> <a href="/facts/Protestantism/NXja4K3g">Protestants</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term <i>mainline Protestant</i> is not used, and <i>mainstream</i> does not mean <i>progressive</i> Protestant. Although some supporters and adherents do claim that Mainline Protestant is synonymous with Mainstream Protestant.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="denominations">Denominations</h2> <p>The largest mainline churches are sometimes referred to as the "Seven Sisters of American <a href="/facts/Protestantism/NXja4K3g">Protestantism</a>,"<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> a term apparently coined by William Hutchison.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a> The "Seven Sisters" are: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/United_Methodist_Church/8SRPAktW">United Methodist Church</a> (UMC) is the largest mainline Protestant denomination among the "Seven Sisters" with 5.4 million members in the United States in 2022.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America/c7CJKatr">Evangelical Lutheran Church in America</a> (ELCA) is the second largest mainline denomination with approximately 2.8 million members and 8,500 congregations at the end of 2023.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)/fmF3F2FM">Episcopal Church</a> (TEC) is third largest, with 1.6 million active baptized members,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> of whom 1.4 million members are located in the United States in 2022.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_(USA)/YC7m6tLG">Presbyterian Church (USA)</a> (PC-USA) is the fourth largest mainline denomination, with 1.1 million active members in 8,700 congregations (2021).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/American_Baptist_Churches_USA/NfVlMGXY">American Baptist Churches USA</a> (ABC-USA) is fifth in size, with approximately 1.1 million members (2017).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/United_Church_of_Christ/rkzXuEac">United Church of Christ</a> (UCC) is the sixth and has about 710,000 members in 2022.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Christian_Church_(Disciples_of_Christ)/zmGKLk4o">Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)</a> (DOC) is the seventh and has about 278,000 members as of 2022.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a></li></ul> <p>The term 'mainline' has also been applied to Canadian Protestant churches that share common origins with their US counterparts<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a> such as the: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/United_Church_of_Canada/elduWkGa">United Church of Canada</a> 325,315 members (2023),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a> 1.2 million adherents according to 2021 Canadian Census<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39"><sup>39</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Anglican_Church_of_Canada/BBq5DPHW">Anglican Church of Canada</a> 294,931 members (2022),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40"><sup>40</sup></a> 1.1 million adherents according to 2021 Canadian Census<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41"><sup>41</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_Canada/7zWWN8oB">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada</a> 111,570 members (2015)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42"><sup>42</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Canadian_Baptist_Ministries/t0Y1mQQI">Canadian Baptist Ministries</a> 81,685 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43"><sup>43</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_in_Canada/BDyHUepz">Presbyterian Church in Canada</a> 79,961 members (2019)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44"><sup>44</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Christian_Church_(Disciples_of_Christ)_in_Canada/bf6oX5R8">Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada</a> 2,606 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45"><sup>45</sup></a></li></ul> <p>The <a href="/facts/Association_of_Religion_Data_Archives/l9zegjez">Association of Religion Data Archives</a>, <a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq">Pew Research</a>, and other sources also consider these denominations, listed with adherents and members, to be mainline:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46"><sup>46</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47"><sup>47</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Cooperative_Baptist_Fellowship/qrVNXsfa">Cooperative Baptist Fellowship</a> 700,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48"><sup>48</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Quakers/CQFqeKAJ">Religious Society of Friends</a> (Quakers) 350,000 members</li> <li><a href="/facts/Reformed_Church_in_America/SHJlDwg9">Reformed Church in America</a> 104,921 members (2022)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49"><sup>49</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Mennonite_Church_USA/RqY5nfMR">Mennonite Church USA</a> 100,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50"><sup>50</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51"><sup>51</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Church_of_the_Brethren/5Q3GfBkE">Church of the Brethren</a> 87,181 members (2021)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52"><sup>52</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/International_Council_of_Community_Churches/F191Gx8N">International Council of Community Churches</a> 69,276 members (2009)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53"><sup>53</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/National_Association_of_Congregational_Christian_Churches/XnEdRqxd">National Association of Congregational Christian Churches</a> 65,392 members (2002)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54"><sup>54</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55"><sup>55</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Alliance_of_Baptists/CvBlXPdz">Alliance of Baptists</a> 65,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56"><sup>56</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Moravian_Church_in_North_America/7tG9e8Ck">Moravian Church in North America</a> 60,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57"><sup>57</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Metropolitan_Community_Church/Decolwqg">Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches</a> 15,666 members (2006)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58"><sup>58</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Latvian_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America/LBG4jbj6">Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America</a> 12,000 members (2007)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Estonian_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church/AX0jkeL3">Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad</a> 8,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59"><sup>59</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Hungarian_Reformed_Church_in_America/FV1TJCCA">Hungarian Reformed Church in America</a> 6,080 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60"><sup>60</sup></a></li></ul> <p>These same sources also consider "Mainline" other denominations outside the US, including: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Anglican_Church_of_Mexico/q9UHQddH">Anglican Church of Mexico</a> 100,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61"><sup>61</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62"><sup>62</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:63" href="#fn:63"><sup>63</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:64" href="#fn:64"><sup>64</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Mennonite_Church_Canada/cT5pz30d">Mennonite Church Canada</a> 31,000 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:65" href="#fn:65"><sup>65</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:66" href="#fn:66"><sup>66</sup></a></li> <li>The term is also occasionally used to refer to historic Protestant churches in Europe, Latin America, and South Africa.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:67" href="#fn:67"><sup>67</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:68" href="#fn:68"><sup>68</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:69" href="#fn:69"><sup>69</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:70" href="#fn:70"><sup>70</sup></a></li></ul> <p>Historically African American denominations are usually categorized differently from evangelicals or mainline.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:71" href="#fn:71"><sup>71</sup></a> However, in 2014 the <i><a href="/facts/Christian_Century/uklWAYYb">Christian Century</a></i> identified that these groups "fit the mainline description."