Mainline vs. Evangelical Protestantism

These labels are very subjective, vague, and overlapping, but, in general, it’s a spectrum between liberal and conservative Protestant Christianity.

An evangelical Christian believes that:

1. The Bible is the inerrant word of God
2. Salvation can only be achieved by personally accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior
3. Christians must spread this information and persuade others to be saved, because it – the “evangel” or “Good News” – is the most valuable information in human history

A mainline Protestant doesn’t necessarily disbelieve the above, but they have looser interpretations of it.

1. The Bible might be the word of God in some cases, but in others, it’s simply oral tradition, allegorical, or might have undergone translation or interpretation errors
2. Salvation is personal, and people might take different paths to get their, even different faiths
3. As important as proselytizing are issues of social justice and helping the less fortunate

An evangelical Christian might also be labeled a “fundamentalist” or a “conservative Christian.”

A mainline Christian might also be labeled a “modernist” or a “liberal Christian.”

Churches and denominations generally exist on a spectrum, towards one end or the other. Their position on this spectrum might differ depending on the issue under debate.

Some of this dates back to an episode in the 1920s called The Fundamentalist – Modernist Controversy. This was a period of American church upheaval where debate about the basic concepts of the faith (listed above) came to a boiling point, and many churches split.

Other differences have been more gradual and have come about through the intertwining of religion and politics in the United States in the second half of the 20th century.

I asked my pastor what he considers our church:

That’s a tough question because everyone defines it a little bit differently. If I had to choose between the two, I would say evangelical protestant. Mainline to me is like High church, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Congregational.

Why I Looked It Up

I was looking at some religious demographic statistics, and it noted difference populations for “Mainline Protestant” and “Evangelical Protestant.” I realized that I didn’t know the difference.

Postscript

I had a text conversation with some friends about my church – Central Church in Sioux Falls, SD, which is a member of the Converge denomination – and where we sit on the spectrum.

Evangelical. 100%. There are only a couple of Baptist denominations considered mainline.

Then was was some discussion of how the term “evangelical” is currently perceived in society.

[…] the term evangelical has been hijacked and is now more associated with politics and culture war stuff than with Jesus.

Some evangelicals have abandoned the term altogether because of the baggage and conflict it creates. It’s a lot simpler to say, “I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus.”