Editing Presbyterian Church (USA) (section)

===20th century to the present===
{{Main|Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy}}
[[File:Church of the Pilgrims - Blizzard of 2010.JPG|thumb|[[Church of the Pilgrims (Washington, D.C.)|Church of the Pilgrims]] (built 1929) in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[File:First Presbyterian Church from south.jpg|thumb|upright|The First Presbyterian Church in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], seen from the south down [[Fifth Avenue]]]]

The early part of the 20th century saw continued growth in both major sections of the church. It also saw the growth of [[Fundamentalist Christianity]] (a movement of those who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible as the fundamental source of the religion) as distinguished from [[Modernist Christianity]] (a movement holding the belief that Christianity needed to be re-interpreted in light of modern scientific theories such as [[evolution]] or the rise of degraded social conditions brought on by [[industrialization]] and [[urbanization]]).

Open controversy was sparked in 1922, when [[Harry Emerson Fosdick]], a modernist and a [[Baptist]] pastoring a PCUSA congregation in New York City, preached a sermon entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" The crisis reached a head the following year when, in response to the New York Presbytery's decision to ordain a couple of men who could not affirm the virgin birth, the PCUSA's General Assembly reaffirmed the "five fundamentals": the deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the vicarious atonement, the inerrancy of Scripture, and Christ's miracles and resurrection.<ref>D.G. Hart & John Muether ''Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism ''(P&R Publishing, 2007) pg. 192</ref> This move against modernism caused a backlash in the form of the ''[[Auburn Affirmation]]''&nbsp;— a document embracing liberalism and modernism. The liberals began a series of ecclesiastical trials of their opponents, expelled them from the church and seized their church buildings. Under the leadership of [[J. Gresham Machen]], a former [[Princeton Theological Seminary]] New Testament professor who had founded [[Westminster Theological Seminary]] in 1929, and who was a PCUSA minister, many of these conservatives would establish what became known as the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]] in 1936. Although the 1930s and 1940s and the ensuing [[neo-orthodox]] theological consensus mitigated much of the polemics during the mid-20th century, disputes erupted again beginning in the mid-1960s over the extent of involvement in the [[civil rights movement]] and the issue of [[ordination of women]], and, especially since the 1990s, over the issue of ordination of homosexuals.

====Mergers====
[[File:Presbyterian Family Connections.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|Evolution of Presbyterianism in the United States]]
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was joined by the majority of the [[Cumberland Presbyterian Church]], mostly congregations in the border and Southern states, in 1906. In 1920, it absorbed the Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church. The United Presbyterian Church of North America merged with the PCUSA in 1958 to form the [[United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America]] (UPCUSA).

Under [[Eugene Carson Blake]], the UPCUSA's stated clerk, the denomination entered into a period of social activism and ecumenical endeavors, which culminated in the development of the [[Confession of 1967]] which was the church's first new confession of faith in three centuries. The 170th General Assembly in 1958 authorized a committee to develop a brief contemporary statement of faith. The 177th General Assembly in 1965 considered and amended the draft confession and sent a revised version for general discussion within the church. The 178th General Assembly in 1966 accepted a revised draft and sent it to presbyteries throughout the church for final ratification. As the confession was ratified by more than 90% of all presbyteries, the 178th General Assembly adopted it in 1967. The UPCUSA also adopted a ''Book of Confessions'' in 1967, which would include the Confession of 1967, the [[Westminster Confession]] and [[Westminster Shorter Catechism]], the [[Heidelberg Catechism]], the [[Second Helvetic Confession|Second Helvetic]] and [[Scots Confession]]s and the [[Barmen Declaration]].<ref>Hart & Meuther, p. 217</ref>

An attempt to reunite the United Presbyterian Church in the USA with the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States]] in the late 1950s failed when the latter church was unwilling to accept ecclesiastical [[centralization]]. In the meantime, a conservative group broke away from the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States]] in 1973, mainly over the issues of women's ordination and a perceived drift toward theological liberalism. This group formed the [[Presbyterian Church in America]] (PCA).

Attempts at union between the churches (UPCUSA and PCUS) were renewed in the 1970s, culminating in the merger of the two churches to form the Presbyterian Church (USA) on June 10, 1983. At the time of the merger, the churches had a combined membership of 3,121,238.<ref name="membership loss">Kibler, Craig M. [http://www.layman.org/News.aspx?article=23664 PCUSA projects largest membership loss ever in 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184208/http://www.layman.org/News.aspx?article=23664 |date=June 13, 2011 }}. ''Presbyterian Layman'', February 19, 2008.</ref> Many of the efforts were spearheaded by the financial and outspoken activism of retired businessman [[Thomas Clinton]] who died two years before the merger.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} A new national headquarters was established in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] in 1988 replacing the headquarters of the UPCUSA in [[New York City]] and the PCUS located in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].

