Conclusion

Abstract

The conclusion considers what this history reveals about Protestantism’s place in American society. White mainline Protestants slowly came to witness their hold on American culture slip in the face of ethnic and religious diversity. Unlike other periods of history, however, Protestants did not resort to staunch nativism, but worked instead to incorporate immigrants into a nation that they believed was Christian. Mainline Protestants arrived at a pluralistic bargain whereby they gradually embraced cultural pluralism and immigration reform with the hope that they could also maintain the Protestant character of the nation. But as a result, they unwittingly facilitated religious pluralism that was a product of continued immigration. This in turn would ultimately undermine the position of mainline Protestants in American society. Finally, the conclusion provides historical context to statements religious leaders have made during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries on the government’s immigration and refugee policies.