Mainline Protestant

{{short description|Older, more establishment Protestant denominations}}
{{Not to be confused with|Mainstream Christianity}}[[File:Methodistcommunion2.jpg|thumb|[[Eucharist]] observed by a congregation of the [[United Methodist Church]], a typical mainline Protestant denomination and one of the "Seven Sisters of [[Protestantism in the United States|American Protestantism]]".]]
The '''mainline Protestant''' churches (sometimes also known as '''oldline Protestants'''){{sfnm |1a1=Hadaway |1a2=Marler |1y=2006 |1pp=3–4 |2a1=Roozen |2y=2004}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrick |first=Audrey |date=March 12, 2010 |title=Survey Tracks Trends in Evangelical, Oldline Congregations |newspaper=[[The Christian Post]]  |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/survey-offers-in-depth-look-at-evangelical-oldline-congregations-44257/#4fDUo5HxXQIzQGTl.99 |access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=McKinney |first=William |title=Revisioning the Future of Oldline Protestantism |newspaper=[[The Christian Century]] |volume=106 |issue=33 |pages=1014–1016 |url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=204 |date=November 8, 1989 |access-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118113011/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=204 |archive-date=January 18, 2017  }}</ref> are a group of [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestant denominations in the United States]] and in some cases [[Protestantism in Canada|in Canada]] largely of the [[Liberal Christianity|theologically liberal]] or [[Progressive Christianity|theologically progressive]] persuasion that contrast in history and practice with the largely theologically conservative [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]], [[Christian fundamentalism|Fundamentalist]], [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]], [[Confessionalism (religion)|Confessional]], [[Confessing Movement]], historically [[Black church]], and [[Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches|Global South]] Protestant denominations and congregations.<ref name="Jnanada Prakashan-2009" /><ref name="Seitz-2001" /><ref name="Burton-2018">{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Tara Isabella |date=2018-11-05 |title=Why this shrinking religious group might be among America's last "swing voters" |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18058768/white-mainline-protestantism-religion-america-midterms-trump |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Marty|1980|pp=8|p=|ps=: "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."}}{{Sfn|Coalter|Mulder|Weeks|1990|p=|ps=: "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".}} Some make a distinction between "mainline" and "oldline", with the former referring only to denominational ties and the latter referring to church lineage, prestige and influence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=William B. |date=October 11, 2013 |title=Mainline Churches: Past, Present, Future |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-b-bradshaw/mainline-churches-past-pr_b_4087407.html |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref> However, this distinction has largely been lost to history and the terms are now nearly synonymous.

Mainline Protestant churches have stressed [[social justice]] and personal [[salvation]], and both [[Social liberalism|politically]] and [[Liberal Christianity|theologically]], tend to be more liberal than non-mainline Protestant churches. Mainline Protestant churches share a common approach that often leads to collaboration in organizations such as the [[National Council of Churches]], and because of their involvement with the [[ecumenical movement]], they are sometimes given the alternative label of "ecumenical Protestantism" (especially outside the United States). While in 1970 the mainline Protestant churches claimed most Protestants and more than 30 percent of the American population as members, {{as of|2009|lc=y}} they are a minority among American Protestants, claiming approximately 15 percent of American adults. Some have criticized the term ''mainline'' for its alleged [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestants|White Anglo-Saxon Protestant]] ethnocentric and elitist assumptions, and its erroneous association with the term "mainstream", since the term ''mainline'' almost exclusively described [[White Americans|White]], non-[[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] and non-[[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Protestant Americans from its origin to the late twentieth century.{{Sfn|Marty|1980|pp=8|p=|ps=: "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."}}{{Sfn|Coalter|Mulder|Weeks|1990|p=|ps=: "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".}}<ref name="Jnanada Prakashan-2009" />

== History ==
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/|title=Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey|date=2014|website=pewforum.org|access-date=May 11, 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 2020 Census of American Religion|url=https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/|access-date=2021-07-08|website=PRRI|date=8 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mainline Protestantism is America's phantom limb|url=https://news.yahoo.com/mainline-protestantism-americas-phantom-limb-095209232.html|access-date=2021-07-19|website=news.yahoo.com|date=16 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2014, Pew Research completed and published the ''Religious Landscape Survey'' in which it was estimated that 14.7% of Americans 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|access-date=2021-07-08|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US}}</ref>

Mainline churches share an active approach to social issues that often leads to cooperation in organizations such as the [[National Council of Churches]].{{Sfn | Wuthnow | Evans | 2002 | p = 4}} Because of their involvement with the [[ecumenical movement]], mainline churches are sometimes (especially outside the United States) given the alternative label of ecumenical Protestantism.{{Sfn | Hutcheson | 1981 | pp = 36-7}} These churches played a leading role in the [[Social Gospel]] movement and were active in social causes such as the [[civil rights movement]] and the [[feminist movement|women's movement]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Oliver |year=2010 |title=Where have all the Protestants gone? |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20100301/column01_st.art.htm |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |page=17A |access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref> As a group, the mainline churches have maintained religious doctrine that stresses [[social justice]] and personal [[salvation]].<ref name="Chang" /> 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.{{Sfn | McKinney | 1998 | pp =  57-66 }} 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."{{Sfn | Marsden | 2014 | p = 99}}

Some mainline Protestant denominations have the highest proportion of graduate and post-graduate degrees of any other denomination in the United States.<ref name="Faith, Education and Income">{{cite news |last=Leonhardt |first=David |date=May 13, 2011 |title=Faith, Education and Income |url=https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/faith-education-and-income/ |department=Economix |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2016}}</ref> Some also include the highest proportion of those with some college education, such as the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] (76%),<ref name="Faith, Education and Income"/> the [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)]] (64%),<ref name="Faith, Education and Income"/> and the [[United Church of Christ]] (46%),{{sfnm |1a1=Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life |1y=2008a |1p=85 |2a1=Pew Research Center |2y=2015b |2p=133}} as well as the most of the [[American upper class]].<ref name="Faith, Education and Income"/> compared with the nationwide average of 50%.<ref name="Faith, Education and Income"/> Episcopalians and Presbyterians also tend to be considerably wealthier<ref>{{cite news |last=Ayres | first=B. Drummond Jr. |date=April 28, 1981 |title=The Episcopalians: An American Elite with Roots Going Back to Jamestown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 21, 2016}}</ref> and better educated than most other religious groups,{{sfn|Allen|1975}} and they were disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of US business and law until the 1950s.{{Sfn | Hacker | 1957 | p = 1011}}

In the 1990s four of the US Supreme Court Justices were Mainline Protestants: [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], [[John Paul Stevens]], [[William Rehnquist]] and [[David Souter]].

