There is a common canard that Mainline Protestants are radical leftists. This impression is fed by “woke” preacher clips from Mainline pulpits and other online characterizations that portray only a very small segment of the Mainline world.
A recent post from church demographer Ryan Burge showed Mainliners, particularly Episcopalians and United Church of Christ people, are the most politically engaged of religious adherents. Chortling responses assumed this proved Religious Left activism. But the statistics only showed activism by individuals, not denominations, and did not indicate the form or ideological slant of their activism.
It is true that Mainline Protestant denominational officials have touted far left causes for the last 60-100 years. But they have never spoken for most church members or even most clergy. Their advocacy, even at the height of their powers 60 years ago, has had little to no impact on most church members. And their influence, as Mainline denominations fast recede, is lower than ever, in society, and within their own communions.
What are Mainline Protestants? They are the “seven sister” denominations that are United Methodist (3.9 million members), Evangelical Lutheran (2.7 million), Episcopal (1.5 million), American Baptist (1.3 million), Presbyterian Church (USA) (1 million), United Church of Christ (700,000) and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (under 300,000).
These communions are the historic Protestant groups that date to America’s founding, and some date much earlier. At the seminary level, they all theologically liberalized in the early 20th century. Despite often liberal clergy, thousands of Mainline congregations and millions of Mainline laity stayed traditional in their beliefs across decades.
Total Mainline membership is now 11.4 million, compared to about 30 million sixty years ago. According to a 2025 Pew survey, about 11 percent of American adults identify as Mainline Protestant (compared to 23 percent identifying as Evangelical), which would be about 30 million people. What do they believe?
Contrary to negative online generalizations, they are not typically Marxists, drag queens, Antifa, or Hezbollah supporters. A Mainline Protestant is more typically a 70-year-old retired engineer, married to a retired teacher, living in a southern or midwestern leafy suburb, focused on their grandchildren, and politically centrist or right of center. Mainline clergy are often to the left of the laity, but even most of them are not far left, and significant minorities of them are politically and culturally conservative.
According to Pew, 28% of Mainliners live in the Midwest and 37% live in the South, 17% live in the Northeast and 18% live in the West. Thirty eight percent are 65 and older, and 27% are 50 to 65. Fifty-seven are female. Nearly 70 percent attended some college. They are nearly 80 percent white. Ninety-two percent are born in the U.S. Fifty-six percent are married and nine percent are widowed. One third have a household income above $100,000. Ninety three percent identify as sexually straight.
Fifty-one percent of Mainline Protestants lean Republican and 41 percent lean Democrat. The Republican number has increased over 20 years from 41 percent. Thirty-six percent identify as conservative and twenty percent identify as liberal, numbers that have stayed the same across twenty years. Forty-six percent have a negative view of the impact of immigration, only up slightly from twenty years ago.
By comparison, 55 percent of Evangelicals have a negative view of the impact of immigration; 43 percent of Eastern Orthodox have a negative view of immigration; 41 percent of Catholics are negative; 38 percent of Mormons are negative; Black Protestants are 26 percent negative.
Mainline Protestants have more liberal social views than do Evangelicals. Seventy-one percent of Mainliners, according to Pew, support same-sex marriage, although the poll does not distinguish between civil marriage and church marriage. Twenty-seven percent oppose. These numbers are about the same as for Catholics, who favor same sex marriage 70-28 percent. Eastern Orthodox favor 58-41 percent. Black Protestants are 56-41 percent in favor. Mormons oppose 56-41 percent. Evangelicals oppose same-sex marriage 62-36 percent.
On abortion, Black Protestants think abortion should be mostly legal by 72-27 percent. Eastern Orthodox favor mostly legal by 60-37 percent. Catholics favor mostly legal by 59-39 percent. Mainline Protestants are 69-29 percent. Evangelicals are 33-65 percent for mostly illegal. Mormons are more strongly pro-life, by 31-69 percent.