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:72" href="#fn:72"><sup>72</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Church/N4zB3QgL">African Methodist Episcopal Church</a> 2.5 million<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:73" href="#fn:73"><sup>73</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Zion_Church/Q9mX9UaB">African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church</a> 1.4 million<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:74" href="#fn:74"><sup>74</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Christian_Methodist_Episcopal_Church/qwwyUpVh">Christian Methodist Episcopal Church</a> 858,670 members<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:75" href="#fn:75"><sup>75</sup></a></li></ul> <p>Though not listed as mainline in either the <a href="/facts/Association_of_Religion_Data_Archives/l9zegjez">Association of Religion Data Archives</a> or the <a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq">Pew Research</a> classifications, two groups also appeal to this label. </p> <ul><li>The practices of the <a href="/facts/Community_of_Christ/1FBAPp1k">Community of Christ</a> (<a href="/facts/Latter_Day_Saint_movement/RI3Vm3ze">Latter Day Saint movement</a>) [with 250,000 adherentes]<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:76" href="#fn:76"><sup>76</sup></a>) are typified as congruent with mainline Protestantism.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:77" href="#fn:77"><sup>77</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:78" href="#fn:78"><sup>78</sup></a></li> <li>While no longer exclusively Christian, the <a href="/facts/Unitarian_Universalist_Association/Itwy5r8f">Unitarian Universalist Association</a> [with 211,000 adherents] considers itself to be mainline.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:79" href="#fn:79"><sup>79</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:80" href="#fn:80"><sup>80</sup></a></li></ul> <p>Some denominations with similar names and historical ties to the Seven Sisters mainline groups are not considered mainline: The <a href="/facts/Southern_Baptist_Convention/pGgGGrUy">Southern Baptist Convention</a> (SBC) [13.2 million],<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:81" href="#fn:81"><sup>81</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Lutheran_Church%25E2%2580%2593Missouri_Synod/NcbWmVkA">Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod</a> (LCMS) [1.8 million],<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:82" href="#fn:82"><sup>82</sup></a> the <a href="/facts/Churches_of_Christ/RmpYgnkV">Churches of Christ</a> and <a href="/facts/Christian_churches_and_churches_of_Christ/WzwFXoPM">Christian churches</a> [1.1 million each],<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:83" href="#fn:83"><sup>83</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:84" href="#fn:84"><sup>84</sup></a> the <a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_in_America/KlqvIqxD">Presbyterian Church in America</a> (PCA) [0.4 million],<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:85" href="#fn:85"><sup>85</sup></a> the <a href="/facts/Anglican_Church_in_North_America/E7v9VjgM">Anglican Church in North America</a> (ACNA) [0.13 million],<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:86" href="#fn:86"><sup>86</sup></a> and the <a href="/facts/Conservative_Congregational_Christian_Conference/Lm2qcpYr">Conservative Congregational Christian Conference</a> (CCCC) [0.04 million]. After the recent split of the UMC, the <a href="/facts/Global_Methodist_Church/8SRPAktW">Global Methodist Church</a> (GMC) could be added to this list, though no official census is currently known. Since these groups are too <a href="/facts/Conservative_Christianity/Ue6eJ4xd">theologically conservative</a> to be considered mainline, those strictly adhering to historical <a href="/facts/Creed/GQuXuXgm">rules of faith</a> are grouped as <a href="/facts/Confessionalism_(religion)/u9slJeT7">confessional</a>, while those without are grouped as <a href="/facts/Evangelicalism/64I65VDK">evangelical</a>. </p> <h2 id="theology">Theology</h2> <h3>Variation</h3> <p>Mainline Protestantism is characterized by theological and ideological <a href="/facts/Religious_pluralism/BMD0kmT9">pluralism</a>. While doctrinal standards and confessional statements exist, these are not usually interpreted in ways to exclude people from membership. Richard Hutcheson Jr., chairman of the Office of Review and Evaluation of the <a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_in_the_United_States/6hLREtrl">Presbyterian Church in the United States</a>, observed that clergy candidates were more likely to be rejected due to "excessive narrowness" than for violating confessional standards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:87" href="#fn:87"><sup>87</sup></a> </p><p>Mainline churches hold a range of theological orientations—<a href="/facts/Confessionalism_(religion)/u9slJeT7">conservative</a>, moderate and <a href="/facts/Liberal_Christianity/ByFnGYMp">liberal</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:88" href="#fn:88"><sup>88</sup></a> About half of mainline Protestants describe themselves as liberal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:89" href="#fn:89"><sup>89</sup></a> Mainline Christian groups are often more accepting of other beliefs and faiths, affirm the <a href="/facts/Ordination_of_women_in_Protestant_churches/M6z2L3D0">ordination of women</a>, and have become increasingly affirming of <a href="/facts/LGBT_clergy_in_Christianity/4njklPza">gay ordination</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:90" href="#fn:90"><sup>90</sup></a> A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of mainline Protestants believe that non-Christians, including agnostics and atheists, can go to <a href="/facts/Heaven_in_Christianity/1w90MSy0">heaven</a>, compared to around a fifth of evangelical Protestants and 38% of those who attend historically Black churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:91" href="#fn:91"><sup>91</sup></a> Nearly one-third of mainline Protestants call themselves conservative, and most local mainline congregations have a strong, active conservative element.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:92" href="#fn:92"><sup>92</sup></a> Mainline denominations are historically <a href="/facts/Trinity/2eElg705">Trinitarian</a> and proclaim <a href="/facts/Jesus_in_Christianity/bQ8eyYNT">Jesus Christ</a> as Lord and Son of God. </p><p>In practice, mainline churches tend to be theologically moderate and influenced by <i><a href="/facts/Higher_criticism/uBpY8IBl">higher criticism</a>,</i> an approach used by scholars to separate the Bible's earliest historical elements from perceived later additions and intentional distortions. Mainline denominations generally teach that the Bible is God's Word in function, but that it must be <a href="/facts/Allegorical_interpretation_of_the_Bible/JIyGEshT">interpreted</a> both through the lens of the cultures in which it was originally written, and examined using God-given reason. A 2008 survey conducted by the <a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq">Pew Research Center</a> found that 22 percent of the 7,500 mainline Christians surveyed said the Bible is God's Word and is to be interpreted as literally true, word for word. Thirty-eight percent thought that the Bible is God's Word but is not to be taken literally, word for word. Twenty-eight percent said the Bible was not the <a href="/facts/Divine_revelation/xMygzvLv">Word of God</a> but was of human origin.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:93" href="#fn:93"><sup>93</sup></a> </p><p>It has been noted, even by members of mainline churches,[<i>clarify</i>][<i>weasel words</i>] that the leadership of denominational agencies and bureaucracies has often been more theologically and socially liberal than the overall membership of the mainline churches. This gap has caused feelings of alienation among conservative mainline Protestants.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:94" href="#fn:94"><sup>94</sup></a> This dissatisfaction has led to the formation of various <a href="/facts/Confessing_Movement/qcmH6u8P">Confessing Movements</a> or <a href="/facts/Charismatic_Movement/jfwDlp6I">charismatic renewal movements</a> which are more conservative in tone. </p> <h3>Social justice</h3> <p>The mainline denominations emphasize the biblical concept of justice, stressing the need for Christians to work for <a href="/facts/Social_justice/yPVcRR0w">social justice</a>, which usually involve politically liberal approaches to social and economic problems. Early in the 20th century, they actively supported the <a href="/facts/Social_Gospel/pV1t1noJ">Social Gospel</a>. </p><p>Mainline churches were basically <a href="/facts/Pacifist/zN1mCGPx">pacifistic</a> before 1940, but under the influence of people such as <a href="/facts/Reinhold_Niebuhr/NP6HIjto">Reinhold Niebuhr</a> they supported <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a> and the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:95" href="#fn:95"><sup>95</sup></a>[<i>need quotation to verify</i>] They have been far from uniform in their reaction to issues of gender and sexuality, though they tend to be more accepting than the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic Church</a> or the more conservative Protestant churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:96" href="#fn:96"><sup>96</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="social-issues">Social issues</h2> <p>Many mainline denominations are active in voicing perspectives on social issues. Almost all mainline denominations are gender-inclusive and ordain women.