View source for Christian denomination

{{Short description|Identifiable Christian body with common characteristics}}
A '''Christian denomination''' is a distinct [[Religion|religious]] body within [[Christianity]] that comprises all [[Church (congregation)|church congregations]] of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, [[theology|theological doctrine]], worship style and, sometimes, a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike a [[cult]] or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations refer to themselves as ''churches'', whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms ''churches'', ''assemblies'', [[Koinonia|''fellowships'']], etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the [[Christology|nature of Jesus]], the authority of [[apostolic succession]], [[biblical hermeneutics]], [[Christian theology|theology]], [[ecclesiology]], [[Christian eschatology|eschatology]], and [[papal primacy]] may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief.<ref name="Ellwood1">{{cite book |last1=Ellwood |first1=Robert S. |title=The Encyclopedia of World Religions |date=2008 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4381-1038-7 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pGbdI4L0qsC&q=denomination&pg=PA378 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Swatos1">{{cite book |last1=Press |first1=Altamira |last2=Swatos |first2=William H. |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |date=1998 |publisher=Rowman Altamira |isbn=978-0-7619-8956-1 |pages=134–136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TMFoMFe-D8C&q=denomination |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BecchioSchadé1">{{cite book |last1=Becchio |first1=Bruno |last2=Schadé |first2=Johannes P. |title=Encyclopedia of World Religions |date=2006 |publisher=Foreign Media Group |isbn=978-1-60136-000-7 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRkfKdho-5cC&q=demophon |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Richey1">{{cite book |last1=Richey |first1=Russell E. |title=Denominationalism Illustrated and Explained |date=2013 |publisher=[[Wipf and Stock Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-61097-297-0 |pages=1–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igNNAwAAQBAJ&q=Denominationalism+Illustrated+and+Explained |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Publishing |first1=Rose |title=Denominations Comparison |date=2013 |publisher=Rose Publishing Inc |isbn=978-1-59636-539-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S9_rl2_3OZMC&q=denominations+comparison |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Rhodes1">{{cite book |last1=Rhodes |first1=Ron |title=The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences |date=2015 |publisher=Harvest House Publishers |isbn=978-0-7369-5292-7 |pages=13–22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6F6BwAAQBAJ&q=what+is+a+christian+denomination+definition |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Wootten1">{{cite book |last1=Wootten |first1=Pat |title=Christianity |date=2002 |chapter=Divisions and denominations |publisher=Heinemann |isbn=978-0-435-33634-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJ2JGNBZhu4C&q=christian+denominations&pg=PP15 |language=en}}</ref>

Individual [[List of Christian denominations|denominations]] vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another. Several groups say they are the direct and [[One true church|sole authentic successor]] of the church founded by [[Jesus Christ]] in the [[Christianity in the 1st century|1st century AD]]. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices<!--from Denominationalism 3/22/15-->. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term "denomination" to describe themselves, to avoid implying equivalence with other churches or denominations.

The [[Catholic Church]], which has over 1.3 billion members or 50.1% of all Christians worldwide,<ref name="pewforum1" /><ref name="AnnuarioPontificio">{{cite web |title=Pubblicazione dell'Annuario Pontificio e dell'Annuario Statistico della Chiesa, 25.03.2020 |trans-title=Publication of the Pontifical Yearbook and the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, 25.03.2020 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/03/25/0180/00411.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512143209/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/03/25/0180/00411.html |publisher=[[Holy See Press Office]] |date=25 March 2020 |archive-date=12 May 2020 |access-date=12 May 2020 |language=it |url-status=live}}</ref> does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational Church.<ref name="olsen1999">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Roger E. |url=http://archive.org/details/storyofchristian00olso |title=The story of Christian theology : twenty centuries of tradition & reform |date=1999 |publisher=Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8308-1505-0 |pages=278}}</ref> The total [[Protestant]] population has reached around 1.047 billion in 2024, accounting for about 39.8% of all Christians.<ref name="WorldChristian Database" /><ref name="pewforum1">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf |title=Pewforum: Christianity (2010) |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805020311/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf |archive-date=5 August 2013 |url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="CSGC-2019" /> Sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church as a result of the [[Reformation]], a movement against doctrines and practices which the [[Protestant Reformers|Reformers]] perceived to be in violation of the Bible.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harvard Divinity School |first1=The Religious Literacy Project |title=The Protestant Movement |url=https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/religions/christianity/protestant-movement |website=rlp.hds.harvard.edu |language=en |access-date=2020-05-31 |archive-date=2020-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728132249/https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/religions/christianity/protestant-movement |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Protestantism & Why Is it Important? |url=https://www.christianity.com/church/denominations/what-is-protestantism-why-is-it-important.html |website=Christianity.com |language=en |access-date=31 May 2020 |archive-date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614014112/https://www.christianity.com/church/denominations/what-is-protestantism-why-is-it-important.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Reformation |url=https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/reformation |website=HISTORY |date=11 April 2019 |language=en |access-date=31 May 2020 |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609180934/https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/reformation |url-status=live}}</ref> Together, Catholicism and Protestantism (with major traditions including [[Adventism]], [[Anabaptism]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Baptist]]s, [[Lutheranism]], [[Methodism]], [[Moravian Church|Moravianism]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[Plymouth Brethren]], [[Quakerism]], [[Calvinism|Reformed]], and [[Waldensians|Waldensianism]]) compose [[Western Christianity]].<ref name="EB2008" /><ref name="Melton2005" /> Western Christian denominations prevail in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], [[Europe]] (excluding Eastern Europe), [[North America]], [[Oceania]] and [[South America]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Western Christianity |url=http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/christ/west/westessay.html |website=www.philtar.ac.uk |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=28 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428000510/http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/christ/west/westessay.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], with an estimated 230 million adherents,<ref name="Peworthodox">{{cite journal |title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century |journal=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |date=8 November 2017 |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125010533/https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CSGC-2019">{{cite web |title=Status of Global Christianity, 2019, in the Context of 1900–2050 |url=https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2019/04/StatusofGlobalChristianity20191.pdf?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=96d397f91c43baf1f0efde879e1b0adea60b776e-1589431313-0-AcEvCR7cDlLO_2vjuwohYXP4-jn6lSYH7DBCw3OU_ZuL1FXPOaenQONAnapDcyNFl02fetrA4MOi5EIvAPwK5xi9y-zi_DDHvykrxmDnXJu8-W9eIeULFeOy5WExrOA1kpnbsjldIT1OUNdpMWL71DjyyStJWurSriiBmGorozph8A6a-Sqp1MeixVQug_2iGIzXNUZk5yoCsaahaH8cdqGlre3jXT5Eha1tSH8_DajAydE9NQPBO0rZ8rSNWZ27mPVYPbXpelNLDjQm9kTkS8jBFbar0pCkC3fmH1SrVEv5fdlBjIuaELhoz0O3mQhho-zexHmjhA16INJ2vori1lOajghlmLoaQYr3JVLcR4QWpeDkkjPPQMY1xCFPcc76mMGa6aB54lCyGvMQVbeomhRkSDWDEmTAqRZMuIFaC6AA |publisher=Center for Study of Global Christianity |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728131651/https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2019/04/StatusofGlobalChristianity20191.pdf?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=96d397f91c43baf1f0efde879e1b0adea60b776e-1589431313-0-AcEvCR7cDlLO_2vjuwohYXP4-jn6lSYH7DBCw3OU_ZuL1FXPOaenQONAnapDcyNFl02fetrA4MOi5EIvAPwK5xi9y-zi_DDHvykrxmDnXJu8-W9eIeULFeOy5WExrOA1kpnbsjldIT1OUNdpMWL71DjyyStJWurSriiBmGorozph8A6a-Sqp1MeixVQug_2iGIzXNUZk5yoCsaahaH8cdqGlre3jXT5Eha1tSH8_DajAydE9NQPBO0rZ8rSNWZ27mPVYPbXpelNLDjQm9kTkS8jBFbar0pCkC3fmH1SrVEv5fdlBjIuaELhoz0O3mQhho-zexHmjhA16INJ2vori1lOajghlmLoaQYr3JVLcR4QWpeDkkjPPQMY1xCFPcc76mMGa6aB54lCyGvMQVbeomhRkSDWDEmTAqRZMuIFaC6AA |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fairchild |first1=Mary |title=Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination |publisher=about.com |url=http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/p/orthodoxprofile.htm |access-date=23 June 2014 |ref=none |archive-date=5 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605234938/http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/p/orthodoxprofile.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> is the second-largest Christian body in the world and also considers itself the original pre-denominational Church. Orthodox Christians, 80% of whom are Eastern Orthodox and 20% Oriental Orthodox, make up about 11.9% of the global Christian population.<ref name="Peworthodox" /> The Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a [[Koinonia|communion]] of fully independent [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches (or "jurisdictions") that recognize each other, for the most part. Similarly, the Catholic Church is a communion of ''[[sui iuris]]'' churches, including 23 Eastern ones. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the 23 [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox communion]], the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], the [[Ancient Church of the East]], and the [[Eastern Lutheranism|Eastern Lutheran Churches]] constitute [[Eastern Christianity]]. There are certain [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Eastern Protestant Christians]] that have adopted Protestant theology but have cultural and historical ties with other Eastern Christians. Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in [[Eastern Europe]], [[North Asia]], the [[Middle East]], [[Horn of Africa|Northeast Africa]], and [[India]].

