Congregationalism (tradition): Difference between revisions

Congregationalism is a [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed (Calvinist)]] tradition of Protestant Christianity that enjoins a [[church polity]] in which congregations are self-governing (cf. [[congregational polity]]).<ref name="Fields2024"/> Through the years, Congregationalists have adopted various [[Creed|confessional statements]], including the [[Savoy Declaration]], the [[Cambridge Platform]] and the [[Kansas City Statement of Faith]].

Unlike Presbyterians, Congregationalists practice [[congregational polity]] (from which they derive their name), which holds that the members of a local church have the right to decide their church's forms of [[Christian worship|worship]] and confessional statements, choose their own officers and administer their own affairs without any outside interference. Congregationalist polity is rooted in a foundational tenet of Congregationalism: the [[priesthood of all believers]]. According to Congregationalist minister [[Charles Edward Jefferson]], this means that "Every believer is a priest and ... every seeking child of God is given directly wisdom, guidance, power". Consequently, there is an absence of [[godparent]]s, since the whole congregation is the godparent to all the children in the church.

Congregationalists have two sacraments: [[baptism]] and the [[Lord's Supper in Reformed theology|Lord's Supper]]. Congregationalists practice [[infant baptism]], but hold that "...there is no distinction between "infant baptism" and "believer's baptism"."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naccc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/baptism.pdf |title=Baptism |publisher=naccc.org |date= |access-date=21 October 2024}} </ref> The Lord's Supper is normally celebrated once or twice a month. Congregationalists do not invoke the [[intercession of saints]]. Certain Congregationalist hymns that have become popular across [[Christendom]] include ''[[When I Survey the Wondrous Cross]]'' and ''Hark the Glad Sound''.<ref name="Vischer2003">{{cite book |last1=Vischer |first1=Lukas |title=Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-0520-1 |page=91 |language=en}}</ref>

The origins of Congregationalism are found in 16th-century [[Puritanism]], a movement that sought to complete the [[English Reformation]] begun with the separation of the [[Church of England]] from the [[Catholic Church]] during the reign of [[Henry VIII]] (1509–47).{{Sfn|Von Rohr|1992|pp=9–10}} During the reign of [[Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603), the Church of England was considered a Reformed or Calvinist church, but it also preserved certain characteristics of medieval Catholicism, such as [[cathedral]]s, [[church choir]]s, a formal [[liturgy]] contained in the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', traditional clerical [[vestment]]s and [[episcopal polity]] (government by [[bishop]]s).

The Puritans were Calvinists who wanted to further reform the church by abolishing all remaining Catholic practices, such as clerical vestments, wedding rings, [[Organ (music)|organ]] music in church, kneeling at [[Holy Communion]], using the term ''priest'' for a minister, bowing at the name of Jesus, and making the sign of the cross in baptism and communion. Many Puritans believed the Church of England should follow the example of Reformed churches in other parts of Europe and adopt [[presbyterian polity]], in which an egalitarian network of local ministers cooperated through regional [[synod]]s. Other Puritans experimented with congregational polity both within the Church of England and outside of it. Puritans who left the [[established church]] were known as [[English Separatists|Separatists]].

Congregationalism may have first developed in the [[London Underground Church]] under Richard Fitz in the late 1560s and 1570s. The Congregational historian Albert Peel argued that it was accepted that the evidence for a fully thought out congregational [[ecclesiology]] is not overwhelming.

[[Robert Browne (Brownist)|Robert Browne]] (1550–1633) was the first person to set out explicit congregational principles and is considered the founder of Congregationalism.<ref name="Tomkins 2020 98">{{Cite book|title=The Journey of the Mayflower|last=Tomkins|first=Stephen|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=2020 |location=London & New York|page =98}}</ref> While studying for [[ordination]], Browne became convinced that the Church of England was a false church. He moved to Norwich and together with [[Robert Harrison (Brownist)|Robert Harrison]] formed an illegal Separatist congregation.  

In 1581, Browne and his followers moved to [[Holland]] in order to worship freely. While in Holland, Browne wrote treatises that laid out the essential features of Congregationalism. Browne argued for a church only of genuine, [[Regeneration (theology)|regenerate]] believers and criticized the [[Anglicans]] for including all English people within their church. The congregation should choose its own leaders, and the ministers should be ordained by the congregation itself not by bishops or fellow ministers. Each congregation should be founded on a written [[church covenant]], and the congregation as a whole should govern the church: "The meetings together… of every whole church, and of the elders therein, is above the apostle, above the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, the teacher, and every particular elder" and "The voice of the whole people, guided by the elders and the forwardest, is said [in Scripture] to be the voice of God".<ref name="Tomkins 2020 98" /> While each church would be independent, separate churches would still come together to discuss matters of common concern.

Short lifespans were typical of Separatist churches (also known as [[Brownist]] congregations). These were small congregations who met in secret and faced persecution. They were often forced to go into exile in Holland and tended to disintegrate quickly.{{Sfn|Von Rohr|1992|pp=17–18}} Notable Separatists who faced exile or death included [[Henry Barrow]] (circa. –1593), [[John Greenwood (Puritan)|John Greenwood]]  (died 1593), [[John Penry]] (1559–1593), [[Francis Johnson (Brownist)|Francis Johnson]] (1563–1618), and [[Henry Ainsworth]] (1571–1622).{{Sfn|Von Rohr|1992|pp= 22–25}}

In the early 1600s, a Separatist congregation in Scrooby was founded through the efforts of [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]] (who later rejected infant baptism and became a founder of the Baptist movement). [[John Robinson (pastor)|John Robinson]] was the congregation's pastor and [[William Brewster (Pilgrim)|William Brewster]] was an [[Elder (Christianity)|elder]]. In 1607, the congregation moved to Holland fleeing persecution. In 1620, the group (known in history as the [[Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]]) sailed to North America on the ''[[Mayflower]]'', establishing the [[Plymouth Colony]] and bringing the Congregational tradition to America.

In the United States, the Congregational tradition traces its origins mainly to [[Puritan]] settlers of [[colonial New England]]. Congregational churches have had an important role in the political, religious and cultural history of the United States. Their practices concerning church governance influenced the early development of democratic institutions in New England,{{Sfn|Cooper|1999|p=18}} and some of the nation's oldest educational institutions, such as [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[Yale University]], were founded to train Congregational clergy. In the 21st century, the Congregational tradition is represented by the [[United Church of Christ]], the [[National Association of Congregational Christian Churches]], [[Conservative Congregational Christian Conference]], the [[Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches|Evangelical Association]] and many unaffiliated local churches. Some congregations and denominations are [[Conservative Christianity|conservative]] on social issues, (e.g. [[Conservative Congregational Christian Conference|CCCC]]) while others are [[Liberal Christianity|liberal]] (e.g. [[United Church of Christ|UCC]]).