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:97" href="#fn:97"><sup>97</sup></a> </p><p>Politically, mainline churches are also active. While no particular candidate can be endorsed, mainline churches often invite political speakers. At the 2016 General Conference for the <a href="/facts/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Church/N4zB3QgL">African Methodist Episcopal Church</a>, a <a href="/facts/Black_church/Y2oFgbkW">historically Black denomination</a> which also identifies as mainline, <a href="/facts/Hillary_Clinton/dPzm9ru4">Hillary Clinton</a> was invited to offer an address for the delegates and clergy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:98" href="#fn:98"><sup>98</sup></a> </p> <h3>Abortion</h3> <p>The Episcopal Church (TEC), Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA), Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and United Church of Christ (UCC) are members of the <a href="/facts/Religious_Coalition_for_Reproductive_Choice/ym0uNgwy">Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:99" href="#fn:99"><sup>99</sup></a> The United Methodist Church (UMC) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) support exceptions, when abortion may be necessary, but do not endorse the procedure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:100" href="#fn:100"><sup>100</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:101" href="#fn:101"><sup>101</sup></a> Other denominations, such as the Church of the Brethren and Mennonite Church USA, are against abortion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:102" href="#fn:102"><sup>102</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:103" href="#fn:103"><sup>103</sup></a> </p> <h3>Human sexuality</h3> <p>Many mainline churches recognize, bless and/or perform same-sex marriages, including the ELCA, TEC, PC(USA), Society of Friends (Quaker), UUA, UCC,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:104" href="#fn:104"><sup>104</sup></a> the Anglican Church of Canada,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:105" href="#fn:105"><sup>105</sup></a> Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:106" href="#fn:106"><sup>106</sup></a> and United Church of Canada.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:107" href="#fn:107"><sup>107</sup></a> </p><p>In 2015, the Mennonite Church Canada saw its first same-sex marriage in one of its congregations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:108" href="#fn:108"><sup>108</sup></a> </p><p>The American Baptist Churches USA allows each congregation the freedom to decide for itself.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:109" href="#fn:109"><sup>109</sup></a> Some congregations of the Church of the Brethren have also voted to perform same-gender marriages although the national denomination opposes this practice.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:110" href="#fn:110"><sup>110</sup></a> </p><p>Including the aforementioned denominations,[<i>which?</i>] the Mennonite Church USA, Metropolitan Community Church, and Moravian Church Northern Province license or ordain openly gay clergy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:111" href="#fn:111"><sup>111</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:112" href="#fn:112"><sup>112</sup></a> </p><p>While the UMC does not nationally ordain gay or lesbian clergy, the New York Annual Conference, a regional body of the UMC, has ordained the denomination's first openly gay and lesbian clergy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:113" href="#fn:113"><sup>113</sup></a> The Western Jurisdiction of the UMC also elected the denomination's first openly gay bishop.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:114" href="#fn:114"><sup>114</sup></a> </p><p>Most of the above denominations[<i>which?</i>] also ordain openly transgender clergy. While the national church has not approved of gay or lesbian clergy, the UMC has allowed transgender pastors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:115" href="#fn:115"><sup>115</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="statistical-decline">Statistical decline</h2> <h3>United States</h3> <p>The term "mainline" once implied a certain numerical majority or dominant presence in mainstream society, but that is no longer the case. Protestant churches as a whole have slowly declined in total membership since the 1960s. As the national population has grown these churches have shrunk from 63% of the population in 1970 to 54% by 2000, and 40% in 2024, ceasing to be the religious category for the majority of Americans.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:116" href="#fn:116"><sup>116</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:117" href="#fn:117"><sup>117</sup></a> American affiliation with mainline denominations declined from 55% of all Protestants in 1973 to 29% in 2024.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:118" href="#fn:118"><sup>118</sup></a> The number of mainline congregations in the U.S. declined from more than 80,000 churches in the 1950s to about 72,000 in 2008.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:119" href="#fn:119"><sup>119</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Robert_Drinan/Gzmbmvnh">Robert Drinan</a> estimated that there may have been a hundred million Mainline Protestants at one time in the United States.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:120" href="#fn:120"><sup>120</sup></a> </p><p>Various causes of mainline decline in population have been cited. Much analysis has taken place both from those within and outside mainline denominations. Key factors indicate that all types of churches can and do grow, regardless of hymnody or contemporary music, type of liturgy, average age of worshiper, or location<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:121" href="#fn:121"><sup>121</sup></a> On average, however, churches in rural areas, churches with older congregants, and churches with fewer young people involved struggle most to add members and grow churches. For example, of all churches founded since 1993, 54% are experiencing growth, compared to 28% of congregations founded prior to 1900.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:122" href="#fn:122"><sup>122</sup></a> As demographics change, the churches founded by earlier generations often struggle to adapt to changing conditions, including the declines or shifts in the age and ethnicity of local populations. Says David Roozen, Director of Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research, "Location, Location, Location used to be the kind way that researchers described the extent to which the growth or decline of American congregations was captive to the demographic changes going on in their immediate neighborhoods."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:123" href="#fn:123"><sup>123</sup></a> Age demographics are also a real factor in congregational decline, with the birthrate for mainline Protestants well below what is needed to maintain membership numbers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:124" href="#fn:124"><sup>124</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Barna_Group/Hv3Ym7EP">Barna Group</a>, an <a href="/facts/Evangelical/64I65VDK">Evangelical</a> surveyor, has noted that Protestant pastors who serve mainline churches serve on average half as long as Protestant pastors in non-mainline churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:125" href="#fn:125"><sup>125</sup></a> This may contribute to decline and may be influenced in part by the <a href="/facts/United_Methodist_Church/8SRPAktW">United Methodist Church</a> practice of Itinerancy, where clergy are intentionally moved from one church to another as often as yearly in an effort to support and encourage the United Methodist tradition of strong lay ministry. Mainline churches have also had difficulty attracting minorities, particularly Hispanics. As of 2024, Hispanics comprise 6 percent of the mainline population but 19.5 percent of the US population.