Christians have various doctrines about the Church (the body of the faithful that they believe Jesus Christ established) and about how the divine church corresponds to Christian denominations. The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East and Lutheran denominations, each hold that only their own specific organization faithfully represents the [[Four Marks of the Church|one holy catholic and apostolic Church]], to the [[Religious exclusivism#Christianity|exclusion]] of all others. Certain denominational traditions teach that they were divinely instituted to propagate a certain doctrine or spiritual experience, for example the raising up of [[Methodism]] by God to propagate [[Christian perfection#Wesleyan_teaching|entire sanctification]] (the "second blessing"),<ref name="DaviesGeorge2017">{{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=Rupert E.|last2=George|first2=A. Raymond|last3=Rupp|first3=Gordon|title=A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, Volume Three|date=2017|publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers|language=en|isbn=978-1532630507|page=225}}</ref> or the launch of [[Pentecostalism]] to bestow a supernatural [[third work of grace|empowerment]] evidenced by [[speaking in tongues]] on humanity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yongnan |first1=Jeon Ahn |title=Interpretation of Tongues and Prophecy in 1 Corinthians 12-14, with a Pentecostal Hermeneutics |date=21 May 2019 |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-39717-0 |page=9-10 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Restorationism]] emerged after the [[Second Great Awakening]] and collectively affirms belief in a [[Great Apostasy]], thus promoting a belief in restoring what they see as primitive Christianity.<ref name="Riswold2009"/> It includes [[Mormonism|Mormons]], [[Irvingianism|Irvingians]], [[Christadelphians]], [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|Swedenborgians]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], among others, although beliefs between these religions differ greatly.<ref name="OCRT2012">{{cite web |title=The Restorationist denominations in Christianity |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/chrrest.htm |publisher=[[Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance]] |access-date=23 January 2021 |language=English |date=2012 |archive-date=11 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511154341/http://www.religioustolerance.org/chrrest.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Bloesch2005"/><ref name="Spinks2017"/>

Generally, members of the various denominations acknowledge each other as Christians, at least to the extent that they have mutually recognized [[baptism]]s and acknowledge historically [[Orthodoxy|orthodox]] views including the [[Christology|divinity of Jesus]] and doctrines of [[Christian views on sin|sin]] and [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]], even though doctrinal and [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiological]] obstacles hinder [[Ecumenism|full communion between churches]]. Since the reforms surrounding the [[Second Vatican Council]] of 1962–1965, the Catholic Church has referred to Protestant churches as [[Ecclesial community|ecclesial communities]], while reserving the term "church" for [[Apostolic succession|apostolic churches]], including the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as the [[Ancient Church of the East|Ancient]] and [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian Churches of the East]] {{crossref|(see {{lang|la|[[subsistit in]]}} and [[branch theory]])}}. But some [[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational Christians]] do not follow any particular branch,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cong/nondenom.html |title=Nondenominational & Independent Congregations |date=2015 |website=Hartford Institute for Religion Research |publisher=Hartford Seminary, Hartford Institute for Religion Research |access-date=2016-05-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160423204747/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cong/nondenom.html |archive-date=2016-04-23}}</ref> though they sometimes are regarded as Protestants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rise of the Nons: Protestants Keep Ditching Denominations|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/july/rise-of-nons-protestants-denominations-nondenominational.html|last=Shellnutt|first=Kate|website=News & Reporting|date=20 July 2017 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2020-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520091952/https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/july/rise-of-nons-protestants-denominations-nondenominational.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What Are Non-Denominational Churches? Meaning & Examples |url=https://www.christianity.com/church/denominations/what-are-non-denominational-churches-meaning-examples.html |website=Christianity.com |language=en |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728124924/https://www.christianity.com/church/denominations/what-are-non-denominational-churches-meaning-examples.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What Does the Growth of Nondenominationalism Mean?|url=https://factsandtrends.net/2017/08/08/what-does-the-growth-of-nondenominationalism-mean/ |last=says |first=An Ethnographical Study of Saint Francis United Methodist Church-NCSU Studies in Religion |date=8 August 2017 |website=Facts & Trends |language=en-US |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724155735/https://factsandtrends.net/2017/08/08/what-does-the-growth-of-nondenominationalism-mean/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Gallup: Non-denominational Protestants on the rise|url=http://www.bpnews.net/49247/gallup-nondenominational-protestants-on-the-rise |website=Baptist Press |date=21 July 2017 |language=en |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728161932/http://www.bpnews.net/49247/gallup-nondenominational-protestants-on-the-rise |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Terminology ==
{{See also|Christian Church#Related concepts}}

Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs. This section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections.

A denomination within Christianity can be defined as a "recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church"; major synonyms include "religious group, sect, Church," etc.<ref group="Note">The Oxford Dictionary's full list of synonyms for "denomination" includes: "religious group, sect, Church, cult, movement, faith community, body, persuasion, religious persuasion, communion, order, fraternity, brotherhood, sisterhood, school; faith, creed, belief, religious belief, religion. rare: sodality."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Denomination |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries: English |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/denomination |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223052049/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/denomination |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 February 2013 |access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref> "Church" as a synonym, refers to a "particular Christian organization with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines";<ref>{{cite web |title=Church |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries: English |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117211108/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/church |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 November 2013 |access-date=6 June 2015}}</ref> "church" can also more broadly be defined as the entire body of Christians, the "[[Christian Church]]".