The merger essentially consolidated moderate-to-liberal American Presbyterians into one body. Other US Presbyterian bodies (the Cumberland Presbyterians being a partial exception) place greater emphasis on doctrinal Calvinism, literalist hermeneutics, and conservative politics.

For the most part, PC(USA) Presbyterians, not unlike similar mainline traditions such as the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] and the [[United Church of Christ]], are fairly progressive on matters such as doctrine, environmental issues, sexual morality, and economic issues, though the denomination remains divided and conflicted on these issues. Like other mainline denominations, the PC(USA) has also seen a great deal of demographic aging, with fewer new members and declining membership since 1967.

====Social justice initiatives and renewal movements====

In the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, the General Assembly of PC(USA) adopted several social justice initiatives, which covered a range of topics including: stewardship of God's creation, world hunger, homelessness, and LGBT issues. As of 2011 the PC(USA) no longer excludes Partnered Gay and Lesbian ministers from the ministry. Previously, the PC(USA) required its ministers to remain "''chastely in singleness or with fidelity in marriage''." Currently, the PC(USA) permits teaching elders to perform same-gender marriages. On a congregational basis, individual sessions (congregational governing bodies) may choose to permit same-gender marriages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/ga221-civil-union-marriage-faq.pdf |title=Frequently Asked Questions: Civil Union and Marriage |website=Pcusa.org |access-date=October 21, 2016 |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312213219/http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/ga221-civil-union-marriage-faq.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

These changes have led to several renewal movements and denominational splinters. Some conservative-minded groups in the PC(USA), such as the [[Confessing Movement]] and the Presbyterian Lay Committee (formed in the mid-1960s)<ref>{{cite web|title=The history of the Presbyterian Lay Committee|url=http://www.layman.org/about-us/the-history-of-the-presbyterian-lay-committee/|website=layman.org|access-date=July 25, 2016|archive-date=August 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808201023/http://www.layman.org/about-us/the-history-of-the-presbyterian-lay-committee|url-status=live}}</ref> have remained in the main body, rather than leaving to form new, break-away groups.

====Breakaway Presbyterian denominations====
Several Presbyterian denominations have split from PC(USA) or its predecessors over the years. For example, the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]] broke away from the Presbyterian Church in the USA in 1936.

More recently formed Presbyterian denominations have attracted PC(USA) congregations disenchanted with the direction of the denomination, but wishing to continue in a Reformed, Presbyterian denomination. The [[Presbyterian Church in America]] (PCA), which does not allow ordained female clergy, separated from Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1973 and has subsequently become the second largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States. The [[Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)|Evangelical Presbyterian Church]] (EPC), which gives local presbyteries the option of allowing ordained female pastors, broke away from the United Presbyterian Church and incorporated in 1981. A PC(USA) renewal movement, [[Fellowship of Presbyterians]] (FOP) (now [[The Fellowship Community]]), held several national conferences serving disaffecting Presbyterians. FOP's organizing efforts culminated with the founding of [[ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians]] (ECO), a new Presbyterian denomination that allows ordination of women but is more conservative theologically than PC(USA).

In 2013 the presbyteries ratified the General Assembly's 2012 vote to allow the ordination of openly gay persons to the ministry and in 2014 the General Assembly voted to amend the church's constitution to define marriage as the union of two persons instead of the union of a man and woman, which was ratified (by the presbyteries) in 2015. This has led to the departure of several hundred congregations. The majority of churches leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) have chosen to join other denominations such as the [[Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)|Evangelical Presbyterian Church]] or [[ECO (denomination)|ECO]]. Few have chosen to join the larger more conservative [[Presbyterian Church in America]], which does not permit female clergy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.thearda.com/trend/featured/more-than-sex-why-hundreds-of-congregations-made-final-break-with-mainline-denominations/|title=Not just gay issues: Why hundreds of congregations made final break with mainline denominations – Ahead of the Trend|website=Blogs.thearda.com|date=November 24, 2014|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426105042/http://blogs.thearda.com/trend/featured/more-than-sex-why-hundreds-of-congregations-made-final-break-with-mainline-denominations/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Youth====
Since 1983 the Presbyterian Youth Triennium has been held every three years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, US, and is open to Presbyterian high school students throughout the world. The very first Youth Triennium was held in 1980 at Indiana University and the conference for teens is an effort of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the nation; [[Cumberland Presbyterian Church]]; and [[Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America]], the first African-American denomination to embrace Presbyterianism in the reformed tradition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/|title=Presbyterian (USA) Youth Triennium 2013|website=Presbyterianyouthtriennium.org|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=June 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613224201/http://presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1907, Montreat, North Carolina has hosted a youth conference every year. In 1983, [[Montreat Conference Center]] became a National Conference Center of the PC(USA) when the northern and southern denominational churches reunited.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://montreat.org/about/history |website=Montreat Conference Center |access-date=October 25, 2020 |title=History |date=January 31, 2018 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029234052/https://montreat.org/about/history |url-status=live }}</ref>