From 1854 until at least 1964, Mainline Protestants and their descendants were heavily [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]].{{Sfn | Baltzell | 1964 | p = 9}} In recent decades, Republicans slightly outnumber Democrats.{{Sfn | Pew Research Center | 2015a | p = 11}}

From 1965 to 1988, mainline church membership declined from 31 million to 25 million, then fell to 21 million in 2005.{{Sfnm |1a1=Linder |1y=2009 |2a1=Noll |2y=1992 |2p=465}} While in 1970 the mainline churches claimed most Protestants and more than 30 percent of the population as members,{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = }} today they are a minority among Protestants; in 2009, only 15 percent of Americans were adherents.<ref name="Barna" /> A [[Pew Forum]] statistic revealed the same share in 2014.<ref name="pew2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]: Religion & Public Life |date=May 12, 2015 }}</ref>

==Terminology==
The term ''mainline Protestant'' was coined during [[Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy|debates between modernists and fundamentalists in the 1920s]].{{Sfn | Walsh | 2000| pp=40| p = |ps = : "The term 'mainline Protestant' was coined during the modernist/ fundamentalist debates of the 1920s."}} Several sources claim that the term is derived from the [[Philadelphia Main Line]], a group of affluent suburbs of Philadelphia; most residents belonged to mainline denominations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~dml1/wjreviews.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927025143/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~dml1/wjreviews.html|title=Lindsay, D. Michael. "Faith in the Halls of Power"|archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> 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."{{Sfn | Hadaway | Marler | 2006 | pp=3–4}}

In the US, Protestantism is generally divided between mainline denominations and [[Evangelicalism in the United States|evangelical]] or [[Conservative Christianity|theologically conservative]] denominations. In other parts of the world, the term ''mainline Protestant'' is not used. Instead, the term "[[ecumenical]]" is used to distinguish similar churches from evangelical denominations.{{Sfn | Hutcheson | 1981 | p = 27}} Some have criticized the term ''mainline'' for its alleged [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestants|White Anglo-Saxon Protestant]] ethnocentric and elitist assumptions, and its erroneous association with the term "mainstream" since it almost exclusively described [[White Americans|White American]], non-[[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] and non-[[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Protestant Americans from its origin to the late twentieth century.{{Sfn | Marty | 1980 | pp=8 | p = | ps = : "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."}}{{Sfn | Coalter | Mulder | Weeks | 1990 | p = | ps = : "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".}}<ref name="Jnanada Prakashan-2009" /><ref name="Burton-2018"/>

===''Mainline'' vs. ''mainstream''===
The term ''mainstream Christian'' in academic usage is not equivalent to ''mainline Protestant'' and is often used as an attempt to find impartial sociological vocabulary in distinguishing ''[[Orthodoxy#Christianity|orthodoxy]]'' and ''[[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]]''.{{sfn|Dunderberg|2008|pp=18–19|ps=: "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 ..."}} Hence in Christological and doctrinal reference ''[[mainstream Christianity]]'' is often equivalent to ''[[Trinitarianism]]''. Mainline Protestantism should not be confused with [[Nicene Christianity]] which is more widely accepted as having the "mainstream Christianity" designation that also includes [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] believers, and non-Mainline Protestants such as [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]], [[Christian fundamentalism|Fundamentalist]], [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]], [[Confessionalism (religion)|Confessional]], [[Confessing Movement]], the historically [[Black church]], and [[Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches|Global South]] [[Protestantism|Protestants]].<ref name="Jnanada Prakashan-2009">{{cite book |title=World Encyclopaedia of Interfaith Studies: World religions |date=2009 |publisher=Jnanada Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7139-280-3 |language=English |quote=In the most common sense, "mainstream" refers to Nicene Christianity, or rather the traditions which continue to claim adherence to the Nicene Creed.}}</ref><ref name="Seitz-2001">{{Cite book |last=Seitz |first=Christopher R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9pVAAAAYAAJ&q=Nicene+Christianity |title=Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism |date=2001 |publisher=Brazos Press |isbn=978-1-84227-154-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Burton-2018" />{{Sfn|Marty|1980|pp=8|p=|ps=: "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."}}{{Sfn|Coalter|Mulder|Weeks|1990|p=|ps=: "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".}} In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term ''mainline Protestant'' is not used, and ''mainstream'' does not mean ''progressive'' Protestant. Although some supporters and adherents, do claim that Mainline Protestant is synonymous with Mainstream Protestant.{{Sfn|Moorhead|1999|pp=xxii, 241}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Joe |title=9 Things You Should Know About Mainline Protestantism |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/know-mainline-protestantism/ |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=The Gospel Coalition |date=17 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Denominations==
[[File:12-07-12-Washington National Cathedral-RalfR-N3S 5678-5694.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Washington National Cathedral]], an Episcopal cathedral in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[File:1stChurchofChrist FarmingtonCT.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|A [[Congregational church]] of the [[United Church of Christ]] denomination in [[Farmington, Connecticut]]]]
[[File:Augustana Lutheran Church - sign.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Augustana Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C belonging to the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]]]
The largest mainline churches are sometimes referred to as the "Seven Sisters of American [[Protestantism]],"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.resourcingchristianity.org/Project.aspx?ID=850011 |title=Protestant Establishment I (Craigville Conference) |access-date=2006-09-22  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035636/http://www.resourcingchristianity.org/Project.aspx?ID=850011 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> a term apparently coined by William Hutchison.{{sfn|Hutchison|1989}} The "Seven Sisters" are:
* [[United Methodist Church]] (UMC) is the largest mainline Protestant denomination among the "Seven Sisters" with 5.7 million members in the United States in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umdata.org/UMFactsHome.aspx|title=UMData|website=umdata.org}}</ref>
* [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA) is the second largest mainline denomination with approximately 2.9 million members and 8,600 congregations at the end of 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=Summary of Congregational Statistics as of 12/31/2022|url=https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Summary_of_Congregtional_Statistics_as_of_12_31_2022.pdf|website=elca.org|publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] (TEC) is third largest, with 1.6 million active baptized members,<ref>
{{Citation|url=https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/32264|title=Baptized Members by Province and Diocese 2013-2022 (pdf)|publisher=The Episcopal Church|access-date=23 December 2023}}</ref> of whom 1.4 million members are located in the United States in 2022.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/32278|title=FAST FACTS From Parochial Report Data 2022|publisher=The Episcopal Church|access-date=23 December 2023}}</ref>
* [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]] (PC-USA) is the fourth largest mainline denomination, with 1.1 million active members in 8,700 congregations (2021).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcusa.org/news/2023/5/1/pcusa-church-membership-still-in-decline/|title=PC(USA) church membership still in decline|first=Rick |last=Jones |date=May 1, 2023|website=Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) }}</ref>
* [[American Baptist Churches USA]] (ABC-USA) is fifth in size, with approximately 1.1 million members (2017).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Summary-of-Denominational-Statistics-Year-End-2017.pdf|website=ABC USA |title=Summary of Denominational Statistics {{!}} Regional Giving and Church Statistics Reported for the Year Ending December 31, 2017 |date=December 2014|access-date=2017-07-09}}</ref>
* [[United Church of Christ]] (UCC) is the sixth and has about 710,000 members in 2022.<ref>"[https://www.ucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023statisticalreport.web_.pdf A statistical profile 2023]", United Church of Christ</ref>
* [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]] (DOC) is the seventh and has about 278,000 members as of 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walton |first=Jeffrey |date=2023-09-14 |title=Disciples Suffer Massive Membership Drop Post-2019 |url=https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/09/14/dc-mainline/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Juicy Ecumenism |language=en-US}}</ref>