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:126" href="#fn:126"><sup>126</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:127" href="#fn:127"><sup>127</sup></a> According to the Barna Group report, the failure of mainline Protestants to add substantial numbers of Hispanics is portent for the future, given both the rapid increase of the Hispanic population as well as the outflow of Hispanics from Catholicism to Protestant churches in the past decade, most of whom are selecting evangelical or <a href="/facts/Pentecostal/mUAWLAz6">Pentecostal</a> Protestant churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:128" href="#fn:128"><sup>128</sup></a> </p> <h4>Contrast with other Protestant denominations</h4> <p>While various Protestant denominations have experienced declining membership, the most pronounced changes have occurred among mainline churches. Demographic trends for evangelical and historically <a href="/facts/African-American_church/Y2oFgbkW">African-American churches</a> have been more stable. According to the Pew Research Center, mainline denominations could claim 11.5 percent of all US adults, compared to 23.1 percent who identified as evangelical in 2024.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:129" href="#fn:129"><sup>129</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:130" href="#fn:130"><sup>130</sup></a> </p><p>Demographers Hout, Greeley, and Wilde have attributed the long-term decline in mainline membership and the concomitant growth in the conservative Protestant denominations to four basic causes: birth rates; switching to conservative denominations; departure from Protestantism to "no religion" (i.e. secularization); and conversions from non-Protestant sources.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:131" href="#fn:131"><sup>131</sup></a> In their analysis, by far the main cause is birth rates—low for the mainline bodies, and high for the conservatives. The second most important factor is that fewer conservatives switch to mainline denominations than before. Despite speculation to the contrary, Hout, Greeley, and Wilde argue that switching from a mainline to a conservative denomination is not important in accounting for the trend, because it is fairly constant over the decades. Finally, conservative denominations have had a greater inflow of converts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:132" href="#fn:132"><sup>132</sup></a> Their analysis gives no support for the notion that theological or <a href="/facts/Social_conservatism/96NpePX8">social conservatism</a> or liberalism has much impact on long-term growth trends.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:133" href="#fn:133"><sup>133</sup></a> </p><p>Evidence from the <a href="/facts/General_Social_Survey/TRRpuItE">General Social Survey</a> indicates that higher fertility and earlier childbearing among women from conservative denominations explains 76% of the observed trend: conservative denominations have grown their own. Mainline denomination members have the lowest birthrate among American Christian groups. Unless there is a surge of new members, rising death rates are predicted to diminish their ranks even further in the years ahead.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:134" href="#fn:134"><sup>134</sup></a> </p> <h4>Trends</h4> <p>Some other findings: </p> <ul><li>From 1958 to 2008, mainline church membership dropped by more than one-quarter to roughly 20 million people—15 percent of all American adults.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:135" href="#fn:135"><sup>135</sup></a></li> <li>From 1998 to 2008, there was a 22 percent drop in the percentage of adults attending mainline congregations who have children under the age of 18 living in their home.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:136" href="#fn:136"><sup>136</sup></a></li> <li>In 2009, nearly 40 percent of mainline church attendees were single. This increase has been driven higher by a rise in the number of divorced and widowed adherents.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:137" href="#fn:137"><sup>137</sup></a></li> <li>From 1998 to 2008, volunteerism dropped 21 percent; adult <a href="/facts/Sunday_school/K2tQvC2X">Sunday school</a> participation decreased 17 percent.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:138" href="#fn:138"><sup>138</sup></a></li> <li>The average age of a mainline pastor in 1998 was 48 and increased to 55 by 2009.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:139" href="#fn:139"><sup>139</sup></a></li> <li>Pastors on average remain with a congregation for four years compared to twice that length for non-mainline church leaders.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:140" href="#fn:140"><sup>140</sup></a></li> <li>The decline in mainline Protestant identification has been so steep that Evangelical identification has risen among Protestants, even as it has declined among all U.S. adults.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:141" href="#fn:141"><sup>141</sup></a></li></ul> <p>The Pew Research Center's 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study provide additional explanations for the decline. </p> <ul><li>Evangelical church members are younger than those in mainline denominations. 14 percent of evangelical congregations are between 18 and 29 (compared to 11 percent of mainline protestants), 30 percent between 30 and 49 (versus 24), 28 percent between 50 and 64 (versus 27), and 27 percent 65 or older (versus 38).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:142" href="#fn:142"><sup>142</sup></a></li></ul> <p>Not paralleling the decline in membership is the household income of members of mainline denominations. Overall, it is higher than that of evangelicals: </p> <ul><li>25% reported less than a $30,000 income per year.</li> <li>21% reported $30,000–$49,999 per year.</li> <li>18% reported $50,000–$74,999 per year.</li> <li>15% reported $75,000–$99,999 per year.</li> <li>21% reported an income of $100,000 per year or more, compared to 13 percent of evangelicals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:143" href="#fn:143"><sup>143</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/History_of_Protestantism_in_the_United_States/CKH4zPVH">History of Protestantism in the United States</a></p> <p>While the term "mainline" was not applied to churches until the 20th century, mainline churches trace their history to the <a href="/facts/Protestant_Reformation/9ClEbhnL">Protestant Reformation</a> of the 16th century. The largest and most influential Protestant denominations in Britain's <a href="/facts/Thirteen_Colonies/H50dauTJ">Thirteen Colonies</a> were the <a href="/facts/Anglican/CDICRNVn">Anglicans</a> (after the American Revolution called Episcopalians) and the <a href="/facts/Congregationalism_in_the_United_States/8ahCWrkj">Congregationalists</a> (from which the <a href="/facts/American_Unitarian_Association/eE0khTej">Unitarians</a> would later split).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:144" href="#fn:144"><sup>144</sup></a> These were later surpassed in size and influence by the evangelical denominations: the Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists. Sharing a common Reformation heritage with Episcopal and Congregational churches, these denominations together created the mainline.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:145" href="#fn:145"><sup>145</sup></a> It was, according to historian Jason Lantzer, "the emerging evangelical movement that would help forge the Seven Sisters and which provides a core to the wide variety of theological and doctrinal differences, shaping them into a more coherent whole."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:146" href="#fn:146"><sup>146</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Great_Awakening/t0lPmSNX">Great Awakening</a> ignited controversy within Protestant churches between <a href="/facts/Old_and_New_Light/mAjmaxvg">Old Lights and New Lights</a> (or <a href="/facts/Old_Side%25E2%2580%2593New_Side_Controversy/Jh70xbYV">Old Side and New Side</a> among Presbyterians). Led by figures such as the Congregationalist minister <a href="/facts/Charles_Chauncy_(1705%25E2%2580%25931787)/V9BrkDfY">Charles Chauncy</a>, Old Lights opposed the evangelical <a href="/facts/Christian_revival/p0UbXkK9">revivalism</a> at the heart of the Awakening, while New Lights, led by fellow Congregationalist minister <a href="/facts/Jonathan_Edwards_(theologian)/RMtJ7gCE">Jonathan Edwards</a>, supported the revivals and argued for the importance of having a <a href="/facts/Religious_conversion/m3QeGpVw">conversion</a> experience. By the 1800s, Chauncy's followers had drifted toward forms of theological liberalism, such as <a href="/facts/Universalism/KWh6A8Cl">Universalism</a>, <a href="/facts/Unitarianism/34Ix8PPh">Unitarianism</a> and <a href="/facts/Transcendentalism/wVGXKSI6">Transcendentalism</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:147" href="#fn:147"><sup>147</sup></a> </p> <p>The <a href="/facts/Second_Great_Awakening/YKYdsVga">Second Great Awakening</a> would inaugurate a period of evangelical dominance within American mainline Protestantism that would last over a century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:148" href="#fn:148"><sup>148</sup></a> The Second Great Awakening was a catalyst for the reform of society. Efforts to improve the rights of women, reforming prisons, establishing free public schools, prohibiting alcohol, and (in the North) abolishing slavery were promoted by mainline churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:149" href="#fn:149"><sup>149</sup></a> </p><p>After the <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">Civil War</a>, however, tensions between evangelicals and non-evangelicals would re-emerge. As the practice of <a href="/facts/Historical_criticism/uBpY8IBl">historical criticism</a> spread to the United States, conflict over <a href="/facts/Biblical_inspiration/FLRX7p1u">biblical inspiration</a> erupted within Protestant churches. Conservative Protestants led by <a href="/facts/A._A._Hodge/loVpkarF">A. A. Hodge</a>, <a href="/facts/B._B._Warfield/4A5tEt0T">B. B. Warfield</a> and other <a href="/facts/Princeton_Theology/u6cDDKCJ">Princeton theologians</a> argued for <a href="/facts/Biblical_inerrancy/gFJTkYuw">biblical inerrancy</a>, while liberal theologians such as <a href="/facts/Charles_Augustus_Briggs/fEuYEzvG">Charles A. Briggs</a> of <a href="/facts/Union_Theological_Seminary_(New_York_City)/lchzg2Rs">Union Theological Seminary</a> were open to using historical criticism to understand the Bible.