Confession: I am a lifelong Mainline Protestant. While I’ve switched denominations many times – from Presbyterian (PCUSA) to Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to Lutheran (ELCA) to Presbyterian (PCUSA) to United Church of Christ to Presbyterian (PCUSA) to United Church of Christ – I’ve never left this religious tradition.
Stating the Obvious
For my entire lifetime, Mainline Protestant denominations have all been experiencing a numeric decline in membership. The narrative of decline has become the primary story told about the group by those outside it and has shaped behavior within at all levels of the church.
Summarizing What’s Really Been Happening
The numeric decline (and the other declines that go alongside the diminished resources and influence of this smaller and smaller group) is well documented, including by me here on So What Faith.
This post is designed as a one stop resource for links to my previous writing on the topic. It curates 50 prior blog posts I’ve written over the last 15 years. For ease of use, I’ve divided them into subcategories below:
- Mainline – discussing how the change has impacted the group as a whole
- Episcopal (TEC), Lutheran (ELCA), Presbyterian (PCUSA), and United Church of Christ – consideration of how the decline has specifically impacted these denominations
- Books – reviews and ratings of books that will enhance your understanding of the decline
Note: The group of denominations traditionally included as Mainline Protestant consists of the American Baptists, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Congregational Church (now a part of the United Church of Christ), Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), and United Methodist Church. For more on this see my review of Jason Lantzer’s book: Mainline Christianity: The Past and Future of America’s Majority Faith (2012).
Mainline
- Are You Part of an Endangered Species? (2024)
- Worshippers Are Aging Too Fast (2023)
- My Religious Traditions Are Missing 8 Million People! (2023)
- Mainline Decline in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metro Area (2023)
- Mainline Decline: 1990 to 2020 (2022)
- Lifelong Retention: A Religious Challenge (2022)
- Latest Church Trends: Membership & Giving (2021)
- Giving Up Mainline Protestantism (2021)
- Giving Up the Old and White Church (2021)
- Mainline: The 5 Percent? (2019)
- Mainline Protestantism = Old (2016)
- From Mainline to Sideline to Oldline (2015)
- Shifts in Religious Affiliation (1972-2012) (2014)
- Doubling of Those Age 65 & Over (2013)
- Role Reversal (2012)
- Liberal Protestant Decline – Fact Check (2011)
- What if No One Comes? More Decline in the Mainline (2010)
Episcopal (TEC)
Lutheran (ELCA)
- ELCA Membership Cut in Half (2024)
- The ELCA is Missing 4 Million People! (2023)
- From 5 Million to 4 Million (2013)
- So Many Dwindling Congregations (2013)
Presbyterian (PCUSA)
- Aging Presbyterians: 3 in 5 PCUSA Members Now Over Age 55 (2024)
- The PC(USA) is Missing 2.6 Million People! (2023)
- End of Presbyterianism: Farewell PC(USA)? (2023)
- The Median Presbyterian (PCUSA) Congregation (2023)
- PC(USA) Membership – 30 Years of Decline (2023)
- PC(USA) Membership Declines by 62% (2022)
- PC(USA) Membership Declines by “Only 50K” (2020)
- Presbyterian Decline: PCUSA -The First 35 Years (2020)
United Church of Christ
- UCC: 1 Out of Every ____ Americans (2023)
- The UCC is Missing 1.3 Million People! (2023)
- UCC Membership Decline: 2,193,593 to 773,539 (2022)
- UCC Decline Enters 7th Decade (2020)
- In Person Worship: Worship Capacity in the UCC (2020)
- 6 Decades of Decline in the United Church of Christ (2018)
- Dwindling Membership: The United Church of Christ from 1965-2015 (2016)
- More Decline in the Mainline: UCC in Florida (2012)
Books
- Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition edited by Mark Elsdon (2024)
- 20 Myths About Religion and Politics in America by Ryan P. Burge (2022)
- Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters by Bob Smietana (2022)
- Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America by Stephen Bullivant (2022)
- The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going by Ryan P. Burge (2021)
- We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry by Mark Elsdon (2021)
- Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination by Lenny Duncan (2019)
- Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping Christianity in the 21st Century (2018)
- The End of White Christian America by Robert P. Jones (2016)
- Beyond Resistance: The Institutional Church Meets the Postmodern World (2015)
- Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening by Diana Butler Bass (2012)
- American Religion: Contemporary Trends by Mark Chaves (2011)
So What?
This post considers the numeric decline in Mainline Protestantism over the last five decades. As an historical analysis, it focuses on what has happened.
Ultimately, however, the story of the Mainline is about what is happening and what will happen. It may continue to be a story of decline and could lead to the death of what we have long assumed was a permanent reality (e.g., the end of given denominations through merger or dissolution). And, it just might find that death leads to resurrection.