Some traditional and evangelical [[Protestants]] draw a distinction between membership in the universal church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church; one then may join a fellowship of other local believers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church Membership and Church Fellowship. Is there a difference?|url=http://lifehouse.org/tracts/tbgchurchmembership.htm |first=T. B. |last=Gilbert |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420002521/http://www.lifehouse.org/tracts/tbgchurchmembership.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some [[evangelical]] groups describe themselves as interdenominational fellowships, partnering with local churches to strengthen evangelical efforts, usually targeting a particular group with specialized needs, such as students or ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church |first=Alec |last=Hill |date=1 July 2003 |access-date=6 June 2015 |publisher=Intervarsity Christian Fellowship |url=http://www.intervarsity.org/news/church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601094723/http://www.intervarsity.org/news/church |archive-date=1 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A related concept is [[denominationalism]], the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices.<ref name="Jackson">{{cite web |url=https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/798-denominationalism-permissible-or-reprehensible |title=Denominationalism – Permissible or Reprehensible? |publisher=Christian Courier |first=Wayne |last=Jackson |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-date=6 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606230952/https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/798-denominationalism-permissible-or-reprehensible |url-status=live}}</ref> (Conversely, "denominationalism" can also refer to "emphasizing of denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive", similar to [[sectarianism]].)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denominationalism|title=Denominationalism |publisher=Merriam Webster Dictionary |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918185409/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denominationalism |url-status=live}}</ref>

The views of Protestant leaders differ greatly from those of the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the two largest Christian denominations. Each church makes mutually exclusive statements for itself to be the direct continuation of the church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away.<ref name=olsen1999 /> These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism. For the purpose of academic study of religion, the main families of Christianity are categorized as a denomination, that is, "an organized body of Christians."<ref name="BallantineRoberts2008">{{cite book |last1=Ballantine |first1=Jeanne H. |last2=Roberts |first2=Keith A. |title=Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology |date=17 November 2008 |publisher=Pine Forge Press |isbn=978-1-4129-6818-8 |page=400 |language=en}}</ref> 

Historically, Catholics would [[Labelling#Labelling in argumentation|label]] members of certain Christian churches (also certain non-Christian religions) by the names of their founders, either actual or purported. Such supposed founders were referred to as [[heresiarch]]s. This was done even when the party thus labeled viewed itself as belonging to the one true church. This allowed the Catholic party to say that the other church was founded by the founder, while the Catholic church was founded by Christ. This was done intentionally in order to "produce the appearance of the fragmentation within Christianity"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buell |first=Denise Kimber |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=juQ9DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22framed+to+produce+the+appearance+of+fragmentation+within+Christianity%22&pg=PA89 |title=Making Christians: Clement of Alexandria and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy |date=1999-04-04 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-05980-8 |language=en}}</ref> – a problem which the Catholic side would then attempt to remedy on its own terms.

Although Catholics reject [[branch theory]], [[Pope Benedict XVI]] and [[Pope John Paul II]] used the "two lungs" concept to relate Catholicism with Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>[http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/europe-breathes-with-both-lungs Modern culture runs risk of amnesia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411035700/http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/europe-breathes-with-both-lungs |date=2019-04-11 }}, from a speech given May 20th, 2010</ref>

== Major branches ==
{{pie chart|thumb = right
|caption = World Christianity by tradition in 2024 as per World Christian Database<ref name="WorldChristian Database">{{cite web |url=https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/01/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2024.pdf |title=Status of Global Christianity, 2024, in the Context of 1900–2050 |publisher=Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary |access-date=23 May 2024}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Catholic Church by country|Catholic]]
|value1 = 48.6
|label2 = [[Protestantism by country|Protestant]]
|value2 = 39.8
|label3 = Orthodox, including [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Church|Oriental]] communions
|value3 = 11.1
|label4 = Other
|value4 = 0.5}}
{{Pie chart|label1=[[Catholic Church|Catholic]]|value1=50.1|label2=[[Protestant]]|value2=36.7|label3=Orthodox, including [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Church|Oriental]] communions|value3=11.9|value4=1.3|label4=Other|caption=Worldwide Christians by denomination {{asof|2011|lc=y}}<ref>{{Cite report|date=December 2011|title=Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population|publisher=Pew Research Center|author=Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project|page=10|url=https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|access-date=May 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201151952/https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|archive-date=February 1, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
Christianity can be [[Taxonomy|taxonomically]] divided into six main groups: the [[Church of the East]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], and [[Restorationism]].<ref name="Riswold2009">{{cite book |last1=Riswold |first1=Caryn D. |title=Feminism and Christianity: Questions and Answers in the Third Wave |date=1 October 2009 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-62189-053-9 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="GaoSawatsky2023">{{cite web |last1=Gao |first1=Ronnie Chuang-Rang |last2=Sawatsky |first2=Kevin |title=Motivations in Faith-Based Organizations|url=https://hc.edu/center-for-christianity-in-business/2023/02/07/motivations-in-faith-based-organizations/ |publisher=[[Houston Christian University]] |access-date=22 November 2023 |language=English |date=7 February 2023 |quote=For example, Christianity comprises six major groups: Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Restorationism.}} Gao and Sawatsky refer to [[Robert S. Ellwood|Ellwood, Robert S.]], ''The Encyclopedia of World Religions'', New York: Infobase Publishing (2008) as their source for this taxonomy.</ref> Protestantism includes many groups which do not share any ecclesiastical governance and have widely diverging beliefs and practices.<ref name="EB2008" /> Major Protestant branches include [[Adventism]], [[Anabaptism]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Baptist]]s, [[Lutheranism]], [[Methodism]], [[Moravian Church|Moravianism]], [[Quakerism]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[Plymouth Brethren]], [[Reformed Christianity]], and [[Waldensians|Waldensianism]].<ref name="EB2008"/><ref name="Melton2005"/> Reformed Christianity itself includes the [[Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Evangelical Anglican]], [[Congregationalist church|Congregationalist]], and [[Reformed Baptist]] traditions.<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaediav01ency |url-access=registration |date=1987 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |isbn=978-0-85229-443-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaediav01ency/page/244 244] |language=en}}</ref> Anabaptist Christianity itself includes the [[Amish]], [[Apostolic Christian Church|Apostolic]], [[Bruderhof Communities|Bruderhof]], [[Hutterite]], [[Mennonite]], [[River Brethren]], and [[Schwarzenau Brethren]] traditions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brewer |first1=Brian C. |title=T&T Clark Handbook of Anabaptism |date=30 December 2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-68950-4 |page=564 |language=en}}</ref>

Within the [[Restorationism|Restorationist]] branch of Christianity, denominations include the [[Catholic Apostolic Church|Irvingians]], [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|Swedenborgians]], [[Christadelphians]], [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saints]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], {{lang|es|[[La Luz del Mundo]]|italic=no}}, and {{lang|tl|[[Iglesia ni Cristo]]|italic=no}}.<ref name="LewisMittelstadt2016">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Paul W. |last2=Mittelstadt |first2=Martin William |title=What's So Liberal about the Liberal Arts?: Integrated Approaches to Christian Formation |date=27 April 2016 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-4982-3145-9 |language=en |quote=The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) spurred a renewed interest in primitive Christianity. What is known as the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century gave birth to an array of groups: Mormons (The Latter Day Saint Movement), the Churches of Christ, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though these groups demonstrate a breathtaking diversity on the continuum of Christianity they share an intense restorationist impulse. Picasso and Stravinsky reflect a primitivism that came to the fore around the turn of the twentieth century that more broadly has been characterized as a "retreat from the industrialized world."}}</ref><ref name="Bloesch2005">{{cite book |last1=Bloesch |first1=Donald G. |title=The Holy Spirit: Works Gifts |date=2 December 2005 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-2755-8 |page=158 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Spinks2017">{{cite book |last1=Spinks |first1=Bryan D. |title=Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices |date=2 March 2017 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-351-90583-1 |language=en |quote=However, Swedenborg claimed to receive visions and revelations of heavenly things and a 'New Church', and the new church which was founded upon his writings was a Restorationist Church. The three nineteenth-century churches are all examples of Restorationist Churches, which believed they were refounding the Apostolic Church, and preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.}}</ref>

Christianity has denominational families (or movements) and also has individual denominations (or communions). The difference between a denomination and a denominational family is sometimes unclear to outsiders. Some denominational families can be considered major branches. Groups that are members of a branch, while sharing historical ties and similar doctrines, are not necessarily in [[communion (Christianity)|communion]] with one another.

