Can Conservative Christians Take Back Mainline Churches?
When you picture an American church, what comes to mind?
Is it a palatial, gothic cathedral that dwarfs its neighboring buildings and carries with it an air of ancient mystery?
Is it a small, white chapel with a sharp steeple and a quiet humility about its presence?
Or does an American church conjure up a visual that isn’t all that glorious or all that quaint — something like a strip mall or a sprawling campus of boxy structures reminiscent of a large convention center?
While many Americans might picture the latter, equating all American Christianity with the sort of no-bells-and-whistles aesthetic approach of evangelicalism, American Christianity is no stranger to beautiful architecture.
In nearly every American city, beautiful, complex church buildings can be found featuring spires, stained glass, clock towers and vaulted ceilings.
In fact, some American church traditions are in possession of many of these houses of worship. But for many conservative Protestants, these beautiful (and traditional-looking) churches stand in contrast with their perceptions that many mainline traditions have departed from theological orthodoxy.
With many mainline traditions affirming LGBTQ lifestyles and, more importantly, calling into question core Christian doctrines, it has been generally accepted that theologically conservative believers ought to steer clear of the mainline churches.
That position may be changing. In 2023, Christian Gen-Z YouTuber Richard Ackerman, known online as Redeemed Zoomer, began what he dubbed as “Operation Reconquista.” The project, which now appears to have changed its name to “Operation Reformation,” is a movement of American Christians who believe that restoring orthodoxy in mainline churches is possible and deeply important. And they don’t discriminate by denomination.
“Operation Reformation” seeks to reform the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and others. Their strategy is to have Christians join mainline congregations that hold to more traditional Christian views, thus strengthening the conservative minority as the progressive majority, in their view, inevitably dies out.
Though it certainly is a motivation, the movement isn’t merely about reclaiming the physical church buildings. It is about reclaiming the cultural influence that many of these denominations hold for the American public. These churches often already have robust networks of service and outreach organizations, they are located conveniently in the center of American towns, and they are generally well connected to many facets of life, from local government to community events.
To better understand why conservative Christians are beginning to consider joining a mainline church and why their presence just might be effective, Religion Unplugged’s culture critic Joseph Holmes interviewed Joe Colletti, who is known online as Young Anglican. Colletti was previously a member of the Anglican Church in North America, but has recently left the ACNA to join The Episcopal Church.
Though he has been vocally cautious and even resistant to “Operation Reconquista” since its founding, he has now embraced the mainline, but with a key difference from the rest of the movement: Colletti is interested only in the reclaiming of the church, which sits at the center of historical American social influence: The Episcopal Church.
You can listen to the Religion Unplugged podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Matthew Peterson is Religion Unplugged’s podcast editor and audience development coordinator. He took part in this past summer’s European Journalism Institute held in Prague, an annual program co-sponsored by The Media Project.