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The New (Evangelical) Mainline

American evangelicalism is displacing the old mainline. How do we keep from suffering the same fate?

A Christianity Today editorial | posted 5/12/2009 08:34AM

The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), recently released by Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar at Trinity College, has captured some bold headlines. And no wonder: The share of people classified ...

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Simon Travers

Posted: May 23, 2009 2:44 AM

Evangelical faith is not phony, and it's not purely modern american. It's a long standing stream of Christian thought that asserts the primacy of the Bible and accepts the authority of the bible as central to a living faith in Christ. If you want a historical example, try Martin Luther, or read 'Streams of Living Water' by Richard Foster. However... where American evangelicalism perhaps has lead the church down a blind alley is in the area of it's relationship to power, a relationship that has been at times pretty unbiblical. The positive about more people not identifying themselves as Christian, is that it makes it clearer that new testament living is generally done as a part of a minority group.

Helen Dyck

Posted: May 20, 2009 10:41 AM

Have you looked at the latest Macleans magazines in Canada regarding Christianity. It is worth noting. I can appreciate your callenge to keep the faith and continue to walk and talk the truth about Christianity. One of the things that I have struggled with is that while there are opportunities for reaching the world and bringing the salvation message of Jesus Christ to the world few can afford to be invovled in this full time. Who can commit to publically proclaiming the truth of the gospel. Lay people with families have little time if any to study the bible attend church and make a purposeful plan of sharing the faith and descipling others in what the majority of Christians call the best thing that ever happened to them. How in practical terms can we get out of the rat race pay our bills and take time to bring the truth of the gospel publically? I am concerned for the next generation? I wonder if the faith that my ancestors died for will be continued.

James Reid Ross

Posted: May 20, 2009 2:24 AM


I think we divide ourselves along the lines of evangelical which is an evasive issue or meaning. I count all those who profess Jesus as Lord as my brother and sisters whether they are classified as evangelical or not, and that includes our catholic brethren.

Johann

Posted: May 19, 2009 11:45 PM


What authenticity can a phony baloney religion like evangelicalism offer? It's purely a modern American reactionary movement, mainly cultural, that has no basis in historical Christianity.

Ted Hewlett

Posted: May 16, 2009 6:27 AM


Alan, one would think that a knowledge of the basic truths about God would lead to a commitment to God's truth about morality and the family. Of course it is easy to become unbalanced, but there should surely be no conflict between fidelity to divine theology and commitment to standing up for moral truth.

Wanda

Posted: May 14, 2009 11:56 AM


Why do you ask us to rate and comment on articles if you have no intention of putting them all here? Anyways, I have no intention of wasting my time re-writing my previous comment from 2 days ago.

Mike	Posted: May 13, 2009 1:24 PM

"According to the survey, rather than being headed for a crash, the American church, while shrinking slightly relative to the overall population, is becoming more conservative and evangelical, though somewhat less denominational." What does that even mean? More conservative in their political beliefs, their Biblical beliefs, both? Evangelical Christianity is so married to politics, that the two have become one religion. "The American church . . . is becoming . . . somewhat less denominational." Sure, loosen the definition of born-again, and lump together everyone who, by whatever definition THEY choose, call themselves a Christian, and you can pretend the decline is not as bad as it really is. Add in Mormons and Jehovah witnesses, and you can tell yourself that evangelical Christianity is taking off like a rocket. You do yourselves no favor when you put a positive spin on things. Accept reality, and maybe you will find out what is wrong.

sandysandy

Posted: May 13, 2009 11:53 AM


I believe the catholic church still has a big impact world wide. not ONLY IS ABORTION AN ISSUE.BUT INTERFAITH DIALOGUE ALSO IS. I work in a Catholic hospital where many faiths are allowed to practice their faith over a state run hospital. We need to open our hearts and mind help each other,listen an have freedom of faith expression.

Matt	Posted: May 13, 2009 8:26 AM


Ultimately, is this not just a call for the renewal of the church? A call to simply be obedient to the teachings of Christ? That is really all we can strive for and then allow the Spirit to guide us and mold us into the image of Christ.

Alan Terlep

Posted: May 13, 2009 8:21 AM

The self-congratulory attitude in this article was disturbing. "Spreading the gospel, not seeking social or political relevance, is the heartbeat of evangelicalism." Really? The evangelical movement from 1970 to the present has worked constantly to seek political and social relevance. That's why most evangelicals know all about "family values" but have no understanding of the basic truths their churches affirm about the nature of God, the identity of Jesus Christ, or the meaning of salvation.

