Faith and Race in American Political Life

Racial Justice in the Protestant Mainline: Liberalism and Its Limits

While the Christian Right has been the focus of considerable scholarly and media attention for the past two and a half decades, it is hardly the only politically significant sector of American religion. The so-called mainline Protestant denominations experienced declines in both political power and membership during the last half century, yet they continue to maintain a significant public presence in many areas of American life (Wuthnow and Evans 2002). This essay discusses the racial justice–related discourses and practices of the five largest mainline Protestant denominations: the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ.1 I argue that mainline denominations mirror the diversity and conflict of racial ideologies in the larger American society, particularly the majority white population, in the post–civil rights era. While mainline denominational leaders continue to call for substantive measures to bring about greater racial equality, mainline laypeople mostly prefer to maintain the racial status quo. Racial minority leaders in mainline denominations give their white colleagues a mixed scorecard, sometimes criticizing the latter group’s “paternalism” and sometimes commending its efforts to bring about great “empowerment” of racial minorities. And while mainline Protestantism ’s historical commitment to intellectual respectability has translated into attempts to draw from social scientific perspectives on race, this has not prevented mainline church leaders from frequently approaching racial issues in simplistic ways. Despite all of this, mainline denominations play important roles in furthering racial justice through numerous types of public advocacy. The data for this study came primarily from documents related to racial issues produced by mainline denominations, including official social statements on race, mission statements, strategy blueprints, reports of actions, internal Racial Justice in the Protestant Mainline Liberalism and Its Limits Antony W. Alumkal 276 Antony W. Alumkal assessments, and antiracism training literature. Additionally, I drew on interviews with five individuals, one from each denomination in this study, who was or had been employed by a mainline church’s racial justice unit.2 Additional data for this study came from an unusual and unexpected, but ultimately quite valuable, experience of participant observation. During the academic year 2004–5, the Iliff School of Theology, where I teach, was formally charged by the United Methodist Church with being a racist institution. Consequently , I and other faculty members interacted with members of the United Methodist Church’s official racial justice unit, the General Commission on Religion and Race. My participation in these events provided me with data normally unavailable to social scientists. After presenting a broad picture of mainline denominations ’ racial dynamics based on the above-mentioned documents and interviews , I discuss how the Iliff case study further refines our understanding. Mainline Denominations and Their Social Location The term “mainline” refers to a set of Protestant denominations that for much of the twentieth century could be regarded as a type of unofficial religious establishment in the United States. The mainline denominations included Episcopalians , Congregationalists (a predecessor body to the United Church of Christ), Disciples of Christ, and major denominations associated with the Lutheran, Methodist (excluding African American denominations), and Presbyterian traditions . Religious groups not considered to be part of the mainline churches included evangelical and fundamentalist denominations, Pentecostals, the Roman Catholic Church, African American denominations, Eastern Orthodox bodies, sectarian Christian groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and non-Christian religions. Mainline denominations formed the bulk of the Federal Council of Churches in the first half of the twentieth century and the National Council of Churches after its founding in 1950. As Wuthnow and Evans (2002) note, the term “mainline” has become problematic, insofar as these denominations account for less than a tenth of the American population and this proportion continues to shrink. Yet these denominations continue to exercise considerable social influence, even if their “quiet” style, noted by Wuthnow and Evans, contrasts with the more aggressive style of the Christian Right. The influence comes in no small part from the fact that mainline denominations have a disproportionate number of members with above-average income and educational levels. Racially, the mainline denominations are characterized by overwhelmingly white lay memberships. While precise data do not exist for the Episcopal Church Racial Justice in the Protestant Mainline 277 or the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (2007a) reports that 97 percent of its members are white, the Presbyterian Church (U.S...