Map of American Protestant denominations

[Alcibiades]

What is the ‘other’ in Northern Jersey and NYC. I would imagine some might be historically black churches, but others, most likely in NJ, must be something else. Dutch Reformed hangover?

[Alcibiades]

This is so interesting and reminds me of how the religious culture in the Midwest really was a throwback to earlier decades in America growing up, at least in my experience (obviously Catholics aren't on this map, but the Mainline vs. Evangelical divide is).  Mainline Protestantism was the norm, and then there were your Catholic friends.  Evangelical Protestantism was mostly a non-entity; I think I knew about two or three people who were Evangelicals.  Here is an anecdotal list of some friends' religions that I could recall growing up to give a snapshot:

14 - CHRISTIAN
8 - Mainline Protestant (3 Lutheran, 2 Methodist, 2 Episcopalian, 1 Presbyterian)
5 - Catholic
1 - Evangelical (Non-Denominational)
2 - JEWISH
2 - UNAFFILIATED

I know Iowa City/Johnson County as a whole is much more Catholic than that, so I am inclined to believe the west side (where we grew up) is much more Protestant.

Surprised Lutheranism isn't higher in Central Illinois, given the huge German populations there and that all of my family from there goes to very active Lutheran churches and seem to have a lot of Lutherans in their communities.

Would you say that most of these people were actually committed members of their churches? Because with me growing up (obviously in far more secular Britain), it was a case of counting friends who were religious on two hands. (3 Church of England, 4 Catholics (all 3 out of 4 of whom lost their religion during adolescence to varying degrees), 1 liberal Jew, 1 Orthodox Jew,  1 Muslim, 1 Sikh).

[Alcibiades]

Why is it sad? Mainline Protestantism's erosion is entirely its own doing.

Have to agree for the most part. The Mainline churches have made a lot of very poor decisions over the past half century, even down to relatively mundane administrative stuff.

Mainline Protestantism's woes are definitely at least partly self-inflicted but I wholly disagree with describing them as "entirely" so. My theory of the mainline decline hinges on the Great Sort; mainline Protestantism is too "establishment" to become a Blue Tribe religion (like, say, Reform or Reconstructionist Judaism) and has staked out sociopolitical Stances too liberal to become a Red Tribe religion (like, say, the Southern Baptist Convention), so there's nowhere for it to go or to be except the "disappearing center" along with Conservative and Modern Orthodox Judaism, Pauline Mass normie Catholicism, etc. I tend to think pretty well of all those "disappearing center" religions because I think the sociological point of religion in America should be social cohesion rather than sectionalist enmity-mongering, but I don't think my reluctance to completely blame them for their own troubles is entirely due to personal fondness.

Similar, but related, I would say that the cause of Mainline Protestantism’s decline is that as, over the past 50 years, more and more Americans have become irreligious, it has been from these denominations they have mainly been drawn. As a population becomes less religious, those left are likely to be more extreme in their beliefs.

[Alcibiades]

Why is it sad? Mainline Protestantism's erosion is entirely its own doing.

Have to agree for the most part. The Mainline churches have made a lot of very poor decisions over the past half century, even down to relatively mundane administrative stuff.

Mainline Protestantism's woes are definitely at least partly self-inflicted but I wholly disagree with describing them as "entirely" so. My theory of the mainline decline hinges on the Great Sort; mainline Protestantism is too "establishment" to become a Blue Tribe religion (like, say, Reform or Reconstructionist Judaism) and has staked out sociopolitical Stances too liberal to become a Red Tribe religion (like, say, the Southern Baptist Convention), so there's nowhere for it to go or to be except the "disappearing center" along with Conservative and Modern Orthodox Judaism, Pauline Mass normie Catholicism, etc. I tend to think pretty well of all those "disappearing center" religions because I think the sociological point of religion in America should be social cohesion rather than sectionalist enmity-mongering, but I don't think my reluctance to completely blame them for their own troubles is entirely due to personal fondness.

Similar, but related, I would say that the cause of Mainline Protestantism’s decline is that as, over the past 50 years, more and more Americans have become irreligious, it has been from these denominations they have mainly been drawn. As a population becomes less religious, those left are likely to be more extreme in their beliefs.

I would argue it's not about simply extremity of beliefs, but that Mainline Protestantism doesn't fulfill a core emotional need in the same way other branches of Christianity do.

I guess that 50-60 years ago, a large number of Mainline Protestants viewed religion and going to church as a primarily social activity. Their children and grandchildren have simply dispensed with this facade as it has become socially acceptable to be irreligious.