The term 'mainline' has also been applied to Canadian Protestant churches that share common origins with their US counterparts{{Sfnm |1a1=Fallding |1y=1978 |2a1=Pew Research Center |2y=2015b |2p=108}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mainline Denominational Switching in Canada: Comparing the Religious Trajectories of Growing and Declining Church Attendees.  |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MAINLINE+DENOMINATIONAL+SWITCHING+IN+CANADA:+COMPARING+THE+RELIGIOUS...-a0557705456 |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=Free Online Library }}</ref> such as the:
* [[United Church of Canada]] 388,363 members (2018),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://united-church.ca/sites/default/files/united-church-statistics-dec2019.pdf |title=United Church Statistics |access-date=2021-01-12}}</ref> 2 million adherents according to 2011 Canadian Census<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.united-church.ca/sites/default/files/resources/united-church-statistics.pdf|title=United Church Statistics|date=June 2017|website=united-church.ca|access-date=November 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229103839/http://www.united-church.ca/sites/default/files/resources/united-church-statistics.pdf|archive-date=December 29, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Anglican Church of Canada]] 359,030 members (2017),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.anglican.ca/ask/faq/number-of-anglicans/|title=Number of Canadian Anglicans, Parishes and Congregations - Anglican Church of Canada|work=Anglican Church of Canada|access-date=2017-11-07|language=en-US}}</ref> 1.6 million adherents according to 2011 Canadian Census<ref name=2011statsCanada>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=105399&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |title=2011 National Household Survey: Data tables &#124; Religion (108), Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey |website=2.statcan.gc.ca |date=8 May 2013 |access-date=2016-11-27}}</ref>
* [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada]] 111,570 members (2015)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elcic.ca/Parochial-Reports/documents/2015-ELCICAnnualSummary.pdf|title=SUMMARY OF THE ELCIC CONGREGATION REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2015|website=elcic.ca|access-date=2017-07-09|archive-date=2017-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101201947/http://elcic.ca/Parochial-Reports/documents/2015-ELCICAnnualSummary.pdf}}</ref>
* [[Canadian Baptist Ministries]] 81,685 members<ref>Baptist World Alliance, [https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/ Members], baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023</ref>
* [[Presbyterian Church in Canada]] 79,961 members (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://presbyterian.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020-Records-and-Statistics.pdf|title=The presbyterian church in Canada - records and statistics - 2020|website=presbyterian.ca|access-date=2021-04-14}}</ref>
* [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada]] 2,606 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/christian-church-disciples-of-christ-in-canada|title=Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada – World Council of Churches|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |language=en|access-date=2016-06-06}}</ref>

