In Britain, the term Free Christian refers specifically to individual members and whole congregations within the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.
These Free Christians do not subscribe to any official doctrines or creeds, as found in other churches. Because of their historical connections with Unitarianism, they are known particularly for allowing dissent from Trinitarian doctrine (the belief that God exists as a Trinity). However, these Free Christian groups also welcome people who adhere to more orthodox beliefs, as the emphasis is on theological inclusivity rather than non-conformity per se.
In Britain the term "Free Christian" can be traced back to the ministry of James Martineau in the late 19th century. Martineau was an advocate of theological inclusivity, arguing that explicitly Unitarian churches would lead to "a different doxy" from orthodoxy. He urged churches within the Unitarian denomination not to use the name "Unitarian," and suggested "Free Christian" as a more inclusive alternative. [1] In 1868 he went further, forming the Free Christian Union, which he hoped would unite Christians of various beliefs who were opposed to officially imposed doctrine or creeds. [2]
In today's Britain, Free Christians are aligned denominationally within the ranks of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, and more specifically, the Unitarian Christian Association.
The leadership of the Church is made up of Professional Ministers and Accredited Lay Preachers.
In Ireland, similar congregations are called "Non-Subscribing Presbyterians". The Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland, an independent denomination in its own right, no longer has any institutional link with the GAUFCC and UCA (the NSPCI disaffiliated from the UCA in 2015); although some NSPCI ministers trained through their theological and ministry training colleges. [3] They would also consider themselves to have a shared heritage. As such, they could be viewed as connected to the same 'Free Christian' current, at least in historical terms. The NSPCI retains a non-creedal, Christian identity.
A creed is a statement of the shared beliefs of community in the form of a fixed formula summarizing core tenets.
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism, which traces its origins to Britain, particularly Scotland.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a dynamic, "living tradition". Currently, these traditions are summarized by the Six Sources and Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, documents recognized by all congregations who choose to be a part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. These documents are 'living', meaning always open for revisiting and reworking. Unitarian Universalist (U.U.) congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership - and there are U.U. churches / fellowships / congregations / societies all over America - as well as others around the world. The roots of Unitarian Universalism lie in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement named for its belief that the God in Christianity is one person, as opposed to the Trinity which in most other branches of Christianity defines God as one being in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unitarian Christians, therefore, believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was not a deity or God incarnate. As is typical of dissenters, Unitarianism does not constitute one single Christian denomination, but rather refers to a collection of both existing and extinct Christian groups, whether historically related to each other or not, which share a common theological concept of the oneness nature of God.
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was formed in 1928, with denominational roots going back to the Great Ejection of 1662. Its headquarters building is Essex Hall in central London, on the site of the first avowedly Unitarian chapel in England, set up in 1774.
Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence. Certain religious groups that emerged during the Protestant Reformation have historically been known as antitrinitarian, but are not considered Protestant in popular discourse due to their nontrinitarian nature.
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union of Australia united under the Basis of Union. According to the church, it had 243,000 members in 2018. In the 2016 census, about 870,200 Australians identified with the church; in the 2011 census, the figure was 1,065,796. The UCA is Australia's third-largest Christian denomination, behind the Catholic and the Anglican Churches. There are around 2,000 UCA congregations, and 2001 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) research indicated that average weekly attendance was about 10 per cent of census figures.
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organization, leadership and doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy, meaning the large majority, all self-describe as churches, whereas many Protestant denominations self-describe as congregations or fellowships. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, ecclesiology, 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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Christian theology:
The Confessing Movement is a lay-led conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of liberalism and progressivism within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return them to its view of orthodox doctrine. After the 2019 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination is sharply divided and will likely separate or divide into two or more denominations. An exit plan for congregations and annual Conferences passed the 2019 General Conference and upheld by the Judicial Council.
The Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland is a non-creedal Christian Church, which maintains a great emphasis on individual conscience in matters of Christian faith.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology, expressed in an orthodox, conservative vein.
Nicene Christianity is a set of Christian doctrinal traditions which reflect the Nicene Creed, which was formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and amended at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381.
The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States. Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands is a Protestant church in the Netherlands.
The Unitarian Christian Association (UCA) is a relatively small, though growing fellowship of Christians who feel an affinity with traditional Unitarianism and Free Christianity. The association is based in the United Kingdom and is an affiliated society of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, and has formal links with the European Liberal Protestant Network.
Biblical unitarianism encompasses the key doctrines of nontrinitarian Christians who affirm the Bible as their sole authority, and from it base their beliefs that God the Father is a singular being, the only one God, and that Jesus Christ is God’s son, but not divine. The term biblical Unitarianism is connected first with Robert Spears and Samuel Sharpe of the Christian Life magazine in the 1880s. It is a neologism that gained increasing currency in nontrinitarian literature during the 20th century as the mainstream Unitarian churches moved away from belief in the Bible and, in the United States, towards merger with Universalism. It has been used since the late 19th century by conservative Christian Unitarians, and sometimes by historians, to refer to Scripture-fundamentalist Unitarians of the 16th–18th centuries. Its use is problematic in that Unitarians from the 17th to the 20th centuries all had attachment to the Bible, but in differing ways.
Unitarianism, as a Christian denominational family of churches, was first defined in Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania in the late 16th century. It was then further developed in England and America until the early 19th century, although theological ancestors are to be found as far back as the early days of Christianity. It matured and reached its classical form in the middle 19th century. Later historical development has been diverse in different countries.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. Like most Christian churches in Ireland, it is organised on an all-island basis, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The church has approximately 225,000 members.
