mainline vs evangelical Protestant

[MrShorty]

Here http://www.lds.net/forums/lds-gospel-discussion/43586-doctrine-vs-culture-2.html Windseeker posted some results from a survey of different religions. The survey seems to make a distinction between Evangelical Protestants and Mainline Protestants. What is an "Evangelical" and what is a "Mainline" Protestant?

[estradling75]

I moved the thread to the Christian Beliefs section

[prisonchaplain]

Mainline Protestants belong to more historic denominations, such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist. They tend to be more liberal/moderate in their politics, and in how they view the Bible. They rely more on liturgies and historic confessional statements (such as the Westminster Confession). Missionary efforts from the mainstream churches often focus on social welfare/justice. Evangelicals are an off-shoot of the Fundamentalist movement. They tend to be more conservative in politics, and in how they use the Bible (more literal, more insistent that the Bible is infallible). They also are much more likely to support preaching missionaries, and to seek converts. Many evangelicals belong to non-denominational churches. Think of Billy Graham...he is one of the founding figures in the modern evangelical movement.

[AnthonyB]

Really good book to read is "How wide the divide? A Mormon and an Evanglelical in Conversation" by Blomberg and Robinson

[Spartan117]

Mainline Protestants belong to more historic denominations, such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist. They tend to be more liberal/moderate in their politics, and in how they view the Bible. They rely more on liturgies and historic confessional statements (such as the Westminster Confession).

What about the creeds from the Ecumenical Councils?

[prisonchaplain]

Those would be of interest to the mainline churches...evangelicals tend to avoid ecumenicalism, prefering interdenominational cooperation to efforts to actually merge organizations.