A Quick Question
What is the most volatile issue facing mainline denominations?
The quick answer -- Homosexuality
The longer answer-- In a 1997-98 study, issues surrounding homosexuality were named in half of the mainline Protestant churches surveyed in as denominational issues that concerned the congregation.
The study of 549 congregations, representing all religious groups, is described in detail at the Organizing Religious
Work page. One hundred ninety one of these were from the liberal and moderate Protestant groups such as the United Church of Christ, the United Methodists, the Presbyterian Church and others that are often dubbed the "mainline."
In some mainline denominations the issue is ordination to the ministry, in others it is the "blessing" of same-sex unions, and in others both issues are on the table. 
In contrast, these issues were almost never named by churches in Evangelical, Pentecostal, Catholic, or historic African American denominations.
Congregations in different denominations within the "mainline" are not equally "liberal" (or "conservative") on these issues. In most, between a quarter and a third of congregations are clearly on the liberal side.
While the numbers in the study are small, all but 4 of the 21 Presbyterian churches surveyed were worried about gay issues, while only 4 of the 14 Reformed Church in America churches reported this as an important issue. For the United Methodist, the high proportion of tradition-minded Methodist churches signals the difficulty gay rights advocates are likely to have in that denomination for the foreseeable future.
The real differences are in the balance between clearly conservative congregations – the majority of the Methodists – and those where opinions are mixed – the majority among Presbyterians, Lutherans, and the Reformed Church, and the plurality among Episcopalians.
| |
% who Name Gay Issues as a Concern |
Of Those Who See Gay Issues
as Important the percent who |
Support Inclusion |
Oppose Inclusion |
Have mixed opinions |
All Mainline Protestants (191) |
50% |
26% |
31% |
43% |
United Church of Christ (38) |
24% |
22% |
44% |
33% |
United Methodist Church (54) |
56% |
20% |
57% |
23% |
Episcopal Church (35) |
66% |
30% |
22% |
48% |
Presbyterian Church, USA (21) |
81% |
35% |
12% |
53% |
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (15) |
33% |
-- |
20% |
80% |
Reformed Church in America (14) |
36% |
20% |
-- |
80% |
Congregational leaders most often reported that their own members are divided on these issues – sometimes actively divided, but more often still wrestling with just what they think.
Rather than a polarized battle between liberal churches and conservative ones, most denominations are thoroughly mixed, right down to the local level.
That mixture suggests both the active and possibly volatile nature of the issue into the future , but also the degree to which change is underway.
To read more about the topic of homosexuality and religion go to our section of the web site devoted to this issue.
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