There were some movements considered heresies by the [[History of Christianity|early Church]] which do not exist today and are not generally referred to as denominations: examples include the [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]] (who had believed in an [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] [[Dualistic cosmology|dualism]] called [[gnosis]]), the [[Ebionite]]s (who denied the divinity of Jesus), and the [[Arianism|Arians]] (who subordinated the [[God the Son|Son]] to the [[God the Father|Father]] by denying the [[pre-existence of Christ]], thus placing [[Jesus]] as a created being), [[Bogomilism]] and the [[Bosnian Church]]. The greatest divisions in Christianity today, however, are between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, and the various denominations formed during and after the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The main differences between Catholics and Protestants {{!}} DW {{!}} 21.04.2019|url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-main-differences-between-catholics-and-protestants/a-37888597|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2020-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523124651/https://www.dw.com/en/the-main-differences-between-catholics-and-protestants/a-37888597|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=What Are the Differences Between Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Anyway?|url=https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-are-the-differences-between-catholics-and-eastern-orthodox-anyway|website=National Catholic Register|date=30 June 2016 |access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2020-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728140745/https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-are-the-differences-between-catholics-and-eastern-orthodox-anyway|url-status=live|author-last1=Bunderson|author-first1=Carl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyond Dialogue: The Quest for Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Unity Today|publisher=St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary|author-first1=John H |author-last1=Erickson|via=Symposium on 1700th Anniversary of Christian Armenia|year=2000|url=https://www.svots.edu/content/beyond-dialogue-quest-eastern-and-oriental-orthodox-unity-today|access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2018-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114100312/https://www.svots.edu/content/beyond-dialogue-quest-eastern-and-oriental-orthodox-unity-today|url-status=dead}}</ref> There also exists a number of [[non-Trinitarian]] groups.

=== Denominationalism ===
Denominationalism is the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices.<ref name="Jackson"/> The idea was first articulated by [[Independent (religion)|Independents]] within the [[Puritan]] movement. They argued that differences among Christians were inevitable, but that separation based on these differences was not necessarily [[schism (religion)|schism]]. Christians are obligated to practice their beliefs rather than remain within a church with which they disagree, but they must also recognize their imperfect knowledge and not condemn other Christians as [[apostate]] over unimportant matters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://seminary.fresno.edu/resources/life-in-a-muddy-world-reflections-on-denominationalism |title=Life in a Muddy World: Reflections on Denominationalism |first=Bruce |last=Guenther |publisher=Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary|others=first published in Fall/Winter 2008 edition of In Touch Magazine. For reprint permission contact the Director of Public Relations at 1-800-251-6227 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310144947/http://seminary.fresno.edu/resources/life-in-a-muddy-world-reflections-on-denominationalism |archive-date=10 March 2015}}</ref>

Some Christians view denominationalism as a regrettable fact. As of 2011, divisions are becoming less sharp, and there is increasing cooperation between denominations, which is known as [[ecumenism]]. Many denominations participate in the [[World Council of Churches]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the World Council of Churches? – World Council of Churches |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331192837/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us |archive-date=31 March 2019 |access-date=23 May 2020 |website=www.oikoumene.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Taxonomy ===
{{Christian denomination tree}}

== Historical schisms and divisions ==
Christianity has not been a monolithic faith since the [[Christianity in the 1st century|first century]] or [[Apostolic Age]], though Christians were largely in communion with each other. Today there exist a large variety of groups that share a common history and tradition within and without mainstream Christianity. Christianity is the largest religion in the world (making up approximately one-third of the population) and the various divisions have commonalities and differences in tradition, [[theology]], [[ecclesiology|church government]], doctrine, and language.

The largest [[schism]] or division in many classification schemes is between the families of [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Western Christianity]]. After these two larger families come distinct branches of Christianity. Most classification schemes list Roman Catholicism, [[Protestantism]], and [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Christianity]], with Orthodox Christianity being divided into [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and the [[Church of the East]]. However Roman Catholicism is to be seen as a distinct denomination within Western Christianity.<ref name="McAuliffe2008">{{cite book |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Garrett |title=Culturally Alert Counseling: A Comprehensive Introduction |date=2008 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4129-1006-4 |page=532 |language=en |quote=About one-third of the world's population is considered Christian and can be divided into three main branches: (1) Catholicism (the largest coherent group, representing over one billion baptized members); (2) Orthodox Christianity (including Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy); and (3) Protestantism (comprising many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mirola |first1=William |last2=Monahan |first2=Susanne C. |title=Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-34451-3 |language=en |quote=Orthodox Churches represent one of te three major branches of Christianity, along with Catholicism and Protestantism.}}</ref> Protestantism includes diverse groups such as [[Adventism|Adventists]], [[Anabaptists]], [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]], [[Baptists]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]], [[Methodism|Methodists]] (inclusive of the [[Holiness movement]]), [[Moravian Church|Moravians]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], [[Reformed churches|Reformed]],<ref name="McAuliffe2008"/><ref name="EB2008"/><ref name="Melton2005"/> and [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] (depending on one's classification scheme) are all a part of the same family but have distinct doctrinal variations within each group—[[Lutherans]] see themselves not to be a part of the rest of what they call "Reformed Protestantism" due to radical differences in sacramental theology and historical approach to the Reformation itself (both Reformed and Lutherans see their reformation in the sixteenth century to be a 'reforming' of the Catholic Church, not a rejection of it entirely). From these come denominations, which in the West, have independence from the others in their doctrine.

The [[Catholic Church]], due to its [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] structures, is not said to be made up of denominations, rather, it is a single denomination that include kinds of regional councils and individual congregations and church bodies, which do not officially differ from one another in doctrine.

===Antiquity===
{{See also|Proto-orthodox Christianity}}

The initial differences between the East and West traditions stem from socio-cultural and ethno-linguistic divisions in and between the [[Western Roman Empire|Western Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine empire]]s. Since the West (that is, Western Europe) spoke [[Latin]] as its ''[[lingua franca]]'' and the East (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and northern Africa) largely used [[Aramaic]] and [[Koine Greek]] to transmit writings, theological developments were difficult to translate from one branch to the other. In the course of [[ecumenical council]]s (large gatherings of Christian leaders), some church bodies split from the larger family of Christianity. Many earlier [[heresy|heretical]] groups either died off for lack of followers or suppression by the early [[Proto-orthodox Christianity|proto-orthodox]] Church at large (such as [[Apollinarianism|Apollinarians]], [[Montanism|Montanists]], and [[Ebionites]]).

Following the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451, the next large split came with the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]] and [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] churches dividing themselves, with some churches becoming today's [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]]. The [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], whose representatives were not able to attend the council did not accept new dogmas and now is also seen as an Oriental Orthodox church. In modern times, there have also been moves towards healing this split, with common Christological statements being made between [[Pope John Paul II]] and Syriac Patriarch [[Ignatius Zakka I Iwas]], as well as between representatives of both Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy.

There has been a statement that the [[Chalcedonian Definition|Chalcedonian Creed]] restored Nestorianism, however this is refuted by maintaining the following distinctions associated with the ''person'' of Christ: two hypostases, two natures ([[Nestorian]]); one hypostasis, one nature ([[Monophysite]]); one hypostasis, two natures (Eastern Orthodox/Roman Catholic).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Monophysites and Monophysitism |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10489b.htm |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=New Advent |archive-date=2023-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519043505/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10489b.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
{{main|East-West Schism}}
[[File:Lutherstadt Wittenberg 09-2016 photo06.jpg|thumb|The front door of [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church]] in [[Wittenberg]], Germany, where [[Martin Luther]] nailed his ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' on 31st October 1517, sparking the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]]]
In Western Christianity, a handful of geographically isolated movements preceded the spirit of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. The [[Cathars]] were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times. In northern [[Italy]] and southeastern [[France]], [[Peter Waldo]] founded the [[Waldensians]] in the 12th century. This movement has largely been absorbed by modern-day Protestant groups. In [[Bohemia]], a movement in the early 15th century by [[Jan Hus]] called the [[Hussite]]s  defied Catholic [[dogma]], creating the still-extant [[Moravian Church]], a major Protestant denomination.

Although the church as a whole did not experience any major divisions for centuries afterward, the Eastern and Western groups drifted until the point where patriarchs from both families [[excommunication|excommunicated]] one another in about 1054 in what is known as the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]]. The political and theological reasons for the schism are complex, but one major controversy was the inclusion and acceptance in the West of the [[filioque clause]] into the [[Nicene Creed]], which the East viewed as erroneous. Another was the definition of [[Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|papal primacy]].