DeSoto

Posted: May 13, 2009 7:53 AM


The "mainline" churches will continue to decline until they forsake the desire to be mainline, and focus instead on servitude and discipleship. $20million advertising campaigns will not be successful. Laity will "rethink" church when the administrators humble themselves and remake church.

pete Benson, editor UNITYINCHRIST.COM

Posted: May 13, 2009 6:42 AM


Good barometer article showing where the body of Christ is right now, what parts of it are dead or dying out, what parts are alive and vibrant, and why. Pastors would be wise to read this and take stock of how well, and what they're feeding their flocks to keep them relevant and dynamic Christians.

Graham UK

Posted: May 13, 2009 1:31 AM

(Matthew 19:21) Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." Do we not love our possesions over God? Be objective on where you are in relation to your possessions; do you manage resource as a good steward or do you hoard? Jesus also told us to listen to the Pharisees and their teaching of the law telling us also not to behave like them. Over all of this Jesus gave us the new covenant and at its heart 'Love God above all things' and 'Love your neighbour as yourself'. I do not like, and even detest, certain behaviours however as a Christian I must LOVE all fellow mankind!

Shelley

Posted: May 12, 2009 6:44 PM

As a "Sideline" Christian (your words in your article), I have known for far too long that the true "mainline" in American Christianity i(again, your words) has co-opted the public understanding of who a Christian is. While I would agree that the old "sideline" denominations have not always done things correctly in sharing the Gospel of Jesus, I would say that the people Jesus was always concerned about - the last, the marginalized, the poor, the ones no one spoke to at the well - are much better served through "sideline" Christianity than "fundamentalist" Christianity. The central message of Jesus is love. It is not conservative politics; it is not just war; it is not who is married to who. Jesus said, "Come." Jesus said, "Abide in me as I abide in you." Jesus never spoke about homosexuality. Jesus, however, had a lot to say about the poor. Perhaps this is where our focus - whether we are mainline, sideline, evangelical or fundamentalist - should be.

PW	Posted: May 12, 2009 5:55 PM

This was a confusing article. I believe in order be Christ's followers, we cannot be concerned about names, denominations, labels, mainline, sideline, old line or whatever. We need to be concerned about our souls first, if we ARE followers of Christ, then we need to be concerned about being Christ's followers in a broken world~reaching out to others and not concerned about keeping face and maintaining our numbers in a particular denomination or label. The only goal we should be striving for is passing on the GOOD NEWS, not carrying the banner that says we are number one as _______ (fill in the blank).

CHaplain Mary Murphy

Posted: May 12, 2009 4:21 PM

SInce the 1970s when we sent evidentiary evidence to Christianity Today as to the 23 million Religius Rico Fraud "Enterpirse" at the Calvary TEmple Denver Colorado church - elderly (many WWII Veterans and spouses) who invested life savings for health care such as the fast leaving Sisters provided; silence as to the needed identification of such Hebrews 6:6 "We crucify Christ (Truth) afresh and put Christ (Truth) to an open shame" But it is never too late for you to cast those Demons out - especially with the needed community for the famiiles of those Warriors who died yesterday in Iraq and the Demons that possessed the man who killed them The War Widows Veteransjustice@aol.com

Patrick Gann

Posted: May 12, 2009 4:11 PM


"meh" to this whole article. I just can't bring myself to care about all this "mainline protestant" vs "evangelical protestant" vs "post-evangelical" vs "missional/emergent" crap anymore. I'm just going to stick with "Jesus saves" and find a church that doesn't try to push its politics or narrow view of scripture on me.

Mark	Posted: May 12, 2009 4:10 PM

Your editorial makes it sound like evangelicals are of one mind with regard to spreading the faith. I beg to differ. If memory serves me correctly, a Barna Group poll indicated that evangelicals are slightly more likely to divorce than the average American. If that's any indication of what it means to be "evangelical," then the word has become just another label that many people attach to themselves - people who don't even understand what it means. Never mind spreading the Gospel to non-believers. The Gospel must be re-spread quickly to nominal, self-labeled "evangelicals" before they irreparably sully the word, undermine evangelical influence among nonbelievers, and disparage Jesus in the process.