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:150" href="#fn:150"><sup>150</sup></a> </p><p>As 19th–century evangelicals embraced <a href="/facts/Dispensational_premillennialism/NXFVpoQC">dispensational premillennialism</a> and retreated from society in the face of mounting social problems caused by industrialization, urbanization and immigration, liberal Protestants embraced the <a href="/facts/Social_Gospel/pV1t1noJ">Social Gospel</a>, which worked for the "regeneration of society" rather than only the conversion of individuals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:151" href="#fn:151"><sup>151</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Fundamentalist%25E2%2580%2593Modernist_Controversy/wcT8jy7a">Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy</a> of the 1920s widened the division between evangelical and non-evangelical Protestants as the two sides fought for control over the mainline denominations. The <a href="/facts/Christian_fundamentalism/DKCYquuA">fundamentalists</a> lost these battles for control to the modernists or liberals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:152" href="#fn:152"><sup>152</sup></a> Since the 1920s, mainline churches have been associated with liberal Protestantism.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:153" href="#fn:153"><sup>153</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)/fmF3F2FM">Episcopalians</a> and <a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_(U.S.A.)/YC7m6tLG">Presbyterian</a> <a href="/facts/White_Anglo-Saxon_Protestant/B3MSj66k">WASPs</a> tend to be considerably wealthier<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:154" href="#fn:154"><sup>154</sup></a> and better educated than most other religious groups in America,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:155" href="#fn:155"><sup>155</sup></a> and are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American <a href="/facts/Business/For1e8Nh">business</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:156" href="#fn:156"><sup>156</sup></a> law and politics, and for many years were especially dominant in the <a href="/facts/History_of_the_United_States_Republican_Party/GTFuKouv">Republican Party</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:157" href="#fn:157"><sup>157</sup></a> Numbers of the <a href="/facts/Old_money/cYMgz7v0">wealthiest and most affluent American families</a>, such as the <a href="/facts/Vanderbilts/Lpba4rvy">Vanderbilts</a> and <a href="/facts/Astor_family/NF9GrU58">Astors</a>, <a href="/facts/Rockefeller_family/hL1oefbe">Rockefeller</a>, who were Baptists,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:158" href="#fn:158"><sup>158</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Du_Pont_family/s9efWS2M">Du Pont</a>, <a href="/facts/Roosevelt_family/D6GY5oAF">Roosevelt</a>, <a href="/facts/Forbes_family/26Hp4EJ8">Forbes</a>, <a href="/facts/Ford_family/XVTeIp0Q">Fords</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:159" href="#fn:159"><sup>159</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Mellon_family/eacXp5tb">Mellons</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:160" href="#fn:160"><sup>160</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Whitney_family/wst1kRmc">Whitneys</a>, the <a href="/facts/Morgan_family/HzKeySyU">Morgans</a> and Harrimans are Episcopalian and Presbyterian families.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:161" href="#fn:161"><sup>161</sup></a> </p><p>Through the 1940s and 1950s, <a href="/facts/Neo-orthodoxy/4UebTL5d">neo-orthodoxy</a> had become the prevailing theological approach within the mainline churches. This neo-orthodox consensus, however, gave way to resurgent liberal theologies in the 1960s and to <a href="/facts/Liberation_theology/NUBWPsjS">liberation theology</a> during the 1970s.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:162" href="#fn:162"><sup>162</sup></a> </p> <h3>Recent history</h3> <p>Mainline Protestants were a majority of Protestants in the United States until the mid-20th century. A dip in membership across all Christian denominations was more pronounced among mainline groups, with the result that mainline groups no longer comprise the majority.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:163" href="#fn:163"><sup>163</sup></a> In 2020, Public Religion Research Institute conducted a religious census, based on self-identification, finding that an estimated 16% of U.S. Americans identified as non-Hispanic white mainline Protestants, slightly outnumbering non-Hispanic white evangelical Protestants who were 14% of the American population.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:164" href="#fn:164"><sup>164</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:165" href="#fn:165"><sup>165</sup></a> In 2014, Pew Research completed and published the <i>Religious Landscape Survey</i> in which it was estimated that 14.7% of American adults identified as mainline Protestant, excluding historically Black and African American denominations, while 25.4% identified as evangelical Protestants, also excluding membership in historically Black denominations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:166" href="#fn:166"><sup>166</sup></a> In 2025, Pew Research published an updated <i>Religious Landscape Survey</i>, finding that 11% of American adults identified as mainline Protestant while 23% identified as evangelical Protestants.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:167" href="#fn:167"><sup>167</sup></a> </p><p>Mainline churches share an active approach to social issues that often leads to cooperation in organizations such as the <a href="/facts/National_Council_of_Churches/lDolBqqr">National Council of Churches</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:168" href="#fn:168"><sup>168</sup></a> Because of their involvement with the <a href="/facts/Ecumenical_movement/1Yyzv1zM">ecumenical movement</a>, mainline churches are sometimes (especially outside the United States) given the alternative label of ecumenical Protestantism.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:169" href="#fn:169"><sup>169</sup></a> These churches played a leading role in the <a href="/facts/Social_Gospel/pV1t1noJ">Social Gospel</a> movement and were active in social causes such as the <a href="/facts/Civil_rights_movement/llwscvvR">civil rights movement</a> and the <a href="/facts/Feminist_movement/uE9T4ffN">women's movement</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:170" href="#fn:170"><sup>170</sup></a> As a group, the mainline churches have maintained religious doctrine that stresses <a href="/facts/Social_justice/yPVcRR0w">social justice</a> and personal <a href="/facts/Salvation/vL69KuJB">salvation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:171" href="#fn:171"><sup>171</sup></a> Members of mainline denominations have played leadership roles in politics, business, science, the arts, and education. They were involved in the founding of leading institutes of higher education.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:172" href="#fn:172"><sup>172</sup></a> Marsden argues that in the 1950s, "Mainline Protestant leaders were part of the liberal-moderate cultural mainstream, and their leading spokespersons were respected participants in the national conversation."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:173" href="#fn:173"><sup>173</sup></a> </p><p>Some mainline Protestant denominations have the highest proportion of graduate and post-graduate degrees of any other denomination in the United States.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:174" href="#fn:174"><sup>174</sup></a> Some also include the highest proportion of those with some college education, such as the <a href="/facts/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)/fmF3F2FM">Episcopal Church</a> (76%),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:175" href="#fn:175"><sup>175</sup></a> the <a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church_(U.S.A.)