Using Mainline/Oldline Churches as Reference Points

P.J. O'Rourke does so after a quick trip to Afghanistan. h/t Red Stick Rant

"The quiet mullah was quietly dressed and modestly bearded, his close-cut hair topped with a simple turban. He was immediately recognizable as 'mainstream.' I don't mean he was hopelessly mainstream to the post-religious point like some American clergy. I'd compare him to a solid Methodist or Presbyterian or picket fence Baptist, not unwilling to make his sermons socially relevant but no Kumbaya singing."