Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. It is a term most often applied in the arts (i.e., music, literature, and performance). This includes:
As such, the mainstream includes all popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media. The opposite of the mainstream are subcultures, countercultures, cult followings and underground cultures.
Additionally, Mainstream is sometimes a codeword used for one's own actual ethnocentric or subculture point of view, especially when delivered in a culture war speech.
Religiously, the mainstream specifically includes those in the majority opinion of theology specific to one's faith or denomination. For example: Those within Christianity who believe "Jesus Christ (to be) the literal Son of God and co-equally divine with God" would be viewed as the mainstream or majority opinion within Christendom; while those who held that the Messiah was a human prophet sent of God woul...