/YC7m6tLG">Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)</a> (64%),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:176" href="#fn:176"><sup>176</sup></a> and the <a href="/facts/United_Church_of_Christ/rkzXuEac">United Church of Christ</a> (46%),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:177" href="#fn:177"><sup>177</sup></a> as well as most of the <a href="/facts/American_upper_class/bbtE0UTq">American upper class</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:178" href="#fn:178"><sup>178</sup></a> compared with the nationwide average of 50%.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:179" href="#fn:179"><sup>179</sup></a> Episcopalians and Presbyterians also tend to be considerably wealthier<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:180" href="#fn:180"><sup>180</sup></a> and better educated than most other religious groups,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:181" href="#fn:181"><sup>181</sup></a> and they were disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of US business and law until the 1950s.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:182" href="#fn:182"><sup>182</sup></a> </p><p>In the 1990s four of the US Supreme Court Justices were Mainline Protestants: <a href="/facts/Sandra_Day_O%2527Connor/FfmIB33L">Sandra Day O'Connor</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Paul_Stevens/5tSXW1gl">John Paul Stevens</a>, <a href="/facts/William_Rehnquist/tS2o0uKq">William Rehnquist</a> and <a href="/facts/David_Souter/qEj16AQw">David Souter</a>. </p><p>From 1854 until at least 1964, Mainline Protestants and their descendants were heavily <a href="/facts/History_of_the_United_States_Republican_Party/GTFuKouv">Republican</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:183" href="#fn:183"><sup>183</sup></a> In recent decades, Republicans slightly outnumber Democrats.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:184" href="#fn:184"><sup>184</sup></a> </p><p>From 1965 to 1988, mainline church membership declined from 31 million to 25 million, then fell to 21 million in 2005.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:185" href="#fn:185"><sup>185</sup></a> While in 1970 the mainline churches claimed most Protestants and more than 30 percent of the population as members,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:186" href="#fn:186"><sup>186</sup></a> today they are a minority among Protestants; in 2009, only 15 percent of Americans were adherents.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:187" href="#fn:187"><sup>187</sup></a> A <a href="/facts/Pew_Forum/082PuVBq">Pew Forum</a> statistic revealed the same share in 2014.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:188" href="#fn:188"><sup>188</sup></a> </p> <h4>Conservative factions</h4> <p>Recent efforts from <a href="/facts/Conservative_Christianity/Ue6eJ4xd">theological conservatives</a> have resisted the liberal drift of Mainline churches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:189" href="#fn:189"><sup>189</sup></a> Through social media, conservative factions within the Mainline like Redeemed Zoomer's "Operation Reconquista" have evangelized a conservative perspective to <a href="/facts/Generation_Z/sNRdPTJ9">Generation Z</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:190" href="#fn:190"><sup>190</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nicene_Creed/1zLPrdun">Nicene Creed</a>, sometimes called the "mainstream Christianity"</li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2> <ul><li>Allen, Irving Lewis (1975). "WASP—From Sociological Concept to Epithet". <i>Ethnicity</i>. 2 (2): 153–162. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0095-6139">0095-6139</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Randall_Balmer/XaQHY1sN">Balmer, Randall H.</a>; <a href="/facts/Lauren_Winner/pCoEwxFF">Winner, Lauren F.</a> (2002). <i>Protestantism in America</i>. New York: Columbia University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-231-11130-0.</li> <li><a href="/facts/E._Digby_Baltzell/sgQurnBe">Baltzell, E. Digby</a> (1964). <i>The Protestant Establishment</i>.</li> <li>Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; Weeks, Louis (1990). <i>The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern</i>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-664-25150-5.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gary_Dorrien/E04Rlsq9">Dorrien, Gary</a> (2006). <i>The Making of American Liberal Theology. Volume 3: Crisis, Irony, and Postmodernity</i>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-664-22356-4.</li> <li>Dunderberg, Ismo (2008). <i>Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus</i>. New York: Columbia University Press. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.7312%2Fdund14172">10.7312/dund14172</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-231-51259-6. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/dund14172">10.7312/dund14172</a>.</li> <li>Fallding, Harold (1978). "Mainline Protestantism in Canada and the United States of America: An Overview". <i><a href="/facts/Canadian_Journal_of_Sociology/dngCpzEq">Canadian Journal of Sociology</a></i>. 3 (2): 141–160. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3340276">10.2307/3340276</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3340276">3340276</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Andrew_Hacker/JGKsNsX1">Hacker, Andrew</a> (1957). "Liberal Democracy and Social Control". <i><a href="/facts/American_Political_Science_Review/Djvnf4St">American Political Science Review</a></i>. 51 (4): 1009–1026. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1952449">10.2307/1952449</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952449">1952449</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:146933599">146933599</a>.</li> <li>Hadaway, C. Kirk (2011). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140630220456/http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/faithcommunitiestoday.org/files/FACTs%20on%20Growth%202010.pdf"><i>FACTs On Growth: 2010</i></a> (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Archived from <a href="http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/faithcommunitiestoday.org/files/FACTs%20on%20Growth%202010.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2015.</li> <li>Hadaway, C. Kirk; Marler, Penny Long (2006). "Growth and Decline in the Mainline". In Lippy, Charles H. (ed.). <i>Faith in America: Changes, Challenges, New Directions. Volume 1: Organized Religion Today</i>. Praeger Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. pp. 1–24. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-275-98606-3.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Michael_Hout/B66RNxoU">Hout, Michael</a>; <a href="/facts/Andrew_Greeley/jF1XHkvu">Greeley, Andrew</a>; Wilde, Melissa J. (2001). <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=sociology_papers">"The Demographic Imperative in Religious Change in the United States"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/American_Journal_of_Sociology/Tkcgo0jX">American Journal of Sociology</a></i>. 107 (2): 468–500. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F324189">10.1086/324189</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3081357">3081357</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143419130">143419130</a>.</li> <li>Hutcheson, Richard G Jr. (1981). <i>Mainline Churches and the Evangelicals: A Challenging Crisis?</i>. Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8042-1502-2.</li> <li>Hutchison, William R., ed. (1989). <i>Between the Times: The Travail of the Protestant Establishment in America, 1900–1960</i>. Cambridge Studies in Religion and American Public Life. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-40601-7.</li> <li>Lantzer, Jason S. (2012). <i>Mainline Christianity: The Past and Future of America's Majority Faith</i>. New York: NYU Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8147-5330-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Roger_D._Launius/nWt7yCny">Launius, Roger D.</a> (1998). "The Reorganized Church, the Decade of Decision, and the Abilene Paradox". <i>Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought</i>. 31 (1): 47–65. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F45226417">10.2307/45226417</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45226417">45226417</a>.</li> <li>Linder, Ellen W., ed. (2009). <i>Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches 2009</i>. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-687-65880-0. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0195-9034">0195-9034</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/George_Marsden/aD4E6VLp">Marsden, George</a> (2014). <i>The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: The 1950s and the Crisis of Liberal Belief</i>. New York: Basic Books. