The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Christianity, independent S 89

such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Episcopal Church ( see E PISCOPALIAN ISM ), and the Presbyterian Church ( see P RESBY TERIAN AND R EFORMED CHURCHES ), which are tra ditionally state-supported churches in Europe, are supported by voluntary contributions in the United States. In this climate, independent Christianity refers to churches that refuse to ally themselves with any denomination. Independent B IBLE churches, founded by a person who feels called to preach, are good examples found fairly widely throughout the country. Sometimes these churches enter into loose association with other churches, as long as the association does not require the establishment of a broader adminis trative structure. An example of such churches is the Undenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. These churches refused to remain in fellowship with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) when the Disciples established a denominational structure in 1968. P ENTECOSTALISM , a powerful religious movement of the 20th century, also produced many indepen dent churches in this sense. In Africa, independent Christianity means yet something different ( see A FRICA , NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN ). In Africa, independent Christianity refers to two types of church. One is the church that was started by MISSIONARIES from North Amer ica or Europe but then broke away from the parent church. Churches often did this because the par ent churches did not trust Africans to control their own institutions. The other type of independent Christianity includes churches founded by African prophets or even messiahs. As a result of what they see as a revelation from God, they begin to preach, heal, cast out evil spirits, and attract a following. Some of these independent African churches have become large institutions. Some have also affili ated with the World Council of Churches. Christians have always cherished the idea of unity, in the words of P AUL in the Bible: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4.5). That ideal has not prevented them, however, from developing many different kinds of Christianity. Independent Christianity is an important means by which forms

themselves Christian. Some banded together to form larger associations; others, apparently, did not. With time, what we now know as normative Christianity developed out of a tradition that saw itself as in the line of Jesus’ APOSTLES . When, during the 300s, Christianity became first legal and then mandatory in the Roman empire, the “apostolic orthodox” tradition was established. Churches were organized by territories governed by bishops. In the Western half of the Roman empire the PAPACY assumed the role of overseeing all bishops. Some Christian churches, such as the Coptic ( see C OPTIC C HURCH ) and Nestorian churches, were independent of these structures, but it would be a misnomer to consider them independent Christi anity. They had their own institutional structures. Christian movements also continued to arise that opposed some elements of R OMAN C ATHOLICISM or E ASTERN O RTHODOX C HRISTIANITY . They were, how ever, condemned as heresy and found it difficult to flourish. Independent Christianity did not become viable until the Protestant R EFORMATION . The term means something different, however, in different geographical settings, such as Europe, the United States, and Africa. In Europe Protestants in the tradition of Mar tin L UTHER (1483–1546) and John C ALVIN (1509–64) formed churches that received the support of the state. For example, their ministers had been trained in state universities and paid salaries from tax reve nues. Other churches refused to ally with the state. In the early days of the Reformation, the leading churches that did not do so were the Anabaptist churches, such as the M ENNONITES in the Nether lands. With time, other churches independent of the state developed too. In Germany, for example, these included the Methodist Church (imported from England) and in some areas the Independent Lutheran Church, which disagreed with the state supported Lutheran church ( see L UTHERANISM ). These churches represent independent Christianity in that they are supported by voluntary contribu tions, not the government. In the United States, all churches are inde pendent churches in this sense. Even churches