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This is a list of Christian denominations by number of members. It is inevitably partial and generally based on claims by the denominations themselves. The numbers should therefore be considered approximate and the article is an ongoing work-in-progress.
The list includes the Catholic Church (including Eastern Catholic Churches), Protestant denominations with at least 0.2 million members, the Eastern Orthodox Church (and its offshoots), Oriental Orthodox Churches (and their offshoots), Nontrinitarian Restorationism, independent Catholic denominations, Nestorianism and all the other Christian branches and denominations with distinct theologies or polities.
Christianity is the largest religious group in the world, with an estimated 2.3 to 2.6 billion adherents in 2020. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The various denominations of Christianity fall into several large families, shaped both by culture and history.
Christianity arose in the first century AD after Rome had conquered much of the western parts of the fragmented Hellenistic empire created by Alexander the Great. The linguistic and cultural divisions of the first century AD Roman Empire with, broadly speaking, a Latin West and a Greek East, but also with significant areas in North Africa where Coptic was the dominant language, and areas in the Near East where Syriac or Aramaic was the dominant language, were reflected in the early Christian church. The church was called "Catholic" meaning "universal" from very early in the second century, a tacit acknowledgement of the many different cultures it encompassed.
Early Christianity suffered great, although intermittent, persecution from the state until Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, legalizing Christianity. Shortly after the cessation of persecution, the Church had the luxury of reflecting on the meaning of its own teachings for the first time. Significant disputes arose, particularly over the nature of Christ and the relationship between Christ, the Father, and the Spirit. The Church chose to address those disputes with Ecumenical councils, the first four of which were at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon. The first two of these councils, the First Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople gave birth to the Nicene Creed which has become the touchstone for Christian beliefs.
Both of the next two Councils, the Council of Ephesus, and the Council of Chalcedon led to significant ruptures in the Church. Many Christians espousing the minority position at these two councils, even after extensive discussion and attempts at reconciliation, chose to strike out on their own, rather than to accept the positions held by the majority of the church fathers at the councils. Refusing to accept the Council of Ephesus, the Church of the East, encompassing many Syriac speaking Christians in what was then the far East of the Empire, split off in 431 AD. A few decades later, in 451 AD, after the Council of Chalcedon, the group that later became known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches, encompassing many Coptic speaking Christians in North Africa, also split off.
In 1054 AD, an accumulation of misunderstanding, disrespect and genuine theological differences led to the Great Schism, dividing Greek speaking Christians who became the Eastern Orthodox, from Latin speaking Christians who kept the name Catholic, but increasingly prefaced it with the adjective "Roman".
Beginning in 1517, the remaining western, Latin speaking church was itself rent asunder by the Reformation with many Christians rejecting papal authority and gathering together in new ways. Broadly speaking Protestantism has four streams: Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptism, and Anglicanism. While all of these Christian groups from the Church of the East on, have their own subsequent splits, the fragmentation in Protestantism has been extreme, with tens of thousands of denominations. Some of these fragmented groups, particularly among the Eastern churches, have sought to return to Rome, and have reunited themselves under papal authority.
Catholicism is the largest branch of Christianity and the Catholic Church is the largest among churches. About 50% of all Christians are Catholics. [1] [2] According to the annual directory of the Catholic Church or Annuario Pontificio of 2024, there were 1.390 billion baptized Catholics in 2022. [7] [8] In 2024, the World Christian Database reported 1.278 billion Catholics. [1] That figure does not include independent denominations that self-identify as Catholic, numbering some 18 million adherents subscribing to Old Catholicism and other forms of Independent Catholicism. Figures below include the Annuario Pontificio of 2021–2024 that provided 2019–2022 statistics. [9]
Protestantism is the second largest major group of Christians by number of followers. Estimates vary from 0.6 to 1.1 billion, or between 24% and 40% of all Christians. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] The main reason for this wide range is the lack of a common agreement among scholars as to which denominations constitute Protestantism. For instance, most sources include Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists and non-denominational Christianity as part of Protestantism. However, widely used references like the World Christian Encyclopedia, which has been documenting the changing status of World Christianity over the past 120 years classifies Independent Christians as a separate category from Protestantism. [28] [29] Moreover, Protestant denominations altogether do not form a single structure comparable to the Catholic Church, or to a lesser extent the Eastern Orthodox communion. However, several different comparable communions exist within Protestantism, such as the World Evangelical Alliance, the Anglican Communion, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Methodist Council and the Lutheran World Federation. Regardless, 900 million is the most accepted figure among various authors and scholars, and thus is used in this article. Note that this 900 million figure also includes Anglicans, Anabaptists, Baptists, as well as multiple other groups that might sometimes disavow a common "Protestant" designation, and would rather prefer to be called, simply, "Christian". [21] According to Mark Juergensmeyer of the University of California, "popular Protestantism" (that is to say all forms of Protestantism with the notable exception of the historical denominations deriving from the Protestant Reformation) is the most dynamic religious movement in the contemporary world, alongside resurgent Islam. [30]
The number of individuals who are members of historical Protestant Churches totals to 300–600 million. [23] [20]
There are about 110 million Christians in Anglican tradition, [31] [32] mostly part of the Anglican Communion, the third-largest Christian communion in the world, with 42 members (provinces).