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-465-03010-1.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Martin_E._Marty/hvSXxbaQ">Marty, Martin E.</a> (1980). <a href="https://archive.org/details/nationofbehavers0000mart"><i>A Nation of Behavers</i></a>. University of Chicago Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-226-50892-4.</li> <li><a href="/facts/William_%2522Bill%2522_McKinney/dzoprVD3">McKinney, William</a> (1998). "Mainline Protestantism 2000". <i><a href="/facts/The_Annals_of_the_American_Academy_of_Political_and_Social_Science/TLvQ1zaX">The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science</a></i>. 558: 57–66. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002716298558001006">10.1177/0002716298558001006</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1049104">1049104</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144644587">144644587</a>.</li> <li>Moorhead, James H. (1999). <a href="https://archive.org/details/worldwithoutendm00moor"><i>World Without End: Mainstream American Protestant Visions of the Last Things, 1880–1925</i></a>. Religion in North America. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-253-33580-7.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mark_Noll/cyIrrwEl">Noll, Mark A.</a> (1992). <i>A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada</i>. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8028-0651-2.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pew_Forum_on_Religion_%2526_Public_Life/082PuVBq">Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life</a> (2008a). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170417032920/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/05/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf"><i>U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: Religious Affiliation: Diverse and Dynamic</i></a> (PDF). Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Archived from <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/05/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on April 17, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2016.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pew_Forum_on_Religion_%2526_Public_Life/082PuVBq"> ——— </a> (2008b). <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/files/2008/06/report2-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf"><i>U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: Religious Beliefs and Practices: Diverse and Politically Relevant</i></a> (PDF). Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq">Pew Research Center</a> (2015a). <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/"><i>A Deep Dive Into Party Affiliation: Sharp Differences by Race, Gender, Generation, Education</i></a>. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 24, 2016.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq"> ——— </a> (2015b). <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/"><i>America's Changing Religious Landscape: Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population; Unaffiliated and Other Faiths Continue to Grow</i></a>. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 22, 2016.</li> <li>Roozen, David A. (2004). <a href="http://hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/roozen_article5.html"><i>Oldline Protestantism: Pockets of Vitality Within a Continuing Stream of Decline</i></a>. Hartford Institute for Religion Research Working Paper. Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Institute for Religion Research. 1104.1. Retrieved January 9, 2012.</li> <li>Thompson, Michael G. (2007). "An Exception to Exceptionalism: A Reflection on Reinhold Niebuhr's Vision of 'Prophetic' Christianity and the Problem of Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy". <i><a href="/facts/American_Quarterly/Sf5bmY6r">American Quarterly</a></i>. 59 (3): 833–855. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1353%2Faq.2007.0070">10.1353/aq.2007.0070</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40068452">40068452</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145379028">145379028</a>.</li> <li>Vanel, Chrystal (Fall 2017). <a href="https://doi.org/10.5406%2Fdialjmormthou.50.3.0089">"Community of Christ: An American Progressive Christianity, with Mormonism as an Option"</a>. <i>Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought</i>. 50 (3): 89–114. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5406%2Fdialjmormthou.50.3.0089">10.5406/dialjmormthou.50.3.0089</a>.</li> <li>Walsh, Andrew D. (2000). <i>Religion, Economics, and Public Policy: Ironies, Tragedies, and Absurdities of the Contemporary Culture Wars</i>. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-275-96611-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Robert_Wuthnow/AFYLM62k">Wuthnow, Robert</a>; Evans, John H. (2002). <i>The Quiet Hand of God: Faith-Based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism</i>. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-520-23313-3.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Sydney_E._Ahlstrom/wgu0MJsE">Ahlstrom, Sydney E.</a> (1972). <a href="https://archive.org/details/religioushistory0000ahls"><i>A Religious History of the American People</i></a>. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-300-01762-5.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Randall_Balmer/XaQHY1sN">Balmer, Randall</a> (1996). <a href="https://archive.org/details/grantuscouragetr00balm"><i>Grant Us Courage: Travels along the Mainline of American Protestantism</i></a>. New York: Oxford University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-19-510086-0. Retrieved October 3, 2016.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Randall_Balmer/XaQHY1sN">Balmer, Randall</a>; Fitzmier, John R. (1993). <i>The Presbyterians</i>. Denominations in America. Vol. 5. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-313-26084-1.</li> <li>Bendroth, Margaret (2015). <i>The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past</i>. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-4696-2400-6.</li> <li>Billingsley, K. L. (1990). <i>From Mainline to Sideline: The Social Witness of the National Council of Churches</i>. Washington, DC: Ethics and Public Policy Center. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-89633-141-9.</li> <li>Coffman, Elesha J. (2013). <i>The Christian Century and the Rise of Mainline Protestantism</i>. New York: Oxford University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-19-993859-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gary_Dorrien/E04Rlsq9">Dorrien, Gary</a> (2001). <a href="https://archive.org/details/makingofamerican0000dorr"><i>The Making of American Liberal Theology. Volume 1: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805–1900</i></a>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-664-22354-0.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gary_Dorrien/E04Rlsq9"> ——— </a> (2003). <i>The Making of American Liberal Theology. Volume 2: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity</i>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-664-22355-7.</li> <li>Edwards, Mark (2012). <i>The Right of the Protestant Left: God's Totalitarianism</i>. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-137-01989-9.</li> <li><a href="/facts/David_Hollinger/kkgCAR0p">Hollinger, David A.</a> (2013). <i>After Cloven Tongues of Fire: Protestant Liberalism in Modern American History</i>. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-691-15842-6.</li> <li>Hollinger, David A. <i>Protestants Abroad: How Missionaries Tried to Change the World but Changed America</i> (2017) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Protestants-Abroad-Missionaries-Changed-America/dp/0691158436/">excerpt</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Martin_E._Marty/hvSXxbaQ">Marty, Martin E.</a> (1989). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161003103538/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=906">"The Establishment That Was"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/The_Christian_Century/uklWAYYb">The Christian Century</a></i>. Vol. 106, no. 34. pp. 1045–1047. Archived from <a href="http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=906">the original</a> on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.Hudnut-Beumler, James (2018). <i>The Future of Mainline Protestantism in America</i>. Columbia University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-231-18361-1.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Martin_E._Marty/hvSXxbaQ"> ——— </a> (1999). <a href="https://archive.org/details/modernamericanre00mart_1"><i>Modern American Religion. Volume 3: Under God, Indivisible, 1941–1960</i></a>. University of Chicago Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-226-50899-3.</li> <li><a href="/facts/William_Murchison/HJ04FeJV">Murchison, William</a> (2009). <i>Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity</i>. New York: Encounter Books. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-59403-230-1.