How the Upstart Sects Won America: 1776-1850

Using our reconstructed denominational statistics for 1776 and 1850, we demonstrate that the so-called Protestant mainline began to collapse rapidly, not in the past several decades as is widely supposed, but late in the 18th Century. Hence, by 1850 the Baptists and Methodists vigorous, evangelical sects in that era dominated the religious landscape. Treating the Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists as firms competing within an unregulated religious economy, we seek to understand why the upstart sects won. The vital factors include organizational structures, the clergy, evangelical techniques and, perhaps most important, theology.