Genie

Posted: May 12, 2009 3:39 PM

The term evangelicalism is too general to comment on. Those who are not interested in mailine denominationalism seem to be searching for authentic followers of Christ who truly believe the Gospel is "good news"--for the poor, the orphaned, the oppressed, the sick, the alien and stranger--God does love them and wants us to love them, too. Denominations have focused so much on orthodoxy and what they are against, that folks have difficulty knowing where the good news is! How is my own life being transformed because of the love of Jesus the Christ? Where am I investing my life? What possessions and idols of consumerism am I willing to give up in order to make life better for someone else? Who am I willing to extend unconditional love to--without exception? May God help us all to get over ourselves and begin following Jesus!

Not a Friend of Christians

Posted: May 12, 2009 3:38 PM

Here is my take on this, for what it is worth. The hardening dogmatic stance of the right-wing evangelicals (what you very ironically call "the mainline") will lead to decline too. We see the negative impact of right-wing evangelicalism at work right now. The hijacking of the Republican Party has led to electoral disaster, and yet, when you poll the Republican hardliners, they don't get it. They don't want to moderate their stance (how could they, they have the TRUTH), they want to harden it. Once the words "Evangelical" and "Christian" become synonymous with right-winger (we are getting there) and tied to a reactionary political party (the GOP), you can kiss goodbye to Christianity in general. What has happened to the Catholic Church in Europe since the 19th Century - siding continuously with the losing side of political power in the name of discredited ideals - will happen to Christianity in America. Choose your death: watered-down or reactionary Christianity. Good luck.

MC	Posted: May 12, 2009 3:31 PM

The comments on this article are interesting and show the many ways a piece can stir people up... To our brother (I pray) Jason: The Jews are God's people - make no mistake about it - read your Bible and the many covenants God has made with them, Jesus never took away from any of these promises ..... If San Diego was getting attacked everyday by rockets from Tijuana would the US not send in troops to stop the attacks??

David L

Posted: May 12, 2009 3:29 PM

Words like Evangelical and Mainline really don't mean anything any more, or better maybe they mean everything. I believe in Jesus so much that I believe in a evangelical, ecumenical, and orthodox church that was established by God the Son and empowered by God the Holy Spirit. I would rather be a member of the small but orthodox church of the Arc than a member of a Mega church community that has adopted the culture of the legions. The church is visible but that visibility isn't measured by members, political ideology, and relevance but rather fidelity to the Bishop, Eucharist, and relationship between the believers (corporately and privately) and God. You will find the members of that church however in the visible church and outside of it by the grace of God. I encourage my brothers and sisters to look further than their own "traditions" and see the continued faith of martyrs, don't accept what you are fed go seek the truth.

MP	Posted: May 12, 2009 3:05 PM

Why would evangelicalism want to be "mainline"? In fact, just ot ask this questions betrays the extent that evangelicals have already traveled the path cut out by the mainline church. Evangelicals in America, on the whole, Warren being the quintessential exemplar, have followed the cultural, political relevance track which also has its roots in the first part of the nineteenth century. When I look at mainline and evangelical forms of liberalism, what I typically see is differences in social and economic class. Mainliners still tend to travel in "high culture" while evangelicals have tended to move within "popoular culture." Yet both pride themselves in being like the culture. What we need are more who understand their faith, life, and church indenity to be "evangelical and catholic." The Gospel needs to be proclaimed and practiced within a catholic ethos that nutures a common life of holiness. Where will we find such authentic witness? Certainly not at Saddleback, et. al.

gospelgirl

Posted: May 12, 2009 2:57 PM


Like most polls, this one can be interpreted in a variety of ways. But one thing is clear: "A rigorous and public recommitment to the unchanging truth of the gospel is essential if we are going to continue in bringing more people to the foot of the Cross...." The church is in danger not when it loses its relevance, but when it loses its heart and soul, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Howard Pepper

Posted: May 12, 2009 2:56 PM

There are, of course, many ways to interpret statistics and surveys. Looking at the range of them, including those by Barna intended to be useful to Evangelicals, it is clear that while Evangelicalism is still strong and overtaking mainline groups increasingly, it also is "liberalizing." That is partly the influence of younger believers, among other things. To a large degree, it is adjustments to changing paradigms of how reality, God, the Bible, etc. are viewed. It is not just "moral decay" or entertainment culture, etc. Change is slow but unrelenting. So, gradually, the deeper, clearer understandings of things like the real genre of the Gospels, and their relation to early developing Christianity, that were being worked out from the late 1700's to now, are being assimilated, while also science reintegrates with theology via both physics and biology. Add in the influences of globalization and spiritual perspectives of the "East." We see the inevitable, positive results.

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