The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]], [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]], and other sources also consider these denominations, listed with adherents and members, to be mainline:<ref name="ardomain">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/mainline.asp |title=Mainline protestant denominations |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=2014-05-10 |archive-date=2014-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021231319/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/mainline.asp  }}</ref>{{Sfn | Pew Research Center | 2015b | p = 108}}
* [[Cooperative Baptist Fellowship]] 700,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/25983|title=CBF lists churches 'represented' at assembly; declines to name partner churches|website=Baptist Press|date=28 June 2007 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
* [[Quakers|Religious Society of Friends]] (Quakers) 350,000 members
* [[Reformed Church in America]] 104,921 members (2022)<ref>[http://crf.rca.org/public/stats/ Church Statistical Data] Reformed Church in America</ref>
* [[Mennonite Church USA]] 100,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mennoniteusa.org/who-we-are/structure/|title=Church Structure - Mennonite Church USA|website=Mennonite Church USA|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.religionlink.com/reporting-on/reporting-on-christianity/|title=Reporting on Protestant Christianity|date=2012-05-25|website=ReligionLink|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
* [[Church of the Brethren]] 87,181 members (2021)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of the Brethren membership below 90,000 |url=https://anabaptistworld.org/church-of-the-brethren-membership-below-90000/  |access-date=2023-12-23}}</ref>
* [[International Council of Community Churches]] 69,276 members (2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1313.asp |title=ICCC membership |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=2014-05-10 |archive-date=2012-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115021833/http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1313.asp  }}</ref>
* [[National Association of Congregational Christian Churches]] 65,392 members (2002)*<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1462.asp |title=NACCC membership |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=2014-05-10 |archive-date=2012-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531022030/http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1462.asp  }}</ref>
* [[Alliance of Baptists]] 65,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucc.org/free-religion-lawsuit-additional-plaintiffs06032014|title=UCC religious freedom lawsuit adds additional plaintiffs, defendants request stay|website=United Church of Christ|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810121140/http://www.ucc.org/free-religion-lawsuit-additional-plaintiffs06032014|archive-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>
* [[Moravian Church in North America]] 60,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moravian.org/the-moravian-church/history/|title=A Brief History of the Moravian Church « The Moravian Church « Moravian Church of North America|website=moravian.org|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
* [[Metropolitan Community Church|Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches]] 15,666 members (2006)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1142.asp |title=UFMCC membership |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=2014-05-10}}</ref>
* [[Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] 12,000 members (2007)
* [[Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church|Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad]] 8,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://atlanta.clclutheran.org/bibleclass/Lutheranchurches.pdf|title=A Brief History of the Lutheran Churches in America|last1=Lau|first1=David|last2=Mayhew|first2=Nathanael|website=atlanta.clclutheran.org|access-date=May 1, 2016}}</ref>
* [[Hungarian Reformed Church in America]] 6,080 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/hungarian-reformed-church-in-america|title=Hungarian Reformed Church in America – World Council of Churches|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1958 |language=en|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
These same sources also consider "Mainline" other denominations outside the US, including:
* [[Anglican Church of Mexico]] 100,000 members<ref name="mexico-anglican.org">{{Cite web |title=Quiénes Somos |language=es |trans-title=About Us |url=http://mexico-anglican.org/QuienesSomos.html |publisher=Anglican Church of Mexico |access-date=June 20, 2016  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008111317/http://mexico-anglican.org/QuienesSomos.html |archive-date=October 8, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2009/467560.html|title=Anglicanos mexicanos rechazan unirse a la Iglesia católica|website=cronica.com.mx|access-date=2016-06-20|quote=The Church claims this number of adherents or members, though it is most likely a much smaller percentage of this total, according to data provided by the Mexican Institute for Statistics and Geography (INEGI) which includes them among "other Protestants" in the traditional Protestant and Reformed church category. This is an "umbrella" category and includes a wide variety of churches and as a category has as adherents or members only slightly over 50,000 persons. The Anglican Church of Mexico has had a long history of overreporting its number of adherents or members as it received subsidies from the Episcopal Church in the U.S. (now TEC) depending on growth.|archive-date=2020-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219205914/http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2009/467560.html}}</ref><ref>[http://internet.contenidos.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/Productos/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/censos/poblacion/2010/panora_religion/religiones_2010.pdf "Panorama de las religiones en México 2010"]</ref><ref>Consejo</ref>
* [[Mennonite Church Canada]] 31,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.mennonitechurch.ca/about|title=About Mennonite Church Canada {{!}} Mennonite Church Canada|website=home.mennonitechurch.ca|access-date=2016-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/2000/08/in-search-of-an-amish-church.aspx|title=In Search of an Amish Church|website=beliefnet.com|access-date=2016-06-06}}</ref>
* The term is also occasionally used to refer to historic Protestant churches in Europe, Latin America, and South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=John |date=March 22, 2013 |title=The Rise of Liberal Religion |url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2013/03/the-rise-of-liberal-religion/ |work=The Anxious Bench |publisher=Patheos |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Masci |first=David |date=November 14, 2014 |title=Why has Pentecostalism grown so dramatically in Latin America? |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/14/why-has-pentecostalism-grown-so-dramatically-in-latin-america/ |work=Fact Tank |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://communitas.co.za/vennote/savgg/savgg-artikels/mainline-protestantism-in-south-africa-and-modernity/|title=Mainline Protestantism in South Africa and modernity|date=2008-09-05|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title="Christians are a minority now, but that helps us start new conversations"|url=https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/8076/christians-are-a-minority-now-but-that-helps-us-start-new-conversations|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Evangelical Focus|language=en}}</ref>

Historically African American denominations are usually categorized differently from evangelicals or mainline.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/7/14/15959682/evangelical-mainline-voting-patterns-trump|title=Mainline churches are emptying. The political effects could be huge.|work=Vox|access-date=2017-11-07}}</ref> However, in 2014 the ''[[Christian Century]]'' identified a group that "fit the mainline description."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2014-06/glory-days|title=Glory days? The myth of the mainline|work=The Christian Century|date=2014-07-02|access-date=2017-11-07|language=en}}</ref>
* [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] 2.5 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/african-methodist-episcopal-church|title=African Methodist Episcopal Church — World Council of Churches|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |language=en|access-date=2017-11-07}}</ref>
* [[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church]] 1.4 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/african-methodist-episcopal-zion-church|title=African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church — World Council of Churches|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |language=en|access-date=2017-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Christian Methodist Episcopal Church]] 858,670 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/christian-methodist-episcopal-church|title=Christian Methodist Episcopal Church – World Council of Churches|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |language=en|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>

While no longer exclusively Christian, the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]], with 211,000 adherents, considers itself to be mainline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/01/unitarian-faith-growing-stronger-nationwide/1607243/|title=Unitarian faith growing nationwide|website=USA Today|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/witness/199573.shtml|title=Unitarian Universalist Affirmation of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People {{!}} UUA.org|date=2012-08-21|website=UUA.org|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref>

