In the unlikely event y'all run out of things to argue about...
"There are more than 45,000 denominations globally.
Followers of Jesus span the globe. But the global body of more than 2 billion
Christians is separated into thousands of denominations. Pentecostal,
Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic, Methodist — the list goes on.
Estimations show there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the
U.S. and a staggering 45,000 globally, according to the Center for the Study
of Global Christianity. So why does Christianity have so many branches?
A cursory look shows that differences in belief, power grabs and corruption
all had a part to play.
But on some level, differentiation and variety have been markers of
Christianity since the very beginning, according to Diarmaid MacCulloch,
professor emeritus of church history at the University of Oxford in the United
Kingdom. "There's never been a united Christianity," he told Live Science.
The early church, which spans from the start of Jesus' ministry, in A.D. 27, to
A.D. 325, was divided primarily based on geography. Worship styles and
interpretations of Jesus' teachings varied based on regional cultures and
customs, according to Bruce Gordon, a professor of ecclesiastical history at
Yale Divinity School.
But there were also major breaks, or schisms, over Christian theology during
this time. One of the most notable early schisms, the Arian controversy in
the early fourth century, divided the church on Jesus' relationship with God.
Arius, a priest from Alexandria, Egypt, claimed that because Jesus was
"begotten," or brought about by God, he was a lesser divinity than God. But
Athanasius, an Alexandrian theologian, claimed that Jesus was God
incarnate.
"This caused major upheaval in the Roman Empire," said Christopher West, a
doctoral student of ancient Christianity and medieval studies at Yale
University. "It split Christians in the Roman Empire in half." The Council of
Nicea — a group of theologians and scholars gathered by Emperor
Constantine I in A.D. 325 — ultimately sided against Arius. But despite the
church's official view, Christians continued to be divided on the subject for
more than a century.
Then, in 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Christians split from the Western
Roman Catholics in what's known as the Great Schism. The two groups
disagreed on the taking of the sacraments — religious symbols believed to
transmit divine grace to the believer. Furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox
Christians disagreed with the Roman beliefs that priests should remain
celibate and that the Roman pope had authority over the head of the Eastern
church, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
There was even a temporary schism, known as the Western Schism, within
the Catholic Church itself in 1378, when two men, and eventually a third,
claimed to be the true papal heir. The division lasted almost 40 years, and by
the time it was resolved in 1417, the rivaling popes had significantly
damaged the reputation of the papal office.
Despite this handful of schisms, the Catholic Church successfully
suppressed other potential Christian offshoots "partly by sustained
persecution [including] actual military expeditions against some labelled
heretics, but then also a new system of enquiries into people's beliefs, called
inquisitions. With the backing of secular rulers, heretics might be burned at
the stake or forced into denying their beliefs," MacCulloch told Live Science
via email.
Denominations explode
But after the Protestant Reformation in 1517, the number of denominations
really began to multiply.
The Reformation — instigated by a number of events, most notably Martin
Luther's 95 Theses — emphasized a personal faith. This movement was in
reaction to the fact that interpretations of the Bible, grace (spontaneously
given love and mercy from God), the absolution of sins and entry into
heaven were all mediated through priests in Catholicism. Luther and his
followers claimed that the Bible, not a church hierarchy, was the ultimate
authority over all people, including priests and the pope, and that several
ecclesiastical practices, such as granting indulgences (paying the church
money to be absolved of sins), were corrupt.
Initially, there were just a few major Protestant groups, but ultimately, the
Reformation ushered in more Christian offshoots.
By the 17th century, the contemporary word "denomination" began to be
used to describe religious offshoots, Michelle Sanchez, an associate
professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School, told Live Science via email.
Protestants had used scripture to critique the Roman Catholic Church,
claiming that any believer could read scripture and have a personal
relationship with God. But then, "the obvious problem emerged: Whose
interpretation of scripture was the right one?" Sanchez said in an interview.
As believers debated the scriptures and sacraments, churches formed and
split based on myriad biblical interpretations, ways of worship and
organizational structures. From these debates, denominations such as the
Presbyterians, Mennonites, Baptists and Quakers, among others, took root.
Other Protestant denominations were formed out of a play for power, such
as when Henry VIII started the Church of England in 1534. "He wanted to
establish the political autonomy of England, and one way to do that was
religious autonomy from Rome," West told Live Science. (He also famously
wanted a divorce that the church refused to grant.)
Although schisms may be seen as divisive or even lead to violent conflicts
between rival denominations, these splits do have an upside. "There's kind
of an anti-corruption mechanism in the fragmentation," as these splits can
offer agency to people in lower social positions, Sanchez said. For instance,
after the Reformation challenged papal authority, townspeople could begin
to question religious authorities about corrupt or questionable practices.
There's likely more denominational splitting and forming to come. On
judging the differences between them, MacCulloch offered advice from
Jesus himself: "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). That is,
you can learn about them "in terms of what they do, their behavior,"
MacCulloch explained. "That's a pretty good test.""
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