The worldwide Baptist community numbers about 100 million. [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] However, the Baptist World Alliance, the world communion of Baptist churches, self-reports only 51 million baptized believers, as Baptists do not count children as members, since they believe in believer's baptism. [65] [63] [64] Therefore, the BWA is the 9th largest Christian communion. [67]
The number of adherents in the Lutheran denominations totals to 70–90 million persons (the Lutheran World Federation reports 77 million and is the sixth largest communion) [80] being represented in the following churches: [23] [81]
The Reformed tradition is represented by 70–80 million people who hold membership in the following churches; [118] [119] [120] [121] [122] the World Communion of Reformed Churches is the fourth-largest communion. [123]
The Methodist movement is represented by 60–80 million people[ verification needed ] (a figure including adherents but non-members), found in denominations including the following; [23] [190] the World Methodist Council (WMC) is the fifth largest communion. [191] Not all of the following churches are member churches of the WMC. The largest Methodist denomination, the United Methodist Church, had about 25 percent [192] of their churches disaffiliate between 2019 and 2023, some of whom joined the Global Methodist Church, thus figures for the two denominations are an ongoing process.
The Plymouth Brethren number around 1 million members. [218]
The denominations listed below did not emerge from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century or its commonly acknowledged offshoots. Instead, they are broadly linked to Pentecostalism or similar other independent evangelical and revivalistic movements that originated in the beginning of the 20th century. [219] For this reason, several sources tend to differentiate them from Protestants and classify them together as Independents, Non-core Protestants etc. Also included in this category are the numerous, yet very similar non-denominational churches. Nonetheless, most sources combine their numbers to the Protestant tally, while others do not since these churches do not self-identify with mainline Protestant traditions. [220] [21] [22] Despite the absence of centralized control or leadership, if considered as a single cohort, this will easily be the second largest Christian tradition after Roman Catholicism. [221] [222] [223] According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC), there are an estimated 450 million Independents world-wide, as of mid-2019. [224]
Those who are members of the Pentecostal denomination number around 280 million people. [23]
60 million people are members of African initiated churches. [238]
The New Apostolic Church has around 10 million members. [245]
Messianic Judaism has a membership of 0.3 million people. [246]
Eastern Protestant Christianity (or Eastern Reformed Christianity) encompasses a range of heterogeneous Protestant Christian denominations that developed outside of the Occident, from the latter half of the nineteenth century and yet keeps elements of Eastern Christianity, to varying degrees. Most of these denominations came into being when existing Protestant Churches adopted reformational variants of Eastern Orthodox liturgy and worship; while others are the result of reformations of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and practices, inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries. [247] [248] [249] Some Protestant Eastern Churches are in communion with similar Western Protestant Churches. [247] [250] However, Protestant Eastern Christianity within itself, does not constitute a single communion. This is due to the diverse polities, practices, liturgies and orientations of the denominations which fall under this category.
