The Decline of Mainline Churches in America

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As a Gen Z, when I was in high school, I was one of the few that actually went to church regularly on Sundays. My generation is simply not religious at all. Even the self-proclaimed Christians weren't really Christians. They simply claimed that because their parents also claimed to be Christians and they'd occasionally come to church on Christmas or Easter.

They changed themselves and tried to appeal to people that would never be Christian anyway and lost themselves in the process

I got kicked out of my church for the mortal sin of… going away to college for 2 years. When they found out I was going to be staying in A dorm they called me to tell me I’m not a member anymore. They told me if I’m not attending that specific church I’m not a member. And they were taking me off their books. I used to be a Presbyterian. If that was their attitude I have no intention of going back.

My family is United Methodist. Back in the 2000s - early 2010s, we were already seeing a decline. I attended numerous conferences and meetings trying to address this. At the time, there was a big trend to "modernize" the service with modern music, church bands and removing traditional elements. Frankly, most modern music was poor then. Repetitive and musically incompetent. And the church bands were like listening to a middle school concert repeatedly every Sunday. I advocated for some churches retaining their traditional elements but was repeatedly told that didn't know what I was talking about. It was heart breaking to watch as those in charge were convinced this was the right and only path. Obviously, it wasn't. I have not attended any church in many years. It was too painful to watch my congregation die.

One question every church leader and member have to ask themselves is: if we close our doors for good, will our neighborhood or city even notice it or miss us?

I can't speak for other denominations, but as a former Episcopalian, they keep non active members on the books. And many of the smaller episcopal churches don't have the staff to do any kind of correct record keeping. My husband, who never joined the Episcopal church, but did attend with me, gets letters from the diocese once a year begging money. And my baptism records stopped being transferred decades ago, even when I was active. With that knowledge, I feel like their decline is far worse than they report.

We belong to one of three Catholic Churches in our county in NC. We have been here 11 yrs and the parish has grown tremendously. When we moved here the parish was largely older. Now the masses are very full and many more younger families. Lots and lots of kids now.

There has been a general decline in church attendance in the last 75 years as incomes and living standards grew along with pervasive consumer materialism. This is true not only in the USA, but in developed economies generally. What has not declined is a cultural belief in fairness and truth, especially in the young. Alongside growing materialism has grown a global economy dominated by large corporations with an international mix of shareholders who for the most part adhere to no moral standards while falsely professing to do so, including oil companies advertising how green, socially responsible, moral and honest they are and that they are working towards the improvement of the lot of humanity. Of course, this is all part of the soulless money making machine. TV evangelists like Kenneth Copeland, Paula White perfectly reflect Matthew 7:15. "Beware false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing, for beneath they are as ravening wolves."

I'd say that it's more that the role mainline churches have historically played in American Christianity is becoming obsolete. They were the big-tent denominations that people ended up in through social, familial, or cultural inertia when they hadn't made a conscious decision to practice elsewhere. In a world where Christianity is more of an opt-in culture than an opt-out one, the "true believers" are increasingly moving towards denominations and congregations filled with the like-minded while the less committed just leave altogether since there isn't as much social stigma attached to not being a churchgoer. My late grandfather had not a spiritual bone in his body, but still sent his kids to church because that's just what you did in those days. He picked a Lutheran congregation because it was the closest church to his house and he figured that one church was as good as another for fulfilling social expectations. I suspect that were he raising a family nowadays, he probably wouldn't have bothered with the whole charade and just become one of the "nones".

Many churches function as social clubs rather than communities of significant and Spirit-grounded existential depth from my vantage...

As a born and raised Greek Orthodox Christian, contrary to the experiences of many others here, the churches I attend have been mostly made up of younger members and new families, and our churches are rapidly growing. I'm happy that Orthodoxy is showing many of my younger generation the grace of God however the overall decline of Christianity in America is alarming.

18:29 I actually enjoy speaking with the elderly folks at my Catholic Church, especially during the coffee and donuts afterwards. I am astonished how well educated they all are. Listening to their stories is the highlight of my week.

Secularization is an issue on the conservative side too - so much of it getting sucked up into outright politics with religion co-opted into the culture war narrative.

If these older churches have the facilities to do childcare during the workweek, that would be one way for them to reach out to younger families.

The decline becomes even more striking when you consider that the US population as a whole grew by nearly 20% since 2000.

My grandfather described the church of his times and why so many people attended. Families stayed in the town for decades. Two factories enabled men to support their families on one paycheck. The residents grew up with each other, worked together, and worshipped together. Todays' churches are mostly filled with people who live in different neighborhoods. They don't know each other. No one drove to church. There were no parking lots. Everyone walked to church, which was a few blocks away. The pastor lived in a working class neighborhood and was just an ordinary guy like the rest of the residents. Sermons were 10-15 minutes long. The rest of church time was spent on who needed help in the neighborhood and how they could be helped. When the factories closed down, young people left to find job opportunities in the bigger cities. The bonds of community were broken. The only people who still went to church were the elderly people who had forged communal bonds for decades. Younger people in the town didn't grow up with these strong communal bonds. The younger folks also couldn't afford to settle down very long as good jobs were gone. They relocate and never settle down because economic conditions can change rapidly.

I remember in high school when my English teacher (not a Christian) was explaining the Mainline Churches and their cultural influence in America to my class (majority non-Christian). As it turns out, almost none of us had met a self-identified Presbyterian, Lutheran, or Episcopalian in our entire lives. What Christians were in that class were either nondenom Evangelicals or Catholics, and they hadn't heard of the so-called Mainline Churches either. That was 10 years ago in California. The only people I know for sure to have attended Mainline churches are my mom's mom (who stopped going in the 80s) and my dad's dad, a lifelong Episcopalian. I always find the term Mainline curious, because to me it seems like these churches haven't been in the majority or culturally relevant for some 30 years now.

It's astonishing the amount of Christians say we need to send more missionaries overseas as our nation dwindles in numbers of those professing Christ and Him crucified.

Its so sad how people are leaving traditional worship (like my PCUSA church) and seeking out literal rock concert churches. I say this as a 19 year old.