On environmental regulation, 53 percent of Evangelicals are negative; 51 percent of Mormons are negative; 41 percent of Eastern Orthodox are negative; 39 percent of Catholics are negative; 37 percent of Mainliners are negative; 35 percent of Black Protestants are negative.
While 51 percent of Mainliners lean GOP, 50 percent of Eastern Orthodox do; 49 percent of Catholics do; 20 percent of Black Protestants do; Evangelicals lean Republican by 70 percent but are outpaced by Mormons at 73 percent.
A more recent Public Religion Research Institute poll dug deeper into political views of Mainline Protestants, contrasting laity with clergy. It found Mainline church goers to be 34 percent Republican, 26 percent independent and 30 percent Democrat. The clergy, by contrast, were 14 percent Republican, 28 percent independent and 49 percent Democrat. American Baptist clergy were the most Republican with 32 percent, and United Methodist clergy were the second most Republican, at 19 percent. PRRI is left leaning but the poll rings true and echoes other polling.
In short, Mainline Protestants are mostly older white people, suburban, southern and Midwestern, married, straight, more Republican than the general population, and their social views are more liberal than Evangelicals but about the same as Catholics.
Sometimes urban Mainline sanctuaries, with their political signage, influence how many see Mainline Protestants, compounded by online chatter. But most Mainline Protestants are not in highly liberal and often activist urban churches. They mostly live in suburbs and small towns. Their congregations are more typically centrist and nonpolitical. Their clergy are usually more liberal than the laity, but most of them, especially the smart ones, keep their politics to themselves. Online woke preacher clips do not portray an average Mainline church.
Decades ago, Mainline Protestantism, institutionally, formed the core of the Religious Left, which was well funded thanks to collection plate money from mostly unknowing church members. But Mainline Protestantism’s institutional retreat and demographic collapse has left the Religious Left without a home.
Mainline Protestants deserve blame for unconsciously funding the old Religious Left across decades and for indifference to the decline of their institutions. But most church members were never partial to the Religious Left, and they remain, in diminished numbers, mostly centrist and conservative.
Comment by Thomas on August 4, 2026 at 2:24 pm
These polls don`t make a difference between practising and non-practising Roman Catholics, otherwise they certainly would be different. Remember some of these “Catholics” often have never set foot in a church in ages. Its more a case of “practical atheism”, those who claim to be Christians and live like they have no faith. There are plenty of these in the United States, whatever they call themselves.
Comment by Qohelet on August 4, 2026 at 3:31 pm
It’s amazing that Mr. Tooley can have all of the data in front of him and still draw the wrong conclusion.
He effectively argues in this piece that Mainline Protestants are pretty normal people. I agree completely. The average Mainline Protestant is an older educated (or self taught) person who has mostly worked hard and played by the rules their whole lives. If you showed up in their church next Sunday they’d be so glad to see you. Maybe they’d even give you a tote bag just for coming.
And then comes the argument that these middle of the road, intelligent, experienced people have been unwittingly ridden by the Religious Left. That’ll get folks to start flipping tables.
Every one of us in a mainline pew have gone through the scars of the culture wars of the last 25 years. We may be older and on many issues socially middle of the road or even conservative but we’ve made a choice to be there.
We’re choosing to be there despite what the religious right tried to do to our LGBT friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Their lives meant more to us than religious demonization. Maybe we worked with a gay person. Maybe we had a gay pastor who did a great job. We didn’t abandon those who were good to us.
We’re choosing to be there despite the religious right telling us that caring about dead Palestinian kids means we’re supporting Hamas. We want Israel to be safe. We may have dear friends that are Jewish and feel bound to support Israel. But we can’t lie about what’s happening or stop caring.
We’re choosing to be there when our denominations echo heros like Martin Luther King Jr or William Barber II when they say things like “people who work full time should make enough to eat.” We don’t know why that idea is considered far left.
You can’t make the claim that we’re a group of middle of the road, educated people and that we somehow don’t know what our pastors are doing.
We just don’t know what the religious right and evangelicals are doing. Sure doesn’t look much like what Jesus told them to.