The Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States and a pillar of American mainline Protestantism, has seen hundreds of its 11,000 churches leave for more conservative denominations in the last decade. Mark Valeri, a professor of religion and politics at Washington University in St. Louis, said the denomination formally embraces traditional Christian beliefs but tends to be liberal on social issues, such as gay marriage and the ordination of gay clergy, which the denomination approved in recent years.
Such stances have caused rifts with conservatives, who also object to some contemporary readings of theology.
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