In Christianity, non-denominational institutions or churches are those which have not formally aligned themselves with an established denomination, or remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations. Non-denominational congregations may establish a functional denomination by means of mutual recognition of or accountability to other congregations and leaders with commonly held doctrine, policy and worship without formalizing external direction or oversight in such matters. Some non-denominational churches explicitly reject the idea of a formalized denominational structure as a matter of principle, holding that each congregation must be autonomous.
Non-denominational is generally used to refer to one of two forms of independence: political or theological. That is, the independence may come about because of a religious disagreement or political disagreement. This causes some confusion in understanding. Some churches say they are non-denominational because they have no central headquarters (though they may have affiliations with other congregations.) Other churches say they are non-denominational because their belief structures are unique.
Members of non-denominational churches often consider themselves simply "Christians". However, the acceptance of any particular stance on a doctrine or practice (for example, on baptism), about which there is not general unanimity among churches or professing Christians, may be said to establish a de facto credal identity. In essence, this would mean that each non-denominational church forms its own unofficial "denomination" with a specific set of tenets as defined by the beliefs and practices of its own congregation.
Non-denominationalism should not be confused with interdenominationalism.
History
Wherever the Protestant Reformation took place, the founders claimed that the result was not a new denomination but a reformation of a supposedly pre-existing "national" church.
Denominationalism was accelerated in the aftermath of the Westminster Assembly convened by the English Parliament to formulate a form of religion for the national churches of England and Scotland. In the debate between the two main parties present at the Assembly, the Presbyterians and the Independents, the Presbyterians were in favor of a form of church government that maintained the visible organizational unity of the Catholic Church while Independents, weary of the ecclesiastical tyranny they experienced under the Episcopal system, wished to organize the churches in a congregational way envisioning no legitimate authority of the church above the local congregation meeting at one time in a single place. Obviously these two parties were not reconciled and following the Assembly the Independents formed their own independent church. Thus instead of a united expression of the Church Catholic in England there were now two churches.
Protestant denominations spread and multiplied, especially in the United States, as Denominational confessional statements began to be used more to exclude than to include Christians with different doctrinal convictions. Each denomination maintains to differing degrees some form of organizational and visible unity with its member churches, albeit radically decentralized compared with the Catholic Church. Today, non-denominational churches, like the Independents at the Westminster Assembly, refuse to recognize any ecclesiastical authority above the local congregation and deny the visible unity of the Church (though not the unity of the invisible Church) despite the fact that the original denominations were formed by substantially the same ideology.
Criticism
The most basic criticism of non-denominationalism is the duality of its nature; while non-denominationalism may be a move toward a more ecumenical church body, it may be used as a marketing ploy. This may be as simple as "tricking" some Christians into attending a church or college that does not share their beliefs, or it may be as subtle as a church or college calling itself "nondenominational" simply to increase attendance or enrollment, focusing on that quantitative response rather than the quality of community or education. While this practice may have happened in rare instances, it is certainly not the norm and is quite rare. The criticism that "trickery" is required to increase attendance at non-denominational churches or colleges is negated by both the sheer numbers of people who are joining non-denominational churches at will and with full knowledge, as well as being evidenced by mere observation.
A main argument against non-denominationalism claims that the pastor or teacher at such a church often has no theological degree, and can become a leader of the church without any of the theological training, or even an undergraduate degree that large denominations generally require. A well-known example is Joel Osteen, the leader of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, who has no theological education at all, and has never studied at a seminary. While this does not apply to every non-denominational church, those to which it does argue that maturity and knowledge are all that are required for leadership, not completing a course in seminary. Other critics maintain that there is no such thing as a truly "non-denominational" church, that all churches adhere to a core set of beliefs in some form, just as denominational churches do, even if those beliefs are not as formalized as a named denomination, and even if that church's adherents form a single congregation. One defense against such a criticism is to argue that the basis of a "denomination" is the association with practices and beliefs as defined by human standards, whereas "non-denominational" groups do not adhere to any such practices or beliefs — their beliefs are strictly in adherence with divine mandates. However, this may presuppose the standard of distinction addressed by the question: if their beliefs are not divine, then they in fact do adhere to human standards and denominational norms.
Another critique of non-denominationalism, raised by Boston University religion scholar Stephen Prothero, is that it hides the fundamental theological and spiritual issues that drove the division of Christianity into denominations in the first place behind a rosy veneer or "Christian unity." He argues that non-denominationalism encourages a descent of Christianity—and indeed, all religions—into comfortable "general moralism" rather than being a focus for facing the complexities of churchgoers' culture and spirituality. Prothero further argues that it also encourages ignorance of the scriptures, which in turn reduces overall religious literacy, increasing the potential for inter-religious misunderstandings and conflict.
Although this response may vary widely based on the non-denominational church in view, some non-denominational theologians respond to Stephen Prothero by pointing to a constellation of core beliefs that can be used to reveal the invisible church. One such attempt to codify this group of doctrines is Jack Cottrell’s very brief book “Faith’s Fundamentals, Seven Essentials of Christian Belief.” In this book Dr. Cottrell attempts to delineate seven doctrines that are essential to ones own salvation, doctrines essential to recognizing other Christians and doctrines that permit a Christian to fulfill the Great Commission. The general idea is to draw a line between those doctrines that go to the heart of Christian belief, without the entanglements of distinctions illuminated by many Christian creeds which are otherwise in conflict. This allows unity of the essential faith, even if there is diversity of any number of details upon which the Christian faith does not turn.
Examples
The following organizations and institutions label themselves as non-denominational:
- Plymouth Brethren
- Open Bible Standard Churches — Pentecostal
- Open Brethren — non-charismatic, of UK origin
- Churches of Christ — associated with the Restoration Movement; known for sola scriptura, a cappella worship, and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
- Christian Church & Churches of Christ - (a.k.a. Independent Christian Church) is also associated with the Restoration Movement like the Churches of Christ above. It is similar in most respects except for a cappella worship.
- Churches of Christ in Christian Union — focuses on free-form worship and evangelism
- Newfrontiers — charismatic, of UK origin
- Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples)
- Sovereign Grace Ministries — identifies itself as "Reformed Charismatic"
- Vineyard Movement — evangelical/charismatic
- Independent Bible Society USA - Promoting free higher education for ministry workers.
- World Changers Church International - originating in College Park, Georgia
- Independent Fundamental Churches of America — association of conservative, independent churches
- International Circle of Faith - ICOF — Fellowship of Independent Churches
- Calvary Chapel — mildly charismatic, originating in California
- Gordon College (Massachusetts) — started by a Baptist church and once part of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
- Local churches — The local churches (Chinese: 地方教會 ) are a Christian movement influenced by the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house. Its members see themselves as separate from other Christian groups, denominations, and movements, part of what
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