Have you ever wondered why on earth there are so many different Christian denominations? Why is there so much division in the church? What does that say about our entire belief-system?
Why can’t we all just agree? Just how many Christian denominations are there?
I have pondered this question myself for years. But I never took the time to research it or even ask God about it.
So, I figured it was time to stop pondering and just acquire some knowledge.
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
How Many Christian Denominations Are There?
Get ready, because it’s a big number!
According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, there are…
…wait for it…
…45,000 Christian denominations in the world as of 2019!
Say what!
How is that even possible? What does that even mean?
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary defines a denomination as:
an organized Christian church, tradition, religious group, community of people, aggregate of worship centre, usually within a specific country, whose component congregations and members are called by the same name in different areas, regarding themselves as an autonomous Christian church distinct from other churches and traditions. (Source)
I was beyond shocked to learn that there are that many different denominations!
Keep in mind, though, that number does represent all denominations worldwide.
The Main Branches Of Christianity
Christianity has 3 main branches in which each denomination falls under, theoretically.
In this post, we will focus on those 3 branches. The 3 branches are Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodox.
Below, I have outlined a few key beliefs of each branch.
Three Main Branches Of Christianity
- Catholics
- Believe the Bible to be God-breathed and the only authoritative book from God. However, they accept additional books not found in the original Hebrew Bible called Deuterocanonicals (a second canon of scriptures).
- They have a Pope, Fathers, bishops, the Vatican, and other Catholic counsels that act as governing authorities.
- See themselves as the only true church worldwide, under the guidance of the Pope.
- The Pope is the head of the worldwide Catholic Church and has supreme power. He is THE successor to the apostles (along with the bishops).
- Priests are ordained through what is called the Rite of Ordination, where they receive their title of leadership. The three levels are bishop, priest, and deacon.
- Mary, the mother of Jesus, is called the “Queen of Heaven”, and is highly revered. Thousands of other saints are considered holy as well and can be prayed to.
- Priests are obligated to be celibate.
- Protestants
- Believe the Bible is God’s only book and is the sole governing authority.
- Rejects the Deuterocanonical books.
- Do not have one governing, united church; they are broken up into many different denominations (Lutheran, Calvinist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.).
- Do not recognize a “head” of the church like the Pope and find this in direct contradiction to what the Bible says.
- Believe that any Christian can be a leader in the church, even women in some churches.
- Believe we should only pray directly to God, and no one else.
- Priests can marry.
- Eastern Orthodox
- Believe the Bible is God’s only book and is the sole governing authority.
- Accepts additional books not originally found in the original Hebrew Bible called Deuterocanonical books.
- Do not have one governing, united church; they are broken up into many self-governing churches.
- Also do not recognize a “head” of the church.
- The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople holds the honor of primacy but has no real authority over the churches and is considered the first among equals.
- Each church has a ruling bishop and a holy synod (council) to administer and lead the church in teaching and preservation of its traditions.
- Priests cannot marry after ordination.
If you want more in depth breakdowns and comparisons, you can see them here. Religionfacts.com does a great job of using charts to simplify the differences between the branches as well denominations.
Why Is There So Much Division In The Church?
Well, to answer that question, we must first remember that Christians are merely human. We are just human, like the rest of the world.
And because we are just human, we are far from perfect. Isn’t that the whole reason we need Jesus?
We may be trying to live our lives like Christ. But we are still sinners. We still struggle with pride, anger, stubbornness, and any other sin you can think of.
And this reality could interfere with our ability to fully see the Truth. Therefore, leading to separation and segregation into likeminded groups.
The differences in Christian denominations could be a direct result of this reality.
Additionally, some groups may value certain Christian traditions over others. And others may simply choose to worship in a different way than a different group.
It doesn’t always mean that one group has it right and another has it wrong. And it doesn’t always mean that our differences put us at odds.
Where Did The Differences Start?
Well, as we know, early Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. And during what is called the Great Persecution (around 303 AD), Christians were even executed for professing their faith.
They were persecuted by both Jewish and Roman leaders.
But when Roman leader Constantine became emperor in 313 AD, he converted to Christianity. This greatly changed the climate around Christianity.
And then in 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius declared Catholicism the official religion for the Roman empire.
By this point, there were already different Christian groups developing, forming different ways of worshiping and following scripture.
And then in the 1500s, the Roman Catholic church was challenged, leading to a movement that aimed to reform the Catholic church. Eventually, this led to a great split between Christians: Catholics and Protestants.
As you can see, these changes came slowly over time.
And people will do as people do. We grow, we change, we evolve.
Different groups naturally form depending on circumstances, and so on and so forth.
Humans aren’t perfect. We are sometimes blind to the truth because of our own biases and prejudices.
And sometimes we just want the comfort and familiarity of being with likeminded individuals.
The Core Beliefs of Christianity
So, there may be 45,000 different Christian denominations out there. But what is most important is that the core beliefs of Christianity are withheld.
Some core beliefs are:
- Christians believe in one God.
- God is three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Jesus died and was resurrected for the salvation of man.
- Jesus will return for His followers.
- The Holy Bible is God-breathed.
Christian Differences Do Not Prove Christianity is Not True
Nonbelievers like to use the division in the Church to prove that what we believe isn’t true. “They can’t even agree on everything, so it must be a big farse.”
And you, dear brother- or sister-in-Christ, might be wondering why God would allow His own people to be so confused?
Well, one good reason this argument does not disprove anything is this.
WE ARE HUMANS.
We are not perfect, we don’t get everything right, and we don’t have all the answers. Only God does. That is why Jesus came to die for us, to save us from ourselves.
That is why we need Him. If anything, our division proves that we need Him even more.
Now, if you’re a Christian reading this and you are wondering why God doesn’t just clear up the confusion, here are some possible reasons:
- Above all else, love one another. That’s what the Bible tells us to do. And our differences provide us with opportunities to do just that.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~ Peter
Peter 4:8-11
2. Since we don’t have all the answers, we must seek God deeper, giving Him and only Him the glory when mysteries are revealed.
3. Our lack of clarity on certain Christian topics (or lack of unity on these topics) proves that none of us knows it all. Only God knows it all. Not one man can claim to have all the answers.
4. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the only way to salvation. God is more concerned with that Truth than anything else. It is not our religious practices, theories, and church structure that saves us. It’s Jesus.
In conclusion, study God’s word and pray for understanding. Ask and you shall receive.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
What do you think? Can Christians still work together for the purpose of the Kingdom, even with differing opinions on the nonessential topics of Christianity?
External Resources:
https://www.startingpoint.com/blog/why-are-there-so-many-christian-denominations
https://www.learnreligions.com/comparing-christian-denominations-beliefs-part-1-700537
https://www.dw.com/en/the-main-differences-between-catholics-and-protestants/a-37888597
http://christianityinview.com/comparison.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/easternorthodox_1.shtml
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