Some denominations with similar names and historical ties to mainline groups are not considered mainline: The [[Southern Baptist Convention]] (SBC) [13.2 million],<ref>Aaron Earls, [https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/southern-baptists-grow-in-attendance-and-baptisms-decline-in-membership/ Southern Baptists grow in attendance and baptisms, decline in membership], baptistpress.com, USA, May 9, 2023</ref> [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] (LCMS) [1.8 million],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.lcms.org/file/preview/DDCFD8B0-7812-4213-93D2-022A50CC2B94|title=LCMS Inc. Annual Report - 2021|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref> the [[Churches of Christ]] and [[Christian churches and churches of Christ|Christian churches]] [1.1 million each],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.21stcc.com/pdfs/ccusa_stats_sheet.pdf |title=Churches of Christ in the United States |website=21st Century Christian |date=June 2020 |first=Carl H. |last=Royster |access-date=August 26, 2020 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729184935/https://www.21stcc.com/pdfs/ccusa_stats_sheet.pdf  }}</ref><ref>Ron Rhodes, ''The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations'', Harvest House, 2007</ref> the [[Presbyterian Church in America]] (PCA) [0.4 million],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcaac.org/resources/pca-statistics-five-year-summary/|title=PCA Statistics Five Year Summary|publisher=Pcaac.org|access-date=26 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027065335/http://www.pcaac.org/resources/pca-statistics-five-year-summary/|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Anglican Church in North America]] (ACNA) [0.13 million].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://c119b78671d19b8aee34-1ab073aa91389396dfc8b6aabc9b141e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/Provincial_Meeting_Journal_web.pdf |title=Anglican Church in North America |access-date=5 June 2016  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305032325/https://c119b78671d19b8aee34-1ab073aa91389396dfc8b6aabc9b141e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/Provincial_Meeting_Journal_web.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2016  }}</ref> Since these groups are too [[Conservative Christianity|theologically conservative]] to be considered mainline, those strictly adhering to historical [[Creed|rules of faith]] are grouped as [[Confessionalism_(religion)|confessional]], while those without are grouped as [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]].

<nowiki>*</nowiki>The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches is considered to be evangelical by Pew Research{{sfn|Pew Research Center|2015b|p=106}} while the Association of Religion Data Archives considered it to be mainline.

==Theology==
===Variation===
{{Protestantism}}
Mainline Protestantism is characterized by theological and ideological [[Religious pluralism|pluralism]]. 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 [[Presbyterian Church in the United States]], observed that clergy candidates were more likely to be rejected due to "excessive narrowness" than for violating confessional standards.{{Sfn | Hutcheson | 1981 | p = 21}}

Mainline churches hold a range of theological orientations—[[Confessionalism (religion)|conservative]], moderate and [[Liberal Christianity|liberal]].<ref name="Struckmeyer" /> About half of mainline Protestants describe themselves as liberal.<ref name="Struckmeyer" /> Mainline Christian groups are often more accepting of other beliefs and faiths, affirm the [[Ordination of women in Protestant churches|ordination of women]], and have become increasingly affirming of [[LGBT clergy in Christianity|gay ordination]].<ref name="Struckmeyer" /> Nearly one-third of mainline Protestants call themselves conservative, and most local mainline congregations have a strong, active conservative element.<ref name="Struckmeyer">Struckmeyer, Kurt. "Mainline Christianity. " ''Following Jesus'' Web: 13 Dec 2009</ref> Mainline denominations are historically [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] and proclaim [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]] as Lord and Son of God.

In practice, mainline churches tend to be theologically moderate and influenced by ''[[higher criticism]],'' 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 [[Allegorical interpretation of the Bible|interpreted]] 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 [[Pew Research Center]] found that only 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 [[Divine revelation|Word of God]] but was of human origin.{{sfn|Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life|2008b}}

It has been noted, even by members of mainline churches, 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.{{Sfn | Hutcheson | 1981 | p = 20}} This dissatisfaction has led to the formation of various [[Confessing Movement]]s or [[Charismatic Movement|charismatic renewal movements]] which are more conservative in tone.

===Social justice===
The mainline denominations emphasize the biblical concept of justice, stressing the need for Christians to work for [[social justice]], which usually involve politically liberal approaches to social and economic problems. Early in the 20th century, they actively supported the [[Social Gospel]].

Mainline churches were basically [[pacifist]]ic before 1940, but under the influence of people such as [[Reinhold Niebuhr]] they supported [[World War II]] and the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Thompson|2007}} They have been far from uniform in their reaction to issues of gender and sexuality, though they tend to be more accepting than the [[Catholic Church]] or the more conservative Protestant churches.{{sfn|Dorrien|2006}}

==Social issues==
[[File:HarvardElizaSusanQuincy1836.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Harvard College]], a favorite choice of [[American upper class]]es. Having a college degree is common among Episcopalians and Presbyterians.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jerome Karabel|title=The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwf-Ofc--toC&pg=PA23|year=2006|page=23|isbn=978-0-618-77355-8}}</ref>]]
Many mainline denominations are active in voicing perspectives on social issues. Almost all mainline denominations are gender-inclusive and ordain women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/09/the-divide-over-ordaining-women/|title=The divide over ordaining women|date=2014-09-09|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> On abortion issues, the Episcopal Church (TEC), Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA), Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and United Church of Christ (UCC) are members of the [[Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rcrc.org/homepage/about/coalition-council/|title=Coalition Members {{!}} Religious Coalition For Reproductive Choice|website=rcrc.org|access-date=2016-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524170144/http://rcrc.org/homepage/about/coalition-council/|archive-date=2016-05-24}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-is-the-united-methodist-position-on-abortion|title=What is the United Methodist position on abortion? - The United Methodist Church|last=Communications|first=United Methodist|website=The United Methodist Church|access-date=2016-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331123719/http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-is-the-united-methodist-position-on-abortion|archive-date=2018-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Social-Statements/Abortion|title=Abortion|website=ELCA.org|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Other denominations, such as the Church of the Brethren and Mennonite Church USA,  are against abortion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1984abortion.html|title=1984 Abortion|website=brethren.org|access-date=2016-06-15|archive-date=2016-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807135926/http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1984abortion.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jul/12/local/me-religbriefs12.5|title=Mennonites Approve Dual Policy on Abortion|last=Services|first=Times Wire|date=2003-07-12|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|access-date=2016-06-15}}</ref>

