Mainline Denominations

“It’s not like the Episcopalians only give money at high rates. They also score near the top on putting up a political sign and working for a candidate. One type of political activity is highly correlated with another type of political activity.” - Ryan Burge

“On Monday, the denomination also passed a resolution denouncing Christian Zionism.” - RNS

“In the past five years, the Reformed Church in America…has lost almost half its membership and nearly a quarter of its churches. Some members see in the collapse an opportunity to reinvent the 400-year-old church, founded by Dutch settlers in the mid-1600s.” - RNS

“The liberal Methodists of North America have now virtually guaranteed their denomination’s extinction. Conservative Methodists around the world were and still are the lifeblood of the tradition….In this, they represent the larger trend in Mainline Protestant churches.” - Breakpoint

“His second argument is that these churches, while not necessarily preaching the gospel, do provide moral guidance for living, and money given to charities that helps the poor and needy. The most important loss is the loss of the social “gospel” endeavors of the mainline denominations.” - P&D

“United Methodist delegates are heading into the homestretch of their first legislative gathering in five years — one that appears on track to make historic changes in lifting their church’s longstanding bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.” - AP

“This General Conference will liberalize United Methodism’s teachings on marriage and sex….over 7660 traditionalist churches, including up to 1.5 million members, exited the denomination under a temporary policy allowing departure with property.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“Additionally, from 2020 to 2022, the UCC went from having 4,794 congregations to 4,603 congregations, with membership dropping from approximately 773,000 to approximately 712,000.” - C.Post

“Paragraph 2553 expired at the end of 2023, with over 7,500 congregations successfully disaffiliating from the UMC through the process” - CPost

Related: The UMC lost a quarter of its churches — most in the South - RNS

“Mainline clergy are more supportive than their congregants of LGBTQ rights, more likely to have opposed the overturn of Roe v. Wade and less likely to believe America is in danger of losing its culture and identity.” - RNS