Christian Pure
Denominations Compared92 articles

PCUSA vs PCA: How the Mainline and the Conservative Presbyterian Churches Differ

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • The PC(USA) is the mainline Presbyterian church, formed on 10 June 1983 when the southern PCUS and the northern UPCUSA reunited after 122 years apart.
  • The PCA was organized on 4 December 1973 in Birmingham, Alabama, as the National Presbyterian Church, by conservatives leaving the PCUS, and took its present name in 1974.
  • The PCA asks its ministers to call Scripture “the inerrant Word of God”; the PC(USA) asks its officers to accept it as “the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ.”
  • The PC(USA) has ordained women as elders since 1930 and as ministers since 1956; in the PCA church offices are “open to men only.”
  • The PC(USA) changed its ordination rule in 2011 and its definition of marriage in 2015; in the PCA marriage “is only to be between one man and one woman.”
  • The PC(USA) had 1,019,003 members in 8,304 congregations at the end of 2025; the PCA had 400,751 members counting baptized children (313,001 communicant members) in 1,667 churches at the end of 2024.
  • PC(USA) church property is held in trust for the denomination, while PCA congregations own their buildings outright.

The PCUSA is the mainline Presbyterian church, and the PCA is the conservative one. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was formed in 1983 when the northern and southern churches reunited; the Presbyterian Church in America left the southern church in 1973. They differ on how they hold Scripture and the Westminster Confession, on ordaining women, and on marriage and sexuality. They are cousins, and you can hear it. Both are Reformed churches. Both are governed by elders, baptize the children of…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotation from the King James Version: Titus 1:5. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+1%3A5&version=KJV
  • Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Book of Order 2025–2027 (Interactive Version): Preface; F-1.0403; F-3.0203; G-1.0404; G-2.0104; G-2.0401; G-4.0203; W-4.0404; W-4.0601. https://pcusa.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/2025_0724_Book_of_Order_Interactive_2025-2027.pdf
  • Presbyterian Church in America. The Book of Church Order, 2026 edition: Preface III; 6-1, 6-2; 7-2; 8-2; 10-1, 10-2; 11-3; 21-5; 25-9, 25-10; 58-4; 59-3. https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/BCO_2026.pdf
  • Presbyterian News Service. “PC(USA) still home to more than 1 million members,” 29 June 2026. https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2026/6/29/pcusa-still-home-more-1-million-members
  • PCA Administrative Committee. “Presbyterian Church in America Statistics, Five-Year Summary” (2020–2024). https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/90-5-Year-Summary-2024.pdf
  • Presbyterian News Service. “Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approves change in ordination standard,” 10 May 2011. https://old.pcusa.org/news/2011/5/10/presbyterian-church-us-approves-change-ordination/
  • Presbyterian News Service. “Amendment 14-F approved,” 17 March 2015. https://old.pcusa.org/news/2015/3/17/amendment-14-f-approved/
  • Presbyterian News Service. “PC(USA) celebrates 70 years of women clergy,” 30 March 2026. https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2026/3/30/pcusa-celebrates-70-years-women-clergy
  • Presbyterian News Service and Presbyterian Historical Society. “Stories from GA: 1983 Reunion,” 30 June 2022. https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2022/6/30/stories-ga-1983-reunion
  • Presbyterian News Service and Presbyterian Historical Society. “Stories from GA” (the 1958 union of the UPCNA and the PCUSA), 21 June 2022. https://pcusa.org/news/2022/6/21/stories-ga/
  • Presbyterian News Service. “Amendment 24-A wins approval from a majority of presbyteries,” 12 March 2025. https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2025/3/12/amendment-24-wins-approval-majority-presbyteries
  • The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 2.3. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
  • PCA Historical Center. “December 4: First General Assembly of the PCA (1973).” This Day in Presbyterian History. https://thisday.pcahistory.org/?p=11977
  • PCA Historical Center. “May 28: PCUSA/UPCNA Merger (1958).” This Day in Presbyterian History. https://thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/05/may-28-pcusaupcna-merger-1958/
  • Encyclopedia of Alabama. “Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).” https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/presbyterian-church-in-america-pca/
  • Orthodox Presbyterian Church. “About the OPC.” https://opc.org/about.html
  • Evangelical Presbyterian Church. “Our Story.” https://epc.org/our-story/ ; “Position Paper on the Ordination of Women.” https://epc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PositionPaper-OrdinationOfWomen.pdf
  • ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. “Our Story.” https://eco-pres.org/our-story ; “Is ECO Egalitarian?” https://eco-pres.org/egalitarian

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