The best estimate of the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians is 220 million [256] or 80% of all Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide.[ clarification needed ] [257] Its main body consists of the various autocephalous churches along with the autonomous and other churches canonically linked to them, for the most part form a single communion, making the Eastern Orthodox Church the second largest single denomination behind the Catholic Church. [224] [258] In addition, there are several Eastern Orthodox splinter groups and non-universally recognized churches.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are those descended from those that rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Despite the similar name, they are therefore a different branch of Christianity from the Eastern Orthodox (see above). There are an estimated 62 million Oriental Orthodox Christians, worldwide. [280] [281] [282]
A sixth group is composed by Nontrinitarian Restorationists. These groups are quite distinct from orthodox Trinitarian restorationist groups such as the Disciples of Christ, despite some shared history.
Various denominations that self-identify as Catholic, despite not being affiliated with the Catholic Church. [317]
A seventh group is composed of Nestorians. Divisions occurred within the Church of the East, especially the schism of 1552, but by 1830 two unified patriarchates and distinct churches remained: the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church (now an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See).
An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term *ebiscopus/*biscopus, from the Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος epískopos meaning "overseer". It is the structure used by many of the major Christian Churches and denominations, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Anabaptist, Lutheran, and Anglican churches or denominations, and other churches founded independently from these lineages. Many Methodist denominations have a form of episcopal polity known as connexionalism.
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but typically when two or more denominations are in full communion it enables services and celebrations, such as the Eucharist, to be shared among congregants or clergy of any of them with the full approval of each.
Ecumenism – also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any non-denominational or inter-denominational initiative which encourages greater cooperation and union among Christian denominations and churches. Ecumenical dialogue is a central feature of contemporary ecumenism.
Closed communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of Holy Communion to those who are members in good standing of a particular church, denomination, sect, or congregation. Though the meaning of the term varies slightly in different Christian theological traditions, it generally means that a church or denomination limits participation either to members of their own church, members of their own denomination, or members of some specific class. This restriction is based on various parameters, one of which is baptism. See also intercommunion.
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, 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, fellowships, etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, biblical hermeneutics, theology, 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 mainline Protestant churches are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States and Canada largely of the theologically liberal or theologically progressive persuasion that contrast in history and practice with the largely theologically conservative evangelical, fundamentalist, charismatic, confessional, Confessing Movement, historically Black church, and Global South Protestant denominations and congregations. Some make a distinction between "mainline" and "oldline", with the former referring only to denominational ties and the latter referring to church lineage, prestige and influence. However, this distinction has largely been lost to history and the terms are now nearly synonymous.
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominational orientations or traditions. Multi-denominationalism, or a multi-denominational church or organization, is a congregation or organization that is affiliated with two or more Christian denominations, whether they be part of the same tradition or from separate and distinct traditions.
P'ent'ay is an originally Amharic–Tigrinya language term for Pentecostal Christians. Today, the term refers to all Evangelical Protestant denominations and organisations in Ethiopian and Eritrean societies. Alternative terms include Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelicalism or the Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelical Church. Sometimes the denominations and organizations are known as Wenigēlawī.
The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
Lutheranism is present on all inhabited continents with an estimated 80 million adherents, out of which 74.2 million are affiliated with the Lutheran World Federation. A major movement that first began the Reformation, it constitutes one of the largest Protestant branches claiming around 80 million out of 920 million Protestants. The Lutheran World Federation brings together the vast majority of Lutherans. Apart from it, there are also other organisations such as the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as multiple independent Lutheran denominations.
Christianity in Africa arrived in Africa in the 1st century AD, and in the 21st century the majority of Africans are Christians. Several African Christians influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped its doctrines, including Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, followed by the Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia and several Christian Berber kingdoms.
Protestants in India are a minority and a sub-section of Christians in India and also to a certain extent the Christians in Pakistan before the Partition of India, that adhere to some or all of the doctrines of Protestantism. Protestants in India are a small minority in a predominantly Hindu majority country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. They are also significant minorities in Punjab region, Konkan region, Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with various communities in east coast and northern states. Protestants can trace their origins back to the Protestant Revolution of the 16th century. There are an estimated 20 million Protestants and 16 million Pentecostals in India.
There are around 500,000 to 1,000,000 Protestants in Egypt, with 300,000 to 600,000 being members of the Evangelical Church of Egypt, Pentecostals number 300,000 to 350,000, and various other Protestants scattered in smaller denominations.
