What of the Baptist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Christians collectively known as the \u201cmainline\u201d? Their long-declining <\/span>numbers now lag behind<\/span><\/a> those of evangelicals, Catholics, and \u201c<\/span>the nones<\/span><\/a>,\u201d but white mainline (or, if you prefer, \u201c<\/span>ecumenical<\/span><\/a>\u201d) Protestants still account for nearly 15% of the American population. And their politics are far more complicated than you may realize.<\/span><\/p>\n Right away, let me stress that I\u2019m not a political scientist, nor a historian of mainline Protestantism. But both because I\u2019m currently attending a mainline church and because people like me have tended to look past that particular intersection of religion and politics in order to zoom in on evangelicalism, I want to note some statistics and hazard some perhaps foolish explanations. If actual experts out there would like to write a guest post following up on this one, get in touch with me<\/a>. Now, on with the show!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Consider the largest Protestant denomination in my part of the country: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). At its <\/span>annual meeting<\/span><\/a> earlier this month, the ELCA not only passed statements condemning <\/span>patriarchy and white supremacy<\/span><\/a>, but made national news for declaring itself a \u201c<\/span>sanctuary church body<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Hundreds of delegates joined Lutheran activists in <\/span>marching a mile<\/span><\/a> to the Milwaukee office of the federal office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where they held a prayer vigil and posted 9.5 theses on care for refugees and other immigrants. \u201c<\/span>We put the protest back in Protestant,\u201d proclaimed some of the signs held by protestors. (And I don\u2019t think they meant it like <\/span>one of our blogging neighbors<\/span><\/a> does.)<\/span><\/p>\n As religion reporter Emily McFarlan Miller had <\/span>predicted<\/span><\/a>, the 2019 ELCA assembly offered \u201c<\/span>a window into the issues important to many progressive Christians across the country.\u201d But how many of the ELCA\u2019s 3.5 million members are actually (politically) progressive?<\/span><\/p>\n Gathering under the theme \"We are church,\" voting members of the 2019 Churchwide Assembly of the #ELCA<\/a> made a number of key decisions to further the mission and ministry of this church. <\/p>\n Summary of #ELCAcwa<\/a> actions: https:\/\/t.co\/aMk2oy4kVj<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mTqTJNsY0V<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ELCA Lutherans (@ELCA) August 15, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"Rural](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/168\/2019\/08\/45982688885_1bd42f3912_c.jpg\")
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