Regarding human sexuality, TEC, the ELCA, PC(USA), Society of Friends (Quaker), UUA, and UCC recognize same-gender marriages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/21/where-christian-churches-stand-on-gay-marriage/|title=Where Christian churches, other religions stand on gay marriage|date=2015-12-21|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Also considered mainline, the Anglican Church of Canada,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anglican.ca/faith/focus/hs/ssbh/|title=Same Sex Blessings/Homosexuality - Anglican Church of Canada|website=Anglican Church of Canada|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/faith/evangelical-lutherans-back-same-sex-marriage-126053333.html|title=Evangelical Lutherans back same-sex marriage|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=23 July 2011|access-date=2016-06-03|last1=Suderman|first1=Brenda}}</ref> and United Church of Canada bless or marry same-gender couples.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/united-church-endorses-gay-marriage-1.357106|title=United Church endorses gay marriage|website=cbc.ca|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> In 2015, the Mennonite Church Canada saw its first same-gender marriage in one of its congregations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themennonite.org/daily-news/first-mc-canada-officiated-sex-marriage-saskatchewan/|title=First MC Canada-officiated same-sex marriage|website=The Mennonite: A Publication of Mennonite Church USA Providing Anabaptist Content|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-06|archive-date=2020-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803133045/https://themennonite.org/daily-news/first-mc-canada-officiated-sex-marriage-saskatchewan/}}</ref> The American Baptist Churches USA does not perform same-gender marriages, but allows each congregation the freedom to decide for itself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/45162/gay-marriage-mainline-denominations-affirm-scotus|title=Gay marriage: mainline denominations affirm SCOTUS|website=Baptist Press|date=20 July 2015 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Including the aforementioned denominations, the Mennonite Church USA, Metropolitan Community Church, and Moravian Church Northern Province license or ordain openly gay clergy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mennoworld.org/2014/10/27/news/another-conference-to-license-gay-pastor/|title=Another conference to license gay pastor|date=2014-10-27|website=Mennonite World Review|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moravian.org/northern-province-synod-2014/moravian-church-northern-province-synod-approves-ordination-of-gay-and-lesbian-pastors/|title=Moravian Church Northern Province Synod approves ordination of gay and lesbian pastors « Northern Province Synod 2014 « Moravian Church of North America|website=moravian.org|access-date=2016-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603100010/http://www.moravian.org/northern-province-synod-2014/moravian-church-northern-province-synod-approves-ordination-of-gay-and-lesbian-pastors/|archive-date=2018-06-03}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nyac.com/newsdetail/33-ordained-commissioned-by-new-york-conference-5012427|title=33 Ordained, Commissioned in "Historic" Service|website=nyac.com|access-date=2016-06-13}}</ref> The Western Jurisdiction of the UMC also elected the denomination's first openly gay bishop.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/western-jurisdiction-elects-openly-gay-united-methodist-bishop|title=Western Jurisdiction elects openly gay United Methodist bishop - The United Methodist Church|last=Communications|first=United Methodist|website=The United Methodist Church|access-date=2016-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718232123/http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/western-jurisdiction-elects-openly-gay-united-methodist-bishop|archive-date=2016-07-18}}</ref> Some congregations of the Church of the Brethren have also voted to perform same-gender marriages although the national denomination opposes this practice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goshennews.com/news/goshen-church-votes-sunday-to-allow-same-sex-marriages/article_625255b6-2046-11e6-a47a-4b7081dc1cef.html|title=Goshen church votes Sunday to allow same-sex marriages|first=SHERRY|last=VAN ARSDALL|website=Goshen News|date=22 May 2016 |access-date=2016-06-15}}</ref>

Most of the above denominations also ordain openly transgender clergy.  While the national church has not approved of gay or lesbian clergy, the UMC has allowed transgender pastors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/02/religious-groups-policies-on-transgender-members-vary-widely/|title=Religious groups' policies on transgender members vary widely|date=2015-12-02|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref>

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 [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], a [[Black church|historically Black denomination]] but also identified as mainline, [[Hillary Clinton]] was invited to offer an address for the delegates and clergy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blackchristiannews.com/2016/07/hillary-clinton-to-address-ame-church-conference-in-philadelphia/|title=Hillary Clinton to Address AME Church Conference in Philadelphia|date=7 July 2016 |language=en-us|access-date=2016-07-08}}</ref>

==Statistical decline==
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 48% in 2012, ceasing to be the religious category for the majority of Americans. This statistic may be inaccurate due to the number of former or historically mainline Protestants who continue to espouse mainline Protestant values without active church attendance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/|title=Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey|date=12 May 2015}}</ref> American affiliation with mainline denominations declined from 55% of all Protestants in 1973 to 46% in 1998.{{Sfn | Roozen | 2004}}{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = }} 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.<ref name="Barna">[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/17-leadership/323-report-examines-the-state-of-mainline-protestant-churches Report Examines the State of Mainline Protestant Churches] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106134955/http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/17-leadership/323-report-examines-the-state-of-mainline-protestant-churches |date=2011-11-06 }} The Barna Group. December 7, 2009. Web: 12 Dec. 2009</ref>

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<ref>{{cite web|title=MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT EVANGELISM AND CHURCH GROWTH|date=17 February 2014 |url=http://www.uscongregations.org/blog/2014/02/17/myths-and-facts-about-evangelism-and-church-growth/|publisher=USCLS U.S. Congregational Life Survey|access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> 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, while that is true for only 28% of congregations founded prior to 1900.{{sfn|Hadaway|2011}} 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."<ref>{{cite web|title=Facts on Growth: 2010: If Congregations Can Change, They Can Grow|url=http://www.faithcommunitiestoday.org/facts-growth-2010|website=Faith Communities Today|publisher=Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership|access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> Age demographics cannot be overlooked as a real factor in congregational decline, with the birthrate for mainline Protestants well below what is needed to maintain membership numbers.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gryboski|first1=Michael|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/united-methodist-church-continues-to-decline-in-america-but-gains-in-africa-79384/|title=United Methodist Church Continues to Decline in America, but Gains in Africa|website=Christian Post|date=3 August 2012 |publisher=The Christian Post|access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref>

The Barna Group, an [[Evangelical]] surveyor, has noted, Protestant pastors who serve mainline churches serve on average half as long as Protestant pastors in non-mainline churches.<ref name="Barna" /> This may contribute to decline and may be influenced in part by the [[United Methodist Church]] 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. Hispanics comprise 6 percent of the mainline population but 16 percent of the US population. 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 [[Pentecostal]] Protestant churches.<ref name="Barna" />

