Author Daniel Williams notes that several mainline pastors are running for Congress this year with a good chance of success. This hasn’t happened in many decades.
From 1776 to 1946, nearly all politicians were mainline. Very few Catholics or Baptists or Jews. After WW2 the other religions moved into politics, crowding out the mainliners.
Mainline churches are dying out fast. The preachers are flaming progressives and the Boomer congregations are establishment D or R types. Like car dealers in Amish territory, the mismatch can’t succeed.
Williams thinks the publicity and influence of mainline pastors in politics could encourage progressive yoots to return to their roots. It’s a fresh idea for sure. Seems like it could be an important change, so I’m noting it for the record.
The opposite vector could be even more important, though Williams doesn’t seem to say it. National political exposure could encourage those flaming progressive pastors to douse part of their fire, appealing to a wider audience.