Both West and East agreed that the Patriarch of Rome was owed a "[[Primus inter pares|primacy of honour]]" by the other patriarchs (those of [[Alexandria]], [[Antioch]], [[Constantinople]] and [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]]), but the West also contended that this primacy extended to jurisdiction, a position rejected by the Eastern patriarchs. Various attempts at dialogue between the two groups would occur, but it was only in the 1960s, under Pope [[Paul VI]] and [[Patriarch Athenagoras]], that significant steps began to be made to mend the relationship between the two.

===Protestant Reformation (16th century)===
{{main|Protestant Reformation}}

The Protestant Reformation began with the posting of [[Martin Luther]]'s ''[[The Ninety-Five Theses|Ninety-Five Theses]]'' in [[Saxony]] on October 31, 1517, written as a set of grievances to reform the pre-Reformation Western Church. [[Martin Luther (resources)|Luther's writings]], combined with the work of [[Switzerland|Swiss]] theologian [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and French theologian and politician [[John Calvin]] sought to reform existing problems in doctrine and practice. Due to the reactions of ecclesiastical office holders at the time of the reformers, these reformers separated from the Catholic Church, instigating a rift in [[Western Christianity]].

In [[England]], [[Henry VIII of England]] declared himself to be supreme head of the [[Church of England]] with the [[Act of Supremacy]] in 1534, founding the Church of England, repressing both Lutheran reformers and those loyal to the pope. [[Thomas Cranmer]] as [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] introduced the Reformation, in a form compromising between the Calvinists and Lutherans.

===Old and Liberal Catholic Churches (19th–20th centuries)===

The [[Old Catholic Church]] split from the [[Catholic Church]] in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the [[dogma]] of [[papal infallibility]] as promoted by the [[First Vatican Council]] of 1869–1870. The term 'Old Catholic' was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht that were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht.

The [[Liberal Catholic Church]] started in 1916 via an Old Catholic bishop in London, bishop Matthew, who consecrated bishop James Wedgwood to the Episcopacy. This stream has in its relatively short existence known many splits, which operate worldwide under several names.

===Eastern Christianity===
In the Eastern world, the largest body of believers in modern times is the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], sometimes imprecisely called "Greek Orthodox" because from the time of Christ through the Byzantine empire, Greek was its common language. However, the term "[[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]]" actually refers to only one portion of the entire Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes itself to be the continuation of the original Christian Church established by [[Jesus Christ]], and the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]]. The Orthodox and Catholics have been separated since the 11th century, following the [[East–West Schism]], with each of them saying they represent the original pre-schism Church.

The Eastern Orthodox consider themselves to be spiritually one body, which is administratively grouped into several [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] jurisdictions (also commonly referred to as "churches", despite being parts of one Church). They do not recognize any single bishop as universal church leader, but rather each bishop governs only his own [[diocese]]. The [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] is known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, and holds the title "[[primus inter pares|first among equals]]", meaning only that if a great council is called, the patriarch sits as president of the council. He has no more power than any other bishop. Currently, the largest [[synod]] with the most members is the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. Others include the ancient Patriarchates of [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Antioch]] and [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], the [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian]], [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian]], [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian]] and [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian]] Orthodox churches, and several smaller ones.

[[File:Church of Saint John the Arab.jpg|thumb|225px|A 6th-century Nestorian church, St. John the Arab, in the [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] village of [[Andac|Geramon]]]]

The second largest Eastern Christian communion is [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]], which is organized in a similar manner, with six national autocephalous groups and two autonomous bodies, although there are greater internal differences than among the Eastern Orthodox (especially in the diversity of [[Christian liturgy|rite]]s being used). The six autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches are the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] (Egyptian), [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]], [[Armenian Orthodox Church|Armenian]], [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|Malankara]] (Indian), [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean]] Orthodox churches. In the Aramaic-speaking areas of the [[Middle East]], the Syriac Orthodox Church has long been dominant. Although the region of modern-day [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] has had a strong body of believers since the infancy of Christianity, these regions only gained autocephaly in 1963 and 1994 respectively. The Oriental Orthodox are distinguished from the Eastern Orthodox by doctrinal differences concerning the union of human and divine natures in the person of Jesus Christ, and the two communions separated as a consequence of the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in the year 451, although there have been recent moves towards reconciliation. Since these groups are relatively obscure in the West, literature on them has sometimes included the [[Church of the East]], which, like the Oriental Orthodox, originated in the 1st century A.D., but has not been in communion with them since before the [[Council of Ephesus]] of 431.

Largely [[aniconic]], the Church of the East represents a third Eastern Christian tradition in its own right. In recent centuries, it has split into three Churches. The largest (since the early 20th century) is the [[Baghdad]]-based [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] formed from groups that entered communion with Rome at different times, beginning in 1552. The second-largest is what since 1976<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ&dq=Assyrian+officially+1976&pg=PA4 |title=Wilhelm Baum, Dietmar W. Winkler (editors), ''The Church of the East: A Concise History'' (Routledge 2003), p. 4 |isbn=9781134430192 |access-date=2018-10-19 |archive-date=2022-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220110734/https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=Assyrian+officially+1976&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjOqPzw45LeAhWoDcAKHSd0BrMQ6AEIVTAJ#v=onepage&q=Assyrian%20officially%201976&f=false |url-status=live |last1=Baum |first1=Wilhelm |last2=Winkler |first2=Dietmar W. |date=8 December 2003 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> is officially called the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and which from 1933 to 2015 was headquartered first in [[Cyprus]] and then in the [[United States]], but whose present Catholicos-Patriarch, [[Gewargis III]], elected in 2015, lives in [[Erbil]], [[Iraq]]. The third is the [[Ancient Church of the East]], distinct since 1964 and headed by [[Addai II Giwargis]], resident in Baghdad.

There are also the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], most of which are counterparts of those listed above, sharing with them the same theological and liturgical traditions, but differing from them in that they recognize the [[Pope|Bishop of Rome]] as the [[Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|universal head of the Church]]. They are fully part of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic communion]], on the same level juridically as the [[Latin Church]]. Most of their members do not describe themselves as "[[Roman Catholic (term)|''Roman'' Catholics]]", a term they associate with membership of the Latin Church, and speak of themselves in relation to whichever Church they belong to: [[Maronite Church|Maronites]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkites]], [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Ukrainian Catholics]], [[Coptic Catholic Church|Coptic Catholics]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean Catholics]], etc.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.crisismagazine.com/2011/we-are-non-roman-catholics |author-first1=Robert |author-last1=Spencer|title=We are Non-Roman Catholics|magazine=Crisis Magazine |date=22 November 2011 |access-date=25 October 2016 |archive-date=20 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720144229/http://www.crisismagazine.com/2011/we-are-non-roman-catholics |url-status=live}}</ref>

And finally the smallest Eastern Christian group founded in early 20th century is [[Byzantine Rite Lutheranism]] where accept Byzantine Rite as Church's liturgy while retaining their Lutheran traditions like [[Ukrainian Lutheran Church]]. It is considered part of [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Eastern Protestant]] denominational movement.