In general, however, decline can be a difficult thing to statistically quantify. Many older Protestant churches lived a vibrant lifetime and continue to evidence vital ministry and faith regardless of declining populations or birthrates. For example, giving and engagement with need and justice, both indicators of strong Christian faith, have increased despite the aging and loss of congregational members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mixed blessings in new U.S. church numbers|url=http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/mixed-blessings-in-new-us-church-numbers|website=United Methodist Church|access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref>

===Contrast with other Protestant denominations===
While various Protestant denominations have experienced declining membership, the most pronounced changes have occurred among mainline churches. Demographic trends for evangelical and historically [[African-American church]]es have been more stable. According to the Pew Research Center, mainline churches could claim 14.7 percent of all US adults compared to 25.4 percent who belonged to evangelical churches in 2014.{{Sfn | Pew Research Center | 2015b | p = 20–21}}{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = 469}}<ref name="Chang">Chang, Perry. "Recent Changes in Membership and Attendance. " Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.) Nov. 2006. Web: [http://www.pcusa.org/research/reports/denominational_size.pdf Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202221428/http://www.pcusa.org/research/reports/denominational_size.pdf |date=2010-02-02 }}</ref>

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.{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = }} 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.{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = }} Their analysis gives no support for the notion that theological or social conservatism or liberalism has much impact on long-term growth trends.{{Sfn | Hout | Greeley | Wilde | 2001 | p = 494-5}}

Evidence from the [[General Social Survey]] 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.<ref name="Struckmeyer" />

====Trends====
{{See also|Protestant work ethic}}
[[File:Forest Hills Gardens, Queens, NY.jpg|thumb|right|[[Forest Hills, Queens]] in [[New York City]] area is an affluent area with a population of wealthy mainline Protestants]]
Some other findings of the Barna Group:
* From 1958 to 2008, mainline church membership dropped by more than one-quarter to roughly 20 million people—15 percent of all American adults.
* 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.
* 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.
* From 1998 to 2008, volunteerism dropped 21 percent; adult [[Sunday school]] participation decreased 17 percent.
* The average age of a mainline pastor in 1998 was 48 and increased to 55 by 2009.
* Pastors on average remain with a congregation for four years compared to twice that length for non-mainline church leaders.<ref name="Barna"/>

Recent statistics from the Pew Forum provide additional explanations for the decline.
* Evangelical church members are younger than those in mainline denominations. Fourteen percent of evangelical congregations are between 18 and 29 (compared to 2 percent), 36 percent between 30 and 49, 28 percent between 50 and 64, and 23 percent 65 or older.

Not paralleling the decline in membership is the household income of members of mainline denominations. Overall, it is higher than that of evangelicals:
* 25% reported less than a $30,000 income per year.
* 21% reported $30,000–$49,999 per year.
* 18% reported $50,000–$74,999 per year.
* 15% reported $75,000–$99,999 per year.
* 21% reported an income of $100,000 per year or more, compared to only 13 percent of evangelicals.{{sfn|Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life|2008b}}

==History==
{{See also|History of Protestantism in the United States}}
[[File:First Parish in Hingham MA.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Old Ship Church]], an old [[Puritan]] meetinghouse currently used by a [[Unitarian Universalist]] congregation]]
While the term "mainline" was not applied to churches until the 20th century, mainline churches trace their history to the [[Protestant Reformation]] of the 16th century. The largest and most influential Protestant denominations in Britain's [[Thirteen Colonies]] were the [[Anglican]]s (after the American Revolution called Episcopalians) and the [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregationalists]] (from which the [[American Unitarian Association|Unitarians]] would later split).{{Sfn | Lantzer | 2012 | p = 19}} 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.{{Sfn | Lantzer | 2012 | p = 29}} 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."{{Sfn | Lantzer | 2012 | p = 19}}

The [[Great Awakening]] ignited controversy within Protestant churches between [[Old and New Light|Old Lights and New Lights]] (or [[Old Side–New Side Controversy|Old Side and New Side]] among Presbyterians). Led by figures such as the Congregationalist minister [[Charles Chauncy (1705–1787)|Charles Chauncy]], Old Lights opposed the evangelical [[Christian revival|revivalism]] at the heart of the Awakening, while New Lights, led by fellow Congregationalist minister [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], supported the revivals and argued for the importance of having a [[Religious conversion|conversion]] experience. By the 1800s, Chauncy's followers had drifted toward forms of theological liberalism, such as [[Universalism]], [[Unitarianism]] and [[Transcendentalism]].{{sfn|Balmer|Winner|2002|pp = 14-5}}

[[File:Lady Chapel Altar, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|thumb|left|[[Lady Chapel]] in [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)|Church of the Good Shepherd]], a 19th-Century [[Anglo-Catholic]] Episcopal Church in [[Pennsylvania]]]]

The [[Second Great Awakening]] would inaugurate a period of evangelical dominance within American mainline Protestantism that would last over a century.{{Sfn | Lantzer | 2012 | p = 29}} 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.{{Sfn | Lantzer | 2012 | p = 31}}

After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], however, tensions between evangelicals and non-evangelicals would re-emerge. As the practice of [[historical criticism]] spread to the United States, conflict over [[biblical inspiration]] erupted within Protestant churches. Conservative Protestants led by [[A. A. Hodge]], [[B. B. Warfield]] and other [[Princeton Theology|Princeton theologians]] argued for [[biblical inerrancy]], while liberal theologians such as [[Charles Augustus Briggs|Charles A. Briggs]] of [[Union Theological Seminary (New York City)|Union Theological Seminary]] were open to using historical criticism to understand the Bible.{{sfn|Balmer|Winner|2002|p = 19}}

As 19th–century evangelicals embraced [[dispensational premillennialism]] and retreated from society in the face of mounting social problems caused by industrialization, urbanization and immigration, liberal Protestants embraced the [[Social Gospel]], which worked for the "regeneration of society" rather than only the conversion of individuals.{{sfn|Balmer|Winner|2002|p = 15}}

The [[Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy]] of the 1920s widened the division between evangelical and non-evangelical Protestants as the two sides fought for control over the mainline denominations. The [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalists]] lost these battles for control to the modernists or liberals.{{sfn|Balmer|Winner|2002|p = 19}} Since the 1920s, mainline churches have been associated with liberal Protestantism.{{sfn|Balmer|Winner|2002|p = 15}}

