Over the years, I’ve written a lot about the democratic temples that process it. It’s simple to make fun of or shake our heads when we encounter the most intense illustrations, as I do in my Democratic Christianity Watch columns, but those are undoubtedly the extraordinary examples.
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These examples are a lot like those from traditionalist Christian churches. Major churches are defined in this manner by GotQuestions:
When people refer to “mainline churches,” they typically refer to the established, historical Christian organizations. American Baptist Churches in the USA, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church ( USA ), and the United Methodist Church are all listed in a list of the churches that are typically regarded as “mainline” in 2009. The list includes the United Church of Christ, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ ), Friends ( Quakers ), and a few other churches, according to additional sources.
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The major denominations are referred to as the “mainline denominations” because they are believed to be the most storied and important forms of Protestantism in America.
The major churches remained in power throughout the first half of the 20th centuries, but as these organizations and some of their adherents adopted more democratic theological and political views, they began to decline significantly. However, according to new information that Ryan Burge has discovered at Graphs About Religion, just because the rulers of these churches are more democratic doesn’t mean that their people are.
Democratic Christianity Watch: Poor Music Choices Edition is a good read.
Don’t hold back, because I’m going to put a lot of statistics at you. According to the Joint Election Study, an average of 12.6 % of voters identified as major Protestants in those studies.
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Burge recalls:
The mainstream in 2008 was evenly split between John McCain and Barack Obama. It was actually a 50/50 vote. But that was the most recent instance to come to mind. Mitt Romney won 54 % of the primary vote when he ran in 2012. Donald Trump won 54 % of the primary vote when he ran in 2016 in the primary. When he ran again in 2020, he received exactly the same share, 54 %. The only thing worth noting is that only 41 % of the votes were cast because the major wasn’t a big fan of Hillary Clinton. That was a small point at that time.
Burge analyzed those figures and compared them to denominations to find some intriguing statistics. Donald Trump won 53 % of the vote in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America last year, making up roughly half of the electorate’s vote in the elections from 2008 to 2024. Trump won an amazing 62 % of the Methodist vote, which is usually the case for Republicans.
Voters in the Presbyterian Church of America alternate between Democrats and Republicans, but 57 % of those who voted for Trump in November did so. In their election for president, members of the Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ ) are spread out across the country, but Trump received 51 % of the vote in that (quasi-)dedication in 2024. Trump received a minuscule majority of 51 % in the last year, yet the ultra-progressive United Church of Christ, Barack Obama’s preferred religion.
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Kamala Harris received the majority of the vote from two of the seven major churches in 2024. Since 2008, Episcopalians have overwhelmingly voted Democrat, with 55 % of them supporting Harris and only 40 % for Trump. Harris was preferred by fifty-two percent of American Christians, but Trump’s 48 % rating demonstrates a steady rise in GOP voters in that race.
Again, that’s a lot of numbers ( sorry ), but Trump saw the Republicans ‘ best performance in six of those seven denominations in November. Therefore, it makes sense to think that these individuals are more liberal than their rulers. Do those leaders care to take notice? I believe we are aware of the response to that query.
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