</li> <li>Roof, Wade Clark; <a href="/facts/William_%2522Bill%2522_McKinney/dzoprVD3">McKinney, William</a> (1990). <a href="https://archive.org/details/americanmainline00roof"><i>American Mainline Religion: Its Changing Shape and Future</i></a>. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8135-1216-7.</li> <li>Tipton, Steven M. (2008). <i>Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life</i>. University of Chicago Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-226-80474-3.</li> <li>Utter, Glenn H. (2007). <i>Mainline Christians and U.S. Public Policy: A Reference Handbook</i>. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-59884-000-1.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hadaway & Marler 2006, pp. 3–4; Roozen 2004. - Hadaway, C. Kirk; Marler, Penny Long (2006). "Growth and Decline in the Mainline". In Lippy, Charles H. (ed.). Faith in America: Changes, Challenges, New Directions. Volume 1: Organized Religion Today. Praeger Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. pp. 1–24. ISBN 978-0-275-98606-3. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Barrick, Audrey (March 12, 2010). "Survey Tracks Trends in Evangelical, Oldline Congregations". The Christian Post. Retrieved October 3, 2016. <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/survey-offers-in-depth-look-at-evangelical-oldline-congregations-44257/#4fDUo5HxXQIzQGTl.99" target="_blank">http://www.christianpost.com/news/survey-offers-in-depth-look-at-evangelical-oldline-congregations-44257/#4fDUo5HxXQIzQGTl.99</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>McKinney, William (November 8, 1989). "Revisioning the Future of Oldline Protestantism". The Christian Century. Vol. 106, no. 33. pp. 1014–1016. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170118113011/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=204" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170118113011/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=204</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>World Encyclopaedia of Interfaith Studies: World religions. Jnanada Prakashan. 2009. ISBN 978-81-7139-280-3. In the most common sense, "mainstream" refers to Nicene Christianity, or rather the traditions which continue to claim adherence to the Nicene Creed. <a href="978-81-7139-280-3" target="_blank">978-81-7139-280-3</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Seitz, Christopher R. (2001). Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism. Brazos Press. ISBN 978-1-84227-154-4. <a href="978-1-84227-154-4" target="_blank">978-1-84227-154-4</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Burton, Tara Isabella (2018-11-05). "Why this shrinking religious group might be among America's last "swing voters"". Vox. Retrieved 2023-01-28. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Marty 1980, pp. 8: "the term 'Mainline' may be as unfortunate as the pejorative-sounding WASP, but it is no more likely to fall into disuse and may as well be … Mainline religion had meant simply white Protestant until well into the twentieth century." - Marty, Martin E. (1980). A Nation of Behavers. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50892-4. <a href="https://archive.org/details/nationofbehavers0000mart" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/nationofbehavers0000mart</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Coalter, Mulder & Weeks 1990: "Some would say the term 'mainstream' or 'mainline' is itself suspect and embodies ethnocentric and elitist assumptions. ... be dropped in favor of talking about 'liberal' Protestantism, but such a change presents additional problems". - Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; Weeks, Louis (1990). The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-25150-5. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Bradshaw, William B. (October 11, 2013). "Mainline Churches: Past, Present, Future". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2016. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-b-bradshaw/mainline-churches-past-pr_b_4087407.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-b-bradshaw/mainline-churches-past-pr_b_4087407.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Walsh 2000, pp. 40: "The term 'mainline Protestant' was coined during the modernist/ fundamentalist debates of the 1920s." - Walsh, Andrew D. (2000). Religion, Economics, and Public Policy: Ironies, Tragedies, and Absurdities of the Contemporary Culture Wars. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-275-96611-9. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Lindsay, D. Michael. "Faith in the Halls of Power"". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110927025143/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~dml1/wjreviews.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110927025143/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~dml1/wjreviews.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Hadaway & Marler 2006, pp. 3–4. - Hadaway, C. Kirk; Marler, Penny Long (2006). "Growth and Decline in the Mainline". In Lippy, Charles H. (ed.). Faith in America: Changes, Challenges, New Directions. Volume 1: Organized Religion Today. Praeger Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. pp. 1–24. ISBN 978-0-275-98606-3. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Hutcheson 1981, p. 27. - Hutcheson, Richard G Jr. (1981). Mainline Churches and the Evangelicals: A Challenging Crisis?. Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-8042-1502-2. <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Marty 1980, pp. 8: "the term 'Mainline' may be as unfortunate as the pejorative-sounding WASP, but it is no more likely to fall into disuse and may as well be … Mainline religion had meant simply white Protestant until well into the twentieth century." - Marty, Martin E. (1980). A Nation of Behavers. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50892-4. <a href="https://archive.org/details/nationofbehavers0000mart" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/nationofbehavers0000mart</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Coalter, Mulder & Weeks 1990: "Some would say the term 'mainstream' or 'mainline' is itself suspect and embodies ethnocentric and elitist assumptions. ... be dropped in favor of talking about 'liberal' Protestantism, but such a change presents additional problems". - Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; Weeks, Louis (1990). The Mainstream Protestant "Decline": The Presbyterian Pattern. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-25150-5. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>World Encyclopaedia of Interfaith Studies: World religions. Jnanada Prakashan. 2009. ISBN 978-81-7139-280-3. In the most common sense, "mainstream" refers to Nicene Christianity, or rather the traditions which continue to claim adherence to the Nicene Creed. <a href="978-81-7139-280-3" target="_blank">978-81-7139-280-3</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Burton, Tara Isabella (2018-11-05). "Why this shrinking religious group might be among America's last "swing voters"". Vox. Retrieved 2023-01-28. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Dunderberg 2008, pp. 18–19: "with theological meaning, such as replacing 'orthodoxy' with 'mainstream Christianity' and 'heresy' with terms like 'sect,' 'splinter group,' or something similar. These designations may create the impression of greater neutrality and ..." - Dunderberg, Ismo (2008). Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus. New York: Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/dund14172. ISBN 978-0-231-51259-6. JSTOR 10.7312/dund14172. <a href="https://doi.org/10.7312%2Fdund14172" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.7312%2Fdund14172</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>World Encyclopaedia of Interfaith Studies: World religions. Jnanada Prakashan. 2009. ISBN 978-81-7139-280-3. In the most common sense, "mainstream" refers to Nicene Christianity, or rather the traditions which continue to claim adherence to the Nicene Creed. <a href="978-81-7139-280-3" target="_blank">978-81-7139-280-3</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Seitz, Christopher R. (2001). Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism. Brazos Press. ISBN 978-1-84227-154-4. <a href="978-1-84227-154-4" target="_blank">978-1-84227-154-4</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Burton, Tara Isabella (2018-11-05). "Why this shrinking religious group might be among America's last "swing voters"". Vox. Retrieved 2023-01-28. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Marty 1980, pp. 8: "the term 'Mainline' may be as unfortunate as the pejorative-sounding WASP, but it is no more likely to fall into disuse and may as well be … Mainline religion had meant simply white Protestant until well into the twentieth century." - Marty, Martin E. (1980). A Nation of Behavers. University of Chicago Press. 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