===Western Christianity===
{{Christian denominations in the English-speaking world}}

The [[Latin Church|Latin portion]] of the [[Catholic Church]], along with [[Protestantism]], comprise the three major divisions of [[Christianity]] in the Western world. Catholics do not describe themselves as a denomination but rather as the original Church, from which all other branches broke off in [[schism (religious)|schism]]. The [[Baptist]], [[Methodism|Methodist]], and [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches are generally considered to be Protestant denominations, although strictly speaking, of these three, only the Lutherans took part in the official [[Protestation at Speyer]] after the decree of the [[Second Diet of Speyer]] mandated the burning of Luther's works and the end of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Anglicanism is generally classified as Protestant,<ref name="EB2008">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of World Religions |date=2008 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |isbn=978-1-59339-491-2 |language=en |quote=Amid all this diversity, however, it is possible to define Protestantism formally as non-Roman Western Christianity and to divide most of Protestantism into four major confessions or confessional families – Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Free Church.}}</ref><ref name="Melton2005">{{cite book |last1=Melton |first1=J. Gordon |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |date=2005 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-6983-5 |language=en |quote=Most narrowly, it denotes a movement that began within the Roman Catholic Church in Europe in the 16th century and the churches that come directly out of it. In this narrow sense, Protestantism would include the Lutheran, Reformed or Presbyterian, and Anglican (Church of England) churches, and by extension the churches of the British Puritan movement, which sought to bring the Church of England into the Reformed/Presbyterian camp. Most recently, scholars have argued quite effectively that the churches of the radical phase of the 16th-century Reformation, the Anabaptist and Mennonite groups, also belong within this more narrow usage.}}</ref><ref name="Hanciles2019">{{cite book |last1=Hanciles |first1=Jehu J. |title=The Oxford History of Protestant Dissenting Traditions, Volume IV: The Twentieth Century: Traditions in a Global Context |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-251821-7 |language=en |quote=The designation Protestant includes Lutherans and Anglicans, although some Anglicans do not like the word. Methodism arrived in Asia both from Britain and via America, but with distinct traditions. Both owed a debt to Moravian Lutheranism, as did the Protestant missionary movement generally. Evangelicals have long included many Anglicans, and by 1967 Anglican evangelicalism was defining the movement in Britain.}}</ref> being originally seen as a ''via media'', or middle way between Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity, and since the [[Oxford Movement]] of the 19th century, some Anglican writers of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship emphasize a more [[Catholic (term)|catholic]] understanding of the church and characterize it as being ''both'' Protestant and Catholic.<ref name="AEH2003">{{cite book|title=Anglican and Episcopal History|year=2003|publisher=Historical Society of the Episcopal Church|language=en|page=15|quote=Others had made similar observations, Patrick McGrath commenting that the Church of England was not a middle way between Roman Catholic and Protestant, but "between different forms of Protestantism," and William Monter describing the Church of England as "a unique style of Protestantism, a via media between the Reformed and Lutheran traditions." MacCulloch has described Cranmer as seeking a middle way between Zurich and Wittenberg but elsewhere remarks that the Church of England was "nearer Zurich and Geneva than Wittenberg.}}</ref> A case is sometimes also made to regard Lutheranism in a similar way, considering the catholic character of its foundational documents (the [[Augsburg Confession]] and other documents contained in the [[Book of Concord]]) and its existence prior to the Anglican, Anabaptist, and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] churches, from which nearly all other Protestant denominations derive.<ref name="Ludwig2016"/>

One central tenet of Catholicism (which is a common point between Catholic, Scandinavian Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Orthodox, and some other Churches), is its practice of [[apostolic succession]]. "[[Apostle]]" means "one who is sent out". Jesus commissioned the first [[twelve apostles]], and they, in turn laid hands on subsequent church leaders to ordain (commission) them for ministry. In this manner, Catholics and Anglicans trace their ordained ministers all the way back to the original Twelve.

Catholics believe that the [[Pope]] has authority which can be traced directly to the apostle [[Saint Peter|Peter]] whom they hold to be the original head of and first Pope of the [[Christian Church|Church]]. There are smaller churches, such as the [[Old Catholic Church]] which rejected the definition of [[Papal Infallibility]] at the [[First Vatican Council]], as well as [[Evangelical Catholic]]s and [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholics]], who are Lutherans and Anglicans that believe that Lutheranism and Anglicanism, respectively, are a continuation of historical [[Catholicism]] and who incorporate many Catholic beliefs and practices.<ref name="Ludwig2016">{{cite book|title=Luther's Catholic Reformation|last=Ludwig|first=Alan|date=12 September 2016|publisher=[[The Lutheran Witness]]|language=en|quote= When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession before Emperor Charles V in 1530, they carefully showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils and even the canon law of the Church of Rome. They boldly claim, “This is about the Sum of our Doctrine, in which, as can be seen, there is nothing that varies from the Scriptures, or from the Church Catholic, or from the Church of Rome as known from its writers” (AC XXI Conclusion 1). The underlying thesis of the Augsburg Confession is that the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church. In fact, it is actually the Church of Rome that has departed from the ancient faith and practice of the catholic church (see AC XXIII 13, XXVIII 72 and other places).}}</ref> The Catholic Church refers to itself simply by the terms ''Catholic'' and ''Catholicism'' (which mean universal).

Some Catholics, based on a strict interpretation of ''[[extra ecclesiam nulla salus]]'' ("Outside the Church, there is no salvation"), reject any notion those outside its communion could be regarded as part of any true Catholic Christian faith. This is called [[Feeneyism]], which is considered a heresy by the Catholic Church, and was rejected by the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962{{ndash}}1965).<ref name="UnitatisRed">{{Cite web |title=Unitatis redintegratio |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html |access-date=10 May 2023 |website=www.vatican.va |quote=It remains true that all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church. |archive-date=6 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306113628/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Catholicism has a hierarchical structure in which supreme authority for matters of faith and practice are the exclusive domain of the Pope, who sits on the Throne of Peter, and the bishops when acting in union with him.

Each Protestant movement has developed freely, and many have split over theological issues. For instance, a number of movements grew out of spiritual [[Christian revival|revivals]], such as [[Pentecostalism]]. Doctrinal issues and matters of [[conscience]] have also divided Protestants. Still others formed out of administrative issues; [[Methodism]] branched off as its own group of denominations when the [[American Revolutionary War]] complicated the movement's ability to ordain ministers (it had begun as a movement within the Church of England). In Methodism's case, it has undergone a number of administrative schisms and mergers with other denominations (especially those associated with the [[holiness movement]] in the 20th century).

The [[Anabaptist]] tradition, made up of the [[Amish]], [[Hutterites]], and [[Mennonites]], rejected the Roman Catholic and Lutheran doctrines of [[pedobaptism|infant baptism]]; this tradition is also noted for its belief in [[pacifism]]. Many Anabaptists do not see themselves as Protestant, but a separate tradition altogether.<ref name="Klaasen2004">{{cite web |last1=Klaasen |first1=Walter |title=Anabaptism: Neither Catholic Nor Protestant |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-5/anabaptism-neither-catholic-nor-protestant.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en |date=2004 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728155956/https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-5/anabaptism-neither-catholic-nor-protestant.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=McGrath |first=William |title=The Anabaptists: Neither Catholic nor Protestant |url=http://www.cbc4me.org/articles/Baptist/04-McGrath.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227060547/http://www.cbc4me.org/articles/Baptist/04-McGrath.pdf |url-status=dead |location=Hartville, Ohio, United States |publisher=The Fellowship Messenger |archive-date=27 December 2016}}</ref>

Some denominations which arose alongside the Western Christian tradition consider themselves Christian, but neither Catholic nor wholly Protestant, such as the [[Religious Society of Friends]] (Quakers). Quakerism began as an evangelical Christian movement in 17th century [[England]], eschewing priests and all formal Anglican or [[Catholic sacraments]] in their worship, including many of those practices that remained among the stridently Protestant [[Puritan]]s such as baptism with water. They were known in America for helping with the Underground Railroad, and like the Mennonites, Quakers traditionally refrain from participation in war.

Many churches with roots in [[Restorationism]] reject being identified as Protestant or even as a denomination at all, as they use only the Bible and not creeds, and model the church after what they feel is the first-century church found in scripture; the [[Churches of Christ]] are one example; [[African Initiated Church]]es, like [[Kimbanguism]], mostly fall within Protestantism, with varying degrees of syncretism. The measure of mutual acceptance between the denominations and movements varies, but is growing largely due to the [[ecumenism|ecumenical movement]] in the 20th century and overarching Christian bodies such as the [[World Council of Churches]].

