In his words:

After almost half a century of decline . . . those in the churchly mainline--particularly those on the left, politically and theologically--still cannot see their dependence on strong families. Blinded by their desire to be both "with it" and welcoming, they continue to lend vocal support to the family revolution that is draining their congregations.

As an illustration of this trend, he pointed to the "God is Still Speaking" media campaign undertaken by the United Church of Christ [UCC]:

The "Ejector Pew" commercial from this campaign has attracted attention. It depicts a WASP upper-middle-class nuclear family settling comfortably into a church pew as unconventional families--a black single mother, a gay couple, a single man, and so on--are ejected from their pews. The commercial closes with this tag: "The United Church of Christ: No matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here."

This campaign--and the larger sentiment behind it--is doubly ironic. First, despite their inclusive rhetoric, mainline Protestant congregations are actually less likely to have single parents, single adults, and married couples without children than are evangelical Protestant churches. Mainline Protestant churches attract upper-middle-class people who live in conventional families but also aspire to the progressive cultural conventions of their class, which is to say, they walk right and talk left. Evangelical Protestant churches attract working- and middle-class people who hail from a range of different family situations but who now aspire to live in accord with God's plan for their lives.

Wilcox identifies the UCC campaign as "ironic" for the very reason that it "embraces the trends that have been the undoing of the UCC--indeed, of all the mainline."  He also observes:  "The average young man raised in a Congregationalist home isn't likely to enter his local UCC church on any day except Christmas and Easter--unless he finds himself married with children."

Noting some of the same trends recognized by Mary Tedeschi Eberstadt [see article above], Professor Wilcox argues that the link between intact family structure (married couples with children) and congregational vitality is virtually a "sociological law."

Professor Wilcox offers a compelling sociological analysis.  Without doubt, basic theological issues lie just under the surface of these trends.  Theological liberalism weakened the mainline Protestant denominations long before the breakdown of family structure became evident.  A loss of confidence in the truthfulness and authority of the Bible preceded and facilitated a loss of confidence in the family -- including marriage, childbearing, and the crucial responsibility of fatherhood.