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- ''For other uses of the term "mainline", please see Mainline (disambiguation).
In the United States, the mainline (also sometimes called mainstream) churches are those Protestant denominations with moderate theologies which attempt to be open to new ideas and societal changes without abandoning what they consider to be the historical basis of the Christian faith. This places them in the theological center between the more liberal Christian sects such as Unitarian Universalism and the more conservative fundamentalist and evangelical churches. Mainline churches have been increasingly open to the ordination of women. They have been far from uniform in their reaction to the gay rights movement, but have not rejected it dogmatically in the way that it has been by the Catholic Church and the more conservative Protestant churches. They take a moderate view with regards to military service – all provide chaplains to the armed forces and none are historically peace churches except the Church of the Brethren – but all express reservations about aggressive use of military force for any reason.
The hallmark of the mainline churches is moderation. Only a few members or clergy in them would condemn the use of alcohol in moderation. Their theologies tend to be moderate and influenced, consciously or not, by the higher criticism. Most ministers and most members seem to be comfortable with modern-language (including inclusive language) translations of the Bible.
The nature of biblical truth
Most mainline traditions follow the traditional Christian belief in the triune nature of God, but do not require strict acceptance of everything written about or spoken by Jesus in the New Testament. In particular, some mainline Christians do not accept the biblical statement of that Jesus represents the sole legitimate path to God. Few would suggest that either Testament was verbally and plenarily inspired, that is, the result of God's Holy Spirit directly revealing His words to its authors, as some biblical inerrantists maintain. Many, however, believe that the Bible is God's Word, while remaining open to new understanding of it. While most mainline churches accept the virgin birth of Jesus, few would demand acceptance of that doctrine for membership. There is a general consensus that scripture must both be interpreted through the lens of the cultures in which it was originally written, and examined, like everything else, using God-given reason--and that neither of these methods diminish the importance of scripture or are indications that scripture is not the revelation of God's Word.
Black mainline question
There is some discussion about whether historically black denominations sharing the beliefs stated above are truly mainline churches. Some argue that they are not, since blacks were traditionally excluded from mainstream society in the United States, and that is in fact why these denominations even exist. Many proponents of racial desegregation feel that these shared beliefs mean that traditionally black churches can indeed be mainline and that moderate black Protestant denominations are indeed part of this identity. However, others have argued that the theology and practices of many black churches place them in the more conservative evangelical category.
Use of the term mainline
The term mainline may imply a certain numerical majority or dominant presence in mainstream society that is no longer accurate. Critics of the term point to a loss of membership in most of the mainline churches in recent decades. Because static or declining membership is typical of mainline denominations, some leaders have suggested the use of the term oldline as a reasonable alternative.
The inclusion of a church in the mainline category does not imply that the beliefs common to mainline churches are held in common by every member of these churches or even every member of their clergy. All of them allow a considerable theological latitude, and each of them contains within it a Confessing Movement or "renewal movement" which is more conservative in tone. Another important fact is that not every church with a name similar to a mainline church should necessarily be deemed to be mainline, although in most instances there are historical ties between such groups. For example, while the American Baptist Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church USA are considered mainline, the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and the Presbyterian Church in America are too conservative to be regarded as mainline in the sense contemplated here.
Denominations
The U.S. mainline churches (sometimes referred to as the Seven Sisters of American Protestantism):
- The American Baptist Churches USA
- The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- The Episcopal Church
- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- The Presbyterian Church (USA)
- The United Church of Christ
- The United Methodist Church
Also sometimes considered mainline are:
Primarily African American or Black denominations most likely to be identified as mainline include the larger Methodist groups:
- The African Methodist Episcopal Church,
- The AME Zion Church
- The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Disciples, Episcopal Church, ICCC, PC(USA), UCC, and the three historically black Communions listed—AME, AME Zion, and CME churches—are all members of Churches Uniting in Christ, which is an effort to coordinate their works to prevent needless duplications of effort, and to view each other as valid Christians participating in the universal Church's mission of spreading the message of the hope of salvation. Many hope that this organization will serve as a prelude to a merged national "superdenomination" somewhat analogous to the United Church of Canada. The ELCA, though not a full member as of 2005, is "partner in mission and dialogue" to Churches Uniting.
References
- William Hutchison, Between the Times: The Travail of the Protestant Establishment in America, 1900-1960, 1989, 1990 paperback ed., Cambridge U. Press, ISBN 0-521-40601-3, p. 6
"Mainline"