=== Christians with Jewish roots ===
{{Main|Jewish Christian|Messianic Judaism|Hebrew Christian movement}}
[[Messianic Jews]] maintain a Jewish identity while accepting Jesus as the [[Messiah]] and the [[New Testament]] as authoritative. After the founding of the church, the [[Jewish Christian|disciples of Jesus]] generally retained their ethnic origins while accepting the [[Gospel]] message. The [[Council of Jerusalem|first church council was called in Jerusalem]] to address just this issue, and the deciding opinion was written by [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]], the first bishop of Jerusalem and a pivotal figure in the Christian movement. The history of Messianic Judaism includes many movements and groups and defies any simple classification scheme.

The 19th century saw at least 250,000 Jews convert to Christianity according to existing records of various societies.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Stanley N |last1=Gundry | first2=Louis |last2=Goldberg |title=How Jewish is Christianity?: 2 views on the Messianic movement |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sYfcuBdLqyEC&pg=PA24 |page=24 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=9780310244905}}</ref> Data from the [[Pew Research Center]] has it that, as of 2013, about 1.6 million adult [[American Jews]] identify themselves as [[Christians]], most as [[Protestant]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/02/how-many-jews-are-there-in-the-united-states/ |title=How many Jews are there in the United States? |work=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-date=2021-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529104046/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/02/how-many-jews-are-there-in-the-united-states/ |url-status=live|author-last1=Lipka|author-first1=Michael|date=2013-10-02}}</ref><ref name="pew: portrait">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-1-population-estimates/ |title=A PORTRAIT OF JEWISH AMERICANS: Chapter 1: Population Estimates |work=[[Pew Research Center]] |date=October 2013 |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-date=2019-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505093610/https://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-1-population-estimates/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/.premium-1.549713|title=American-Jewish Population Rises to 6.8 Million |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-date=2017-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129115904/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/.premium-1.549713 |url-status=live|author-last1=Maltz|author-first1=Judy|date=2013-09-30}}</ref> According to the same data, most of the Jews who identify themselves as some sort of Christian (1.6 million) were raised as Jews or are Jews by ancestry.<ref name="pew: portrait" />

== Modern history ==
=== Unitarianism ===
{{Further|Biblical Unitarianism}}
Within Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Transylvania, Hungary and Romania [[Unitarianism|Unitarian Churches]] emerged from the [[Reformed tradition]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fahlbusch |first1=Erwin |last2=Bromiley |first2=Geoffrey William |last3=Lochman |first3=Jan Milic |last4=Mbiti |first4=John |last5=Pelikan |first5=Jaroslav |title=The Encyclodedia of Christianity, Vol. 5 |date=14 February 2008 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2417-2 |page=603 |language=English}}</ref><ref>J. Gordon Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', 2005, p. 543: "Unitarianism – The word ''unitarian'' [italics] means one who believes in the oneness of God; historically it refers to those in the Christian community who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity (one God expressed in three persons). Non-Trinitarian Protestant churches emerged in the 16th century in ITALY, POLAND, and TRANSYLVANIA."</ref> They adopted the [[Anabaptist]] doctrine of [[credobaptism]].<ref name="Bochenski2013">{{cite book |last1=Bochenski |first1=Michael I. |title=Transforming Faith Communities: A Comparative Study of Radical Christianity in Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism and Late Twentieth-Century Latin America |date=14 March 2013 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-62189-597-8 |language=English}}</ref> The [[Unitarian Church of Transylvania]] is an example of such a denomination that arose in this era and is represented in the [[Protestant Theological Institute of Cluj]]. Due to their rejection of the [[Athanasian Creed]] which contains the doctrine of the [[Trinity]], many [[Nicene Christianity|mainstream Christian Churches]] do not recognize Unitarians as Christians.<ref name="Cameron1872">{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Archibald Alexander |title=Protestantism and Its Relation to the Moral, Intellectual and Spiritual Developments of Modern Times: A Lecture Delivered in the Baptist Chapel, Ottawa, on Sunday Evening, Jan. 21st, 1872 |date=1872 |publisher=Joseph Loveday |page=12 |language=English}}</ref>

=== Restorationism ===
==== Second Great Awakening ====
{{Main|Second Great Awakening|Restorationism|Restoration Movement}}
The Stone–Campbell [[Restoration Movement]] began on the American frontier during the [[Second Great Awakening]] (1790–1870) of the early 19th century. The movement sought to restore the church and "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian">[[Rubel Shelly]], ''I Just Want to Be a Christian'', 20th Century Christian, Nashville, Tennessee 1984, {{ISBN|0-89098-021-7}}</ref>{{rp|54}} Members do not identify as [[Protestant]] but simply as Christian.<ref>"The church of Jesus Christ is non-denominational. It is neither Catholic, Jewish nor Protestant. It was not founded in 'protest' of any institution, and it is not the product of the 'Restoration' or 'Reformation.' It is the product of the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11ff) grown in the hearts of men." V. E. Howard, ''What Is the Church of Christ?'' 4th Edition (Revised), 1971, page 29</ref><ref name="Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew">Batsell Barrett Baxter and Carroll Ellis, ''Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew'', tract, Church of Christ (1960) ASIN: B00073CQPM. According to Richard Thomas Hughes in ''Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America,'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996 ({{ISBN|0-8028-4086-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4086-8}}), this is "arguably the most widely distributed tract ever published by the Churches of Christ or anyone associated with that tradition."</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South">Samuel S. Hill, Charles H. Lippy, Charles Reagan Wilson, ''Encyclopedia of Religion in the South'', [[Mercer University Press]], 2005, ({{ISBN|0-86554-758-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-86554-758-2}}) 854 pages</ref>{{rp|213}}

The Restoration Movement developed from several independent efforts to return to [[Apostolic Age|apostolic Christianity]], but two groups, which independently developed similar approaches to the Christian faith, were particularly important.<ref name="Redigging the Wells">Monroe E. Hawley, ''Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity'', Quality Publications, Abilene, Texas, 1976, {{ISBN|0-89137-512-0}} (paper), {{ISBN|0-89137-513-9}} (cloth)</ref>{{rp|27–32}} The first, led by [[Barton W. Stone]], began at [[Cane Ridge]], Kentucky and called themselves simply as "[[Christians (Stone Movement)|Christians]]". The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) and was led by [[Thomas Campbell (clergyman)|Thomas Campbell]] and his son, [[Alexander Campbell (clergyman)|Alexander Campbell]]; they used the name "[[Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement)|Disciples of Christ]]". Both groups sought to restore the whole Christian church on the pattern set forth in the [[New Testament]], and both believed that [[creed]]s kept Christianity divided. In 1832 they joined in fellowship with a handshake.

Among other things, they were united in the belief that [[Jesus]] is the Christ, the [[Son of God]]; that Christians should celebrate the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] on the [[Sabbath in Christianity|first day of each week]]; and that [[Believer's baptism|baptism of adult believers]] by [[Immersion baptism|immersion in water]] is a necessary condition for [[salvation]]. Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975">McAlister, Lester G. and Tucker, William E. (1975), ''Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)'', St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8272-1703-4}}</ref>{{rp|27}} Both groups promoted a return to the purposes of the [[Christianity in the 1st century|1st-century churches]] as described in the New Testament. One historian of the movement has argued that it was primarily a unity movement, with the restoration motif playing a subordinate role.<ref name="Garrett 2002">Leroy Garrett, ''The Stone–Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement'', College Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-89900-909-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-89900-909-4}}, 573 pages</ref>{{rp |8}}

The Restoration Movement has since divided into multiple separate groups. There are three main branches in the US: the [[Churches of Christ]], the [[Christian churches and churches of Christ]], and the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]]. Other U.S.-based groups affiliated with the movement are the [[International Churches of Christ]] and the [[International Christian Churches]]. Non-U.S. groups include the [[Churches of Christ in Australia]], the [[Evangelical Christian Church in Canada]], the [[Churches of Christ in Europe]]. The [[Plymouth Brethren]] are a similar though historically unrelated group which originated in the United Kingdom. Some churches, such as [[Churches of Christ]] or the [[Plymouth Brethren]] reject formal ties with other churches within the movement.