Christianity is the prevalent religion in the United States. A recent Gallup survey from 2023 indicates that of the entire U.S. population about 67% is Christian. The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians, though there are also significant numbers of American Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations such as Latter Day Saints, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, and Jehovah's Witnesses. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world and, more specifically, the largest Protestant population in the world, with nearly 210 million Christians and, as of 2021, over 140 million people affiliated with Protestant churches, although other countries have higher percentages of Christians among their populations. The Public Religion Research Institute's "2020 Census of American Religion", carried out between 2014 and 2020, showed that 70% of Americans identified as Christian during this seven-year interval. In a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center, 65% of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians. They were 75% in 2015, 70.6% in 2014, 78% in 2012, 81.6% in 2001, and 85% in 1990. About 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation.
In Christianity, the ordination of women has been taking place in an increasing number of Protestant and Old Catholic churches, starting in the 20th century. Since ancient times, certain churches of the Orthodox tradition, such as the Coptic Orthodox Church, have raised women to the office of deaconess. While ordination of women has been approved in many denominations, it is a very controversial and divisive topic.
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism.
The Spanish Evangelical Church is a united denomination; Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Congregationalists participated in the merger. It was established in the wake of religious tolerance in Spain in 1869. The first General Assembly was in Seville in 1872, where the name of the Spanish Christian Church was adopted, later changed to the current name.
Criticism of Protestantism covers critiques and questions raised about Protestantism, the Christian denominations which arose out of the Protestant Reformation. While critics may praise some aspects of Protestantism which are not unique to the various forms of Protestantism, Protestantism is faced with criticism mainly from the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, although Protestant denominations have also engaged in self-critique and criticized one another. According to both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, many major, foundational Protestant doctrines have been officially declared heretical.
Christian total 2,508,432,000; Catholics 1,278,009,000; Protestants 625,606,000; Independents 421,689,000; Orthodox 293,158,000; Unaffiliated 123,508,000
According to 2015 figures, Christians form the biggest religious group by some margin, with 2.3 billion adherents or 31.2% of the total world population of 7.3 billion.
625,606,000 Protestants
Protestants 559,258,000 Independents 437,418,000. If Independent churches are considered as offshoots of Protestantism, then the "wider" Protestants' share of global Christians is even higher. For example, Protestants and Independents together represent more than 40 percent of all Christians in 2017
CORE PROTESTANTS 342,002,000 NON-CORE PROTESTANTS 491,455,000 Totals 833,457,000
Total of all Anglicans on broader definition 109,546,970
With a membership currently estimated at over 85 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1905, is a fellowship of 246 conventions and unions in 128 countries and territories comprising 51 million baptized believers in 176,000 churches.
The LWF is a global communion of 148 churches in the Lutheran tradition, representing over 77 million Christians in 99 countries.
Presbyterian or Reformed 7% Congregationalist 0.5%
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)With half a billion adherents, Pentecostal/charismatic churches represent the second largest Christian tradition in the world today, second only to Roman Catholicism.
It is widely regarded as the fastest growing element of Christianity and as a consequence it is reshaping the demography of Christianity, with the majority of Christians now living in the Southern Hemisphere rather than in Europe or North America.
Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious denomination in the world, with an estimated 500 million adherents.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Today these churches are also referred to as the Oriental Orthodox Churches and are made up of 50 million Christians.
Oriental Orthodoxy has separate self-governing jurisdictions in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Armenia and Syria, and it accounts for roughly 20% of the worldwide Orthodox population.
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has an estimated 36 million adherents, nearly 14% of the world's total Orthodox population.
In the early 21st century the church claimed more than 30 million adherents in Ethiopia.
Egypt has the Middle East's largest Orthodox population (an estimated 4 million Egyptians, or 5% of the population), mainly members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Coptic Church experienced a religious revival beginning in the 1950s, and currently claims some seven million members inside of Egypt.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the main Christian Church in Egypt, where it has between 6 and 11 million members.
The number of Oneness Pentecostals, above and beyond the hard data of 27.4 million reported for specific groups by the Oneness Studies Institute in 2009, now exceeds an estimated thirty million.
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