[[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalians]] and [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)|Presbyterian]] [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestant|WASPs]] tend to be considerably wealthier<ref name="THE EPISCOPALIANS">{{cite news|author=B.DRUMMOND AYRES Jr. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/us/the-episcopalians-an-american-elite-with-roots-going-back-to-jamestown.html |title=THE EPISCOPALIANS: AN AMERICAN ELITE WITH ROOTS GOING BACK TO JAMESTOWN |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2011-12-19 |access-date=2012-08-17}}</ref> and better educated than most other religious groups in America,<ref>Irving Lewis Allen, "WASP—From Sociological Concept to Epithet," ''Ethnicity,'' 1975 154+</ref> and are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American [[business]],{{sfn|Hacker|1957|p=1011}} law and politics, and for many years were especially dominant in the [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican Party]].{{sfn|Baltzell|1964|p=9}} Numbers of the [[Old money|wealthiest and most affluent American families]], such as the [[Vanderbilts]] and [[Astor family|Astors]], [[Rockefeller family|Rockefeller]], who were Baptists,<ref name="W. Williams">{{cite book|title=Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression|first=Peter|last= W. Williams|year= 2016| isbn= 978-1-4696-2698-7| page =176|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|quote=The names of fashionable families who were already Episcopalian, like the Morgans, or those, like the Fricks, who now became so, goes on interminably: Aldrich, Astor, Biddle, Booth, Brown, Du Pont, Firestone, Ford, Gardner, Mellon, Morgan, Procter, the Vanderbilt, Whitney. Episcopalians branches of the Baptist Rockefellers and Jewish Guggenheims even appeared on these family trees.}}</ref> [[Du Pont family|Du Pont]], [[Roosevelt family|Roosevelt]], [[Forbes family|Forbes]], [[Ford family|Fords]],<ref name="W. Williams"/> [[Mellon family|Mellons]],<ref name="W. Williams"/> [[Whitney family|Whitneys]], the [[Morgan family|Morgans]] and Harrimans are Episcopalian and Presbyterian families.<ref name="THE EPISCOPALIANS"/>

Through the 1940s and 1950s, [[neo-orthodoxy]] 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 [[liberation theology]] during the 1970s.{{Sfn | Hutcheson | 1981 | p = 20}}

==See also==
*[[Nicene Creed]], sometimes called the "mainstream Christianity"

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book|last=Ahlstrom|first=Sydney E.|author-link=Sydney E. Ahlstrom|year=1972|title=A Religious History of the American People|location=New Haven, Connecticut|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-01762-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/religioushistory0000ahls}}
* {{cite book|last=Balmer|first=Randall|author-link=Randall Balmer|year=1996|title=Grant Us Courage: Travels along the Mainline of American Protestantism|url=https://archive.org/details/grantuscouragetr00balm|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510086-0|access-date=October 3, 2016|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last1=Balmer|first1=Randall|author1-link=Randall Balmer|last2=Fitzmier|first2=John R.|year=1993|title=The Presbyterians|series=Denominations in America|volume=5|location=Westport, Connecticut|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-26084-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Bendroth|first=Margaret|year=2015|title=The Last Puritans: Mainline Protestants and the Power of the Past|location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-4696-2400-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Billingsley|first=K. L.|year=1990|title=From Mainline to Sideline: The Social Witness of the National Council of Churches|location=Washington, DC|publisher=Ethics and Public Policy Center|isbn=978-0-89633-141-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Coffman|first=Elesha J.|year=2013|title=The Christian Century and the Rise of Mainline Protestantism|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-993859-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Dorrien|first=Gary|author-link=Gary Dorrien|year=2001|title=The Making of American Liberal Theology. Volume 1: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805–1900|location=Louisville, Kentucky|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-22354-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingofamerican0000dorr}}
* {{cite book|last=Dorrien|first=Gary|author-link=Gary Dorrien|author-mask={{long dash}}|year=2003|title=The Making of American Liberal Theology. Volume 2: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity|location=Louisville, Kentucky|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-22355-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Edwards|first=Mark|year=2012|title=The Right of the Protestant Left: God's Totalitarianism|location=New York|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-01989-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Hollinger|first=David A.|author-link=David Hollinger|year=2013|title=After Cloven Tongues of Fire: Protestant Liberalism in Modern American History|location=Princeton, New Jersey|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15842-6}}
* Hollinger, David A. ''Protestants Abroad: How Missionaries Tried to Change the World but Changed America'' (2017) [https://www.amazon.com/Protestants-Abroad-Missionaries-Changed-America/dp/0691158436/ excerpt]
* {{cite magazine
|last=Marty
|first=Martin E.
|author-link=Martin E. Marty
|year=1989
|title=The Establishment That Was
|url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=906
|magazine=[[The Christian Century]]
|volume=106
|issue=34
|pages=1045–1047
|access-date=October 3, 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003103538/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=906
|archive-date=October 3, 2016

}}{{Cite book|title=The Future of Mainline Protestantism in America|last=Hudnut-Beumler|first=James|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-231-18361-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Marty|first=Martin E.|author-link=Martin E. Marty|author-mask={{longdash}}|year=1999|title=Modern American Religion. Volume 3: Under God, Indivisible, 1941–1960|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-50899-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/modernamericanre00mart_1}}
* {{cite book|last=Murchison|first=William|author-link=William Murchison|year=2009|title=Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity|location=New York|publisher=Encounter Books|isbn=978-1-59403-230-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Roof|first1=Wade Clark|last2=McKinney|first2=William|author2-link=William "Bill" McKinney|year=1990|title=American Mainline Religion: Its Changing Shape and Future|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-1216-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americanmainline00roof}}
* {{cite book|last=Tipton|first=Steven M.|year=2008|title=Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-80474-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Utter|first=Glenn H.|year=2007|title=Mainline Christians and U.S. Public Policy: A Reference Handbook|location=Santa Barbara, California|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-000-1}}
{{refend}}

{{Mainline Protestantism in the United States}}
{{Christian History|state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|Christianity}}

[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Protestantism in the United States]]
[[Category:1920s neologisms]]