Other Christian groups originating during the Second Great Awakening including the [[Millerites|Adventist movement]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Albin |first1=Barry |title=A Spiritual History of the Western Tradition |page=124}}</ref> the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Van Voorst, Robert E.|title=RELG: World (with Religion CourseMate with eBook Printed Access Card)|publisher=Cengage Learning|page=288|year=2012|isbn=978-1-1117-2620-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvNWxEEaf50C&pg=PT303}}</ref> and [[Christian Science]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Mary Baker |title=Manual of the Mother Church |publisher=CSPS |page=17 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18039 |access-date=18 February 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728125557/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18039 |url-status=live}}</ref> founded within fifty years of one another, all consider themselves to be restorative of primitive Christianity and the early church. Some Baptist churches with [[Landmarkism|Landmarkist]] views have similar beliefs concerning their connection with primitive Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Albanese |first1=Catherine |title=America: Religions and Religion |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |page=122}}</ref>

==== Latter Day Saint movement ====
{{Main|Latter Day Saint movement|Mormonism}}
{{See also|List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement|Mormonism and Christianity}}
Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)]] established by [[Joseph Smith]] in 1830, which is categorized as a [[Restorationist]] denomination.<ref name="OCRT2012"/> The largest worldwide denomination is [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], colloquially referred to as [[Mormonism]]. Various considerably smaller sects broke from this movement after its relocation to the Rocky Mountains in the mid-1800s. Several of these broke away over the abandonment of practicing [[Mormonism and polygamy|plural marriage]] after the [[1890 Manifesto]]. Most of the "Prairie Saint" denominations (see below) were established after [[Death of Joseph Smith|Smith's death]] by the remnants of the Latter Day Saints who did not go west with [[Brigham Young]]. Many of these opposed some of the 1840s theological developments in favor of 1830s theological understandings and practices. Other denominations are defined by either a belief in Joseph Smith as a [[prophet]] or acceptance of the [[Book of Mormon]] as [[religious text|scripture]]. [[Mormons]] generally consider themselves to be [[Restorationism|restorationist]], believing that Smith, as [[prophet, seer, and revelator]], restored the original and true Church of Christ to the earth. Some Latter Day Saint denominations are regarded by other Christians as being [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] or even non-Christian, but the Latter Day Saints are predominantly in disagreement with these statements. Latter Day Saints see themselves as believing in a [[God in Mormonism|Godhead]] comprising the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as separate personages united in purpose. Latter Day Saints regard traditional definitions of the [[Trinity]] as aberrations of true doctrine and emblematic of the [[Great Apostasy]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Articles of Faith, no. 1 |url=http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith |access-date=3 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531162806/http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith |archive-date=31 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but they do not accept certain trinitarian definitions in the [[List of Christian creeds|post-apostolic creeds]], such as the [[Athanasian Creed]].

=== Spiritual Christianity ===
[[Spiritual Christianity]], inclusive of the [[Molokan]]s, ''Dukh-i-zhizniki'', [[Doukhobors]], and numerous tribal faiths, emerged in Russia, each containing a unique tradition.<ref name="Campbell2000">{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Ted A. |title=The Religion of the Heart |date=20 March 2000 |publisher=[[Wipf and Stock Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-57910-433-7 |page=138 |language=English}}</ref> The Doukhobor have maintained close association with [[Mennonites|Mennonite Anabaptist Christians]] and [[Quakers|Quaker Christians]] due to analogous religious practices; all of these groups are furthermore collectively considered to be [[peace churches]] due to their belief in [[Christian pacifism|pacifism]].<ref name="FlemingRowan2004">{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=John A. |last2=Rowan |first2=Michael J. |last3=Chambers |first3=James Albert |title=Folk Furniture of Canada's Doukhobors, Hutterites, Mennonites and Ukrainians |year=2004 |publisher=[[University of Alberta]] |language=en |isbn=9780888644183 |page=[https://archive.org/details/folkfurnitureofc00flem/page/4 4] |quote=The English Quakers, who had made contact with the Doukhobors earlier, as well as the Philadelphia Society of Friends, also determined to help with their emigration from Russia to some other country—the only action which seemed possible.|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/folkfurnitureofc00flem/page/4}}</ref><ref name="DyckMartin">{{cite book |last1=Dyck |first1=Cornelius J. |last2=Martin |first2=Dennis D. |title=The Mennonite Encyclopedia |publisher=Mennonite Brethren Publishing House |language=en |page=107}}</ref><ref name="Fahlbusch2008">{{cite book |last=Fahlbusch |first=Erwin |title=The Encyclodedia of Christianity |date=14 February 2008 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=9780802824172 |page=208 |language=en |quote=The only contact with Mennonites was the period 1802–1841 when they lived in the Molotschna, where Johann Cornies (q.v.) rendered them considerable assistance.}}</ref>

=== Other movements ===
Protestant denominations have shown a strong tendency towards diversification and fragmentation, giving rise to numerous churches and movements, especially in Anglo-American religious history, where the process is cast in terms of a series of "[[Great Awakening]]s".

The most recent wave of diversification, known as the [[Fourth Great Awakening]] took place during the 1960s to 1980s and resulted in phenomena such as the [[Charismatic Movement]], the [[Jesus movement]], and a number of [[parachurch organization]]s based in [[Evangelicalism]].

Many independent churches and movements consider themselves to be [[Nondenominational|non-denominational]], but may vary greatly in doctrine. Many of these, like the [[Local churches (affiliation)|local churches]] movement, reflect the core teachings of traditional Christianity. Others however, such as [[The Way International]], have been denounced as cults by the [[Christian anti-cult movement]]. Further, others may have similar doctrine to mainline churches but incorporate a multi-faith and ecumenical model such as the Interfaith-Ecumenical Church (IEC) that is based entirely in a virtual and international model.

Two movements, which are entirely unrelated in their founding, but share a common element of an additional Messiah (or incarnation of Christ) are the [[Unification Church]] and the [[Rastafari movement]]. These movements fall outside of traditional [[Taxonomy (general)|taxonomies]] of Christian groups, though both cite the Christian Bible as a basis for their beliefs.

[[Syncretism]] of Christian beliefs with local and tribal religions is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the world. An example of this is the [[Native American Church]]. The ceremonies of this group are strongly tied to the use of [[peyote]]. (Parallels may be drawn here with the Rastafari [[Entheogen|spiritual use]] of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]].) While traditions vary from tribe to tribe, they often include a belief in Jesus as a Native American cultural hero, an intercessor for man, or a spiritual guardian; belief in the Bible; and an association of Jesus with peyote.

There are also some Christians that reject organized religion altogether. Some [[Christian anarchism|Christian anarchists]]—often those of a Protestant background—believe that the [[Ministry of Jesus|original teachings of Jesus]] were corrupted by Roman statism (compare [[Early Christianity]] and [[State church of the Roman Empire]]), and that earthly authority such as government, or indeed the established Church, do not and should not have power over them. Following "[[Ethic of reciprocity|The Golden Rule]]", many oppose the use of physical force in any circumstance, and advocate [[nonviolence]]. The Russian novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] wrote ''[[The Kingdom of God Is Within You]]'',<ref>[http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html Leo Tolstoy – The Kingdom of God is Within You] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205200941/http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html |date=2012-02-05 }}. Kingdomnow.org. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.</ref> and was a Christian anarchist.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[Christian tradition]]
* [[Great Church]]
* [[List of Christian denominations]]
* [[List of Christian denominations by number of members]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group="Note"}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [http://www.ecumenism.net/denom/ Denominational links] from the Ecumenism in Canada site

{{Christian denominations}}
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