Protestantism's Major Branches

When It Arose:Pentecostalism started in 1901. It gained wide support during the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in 1906.

The Leading Figure:Many preachers shaped Pentecostalism over time. Charles F. Parham and his student, William Joseph Seymour, get credit for its start.

Defining Beliefs:There are many expressions of Pentecostalist faith.Many divergent churches show Pentecostalist faith.Pentecostal Churches arose with many divergent churches. These churches usually follow most mainstream Christian ideas. A feature of Protestant worship is "baptism in the spirit," which follows water baptism. During this, the Spirit of God enters the person and possesses them, shown by speaking in tongues.

Unique Practices:Pentecostalism began around speaking in tongues. Protestant services often feel informal but intense, aiming for a frenzied experience of God's presence.

Notable Members: Denzel Washington, Marvin Gaye, Megan Fox, Jerry Lee Lewis

When It Arose: The Baptist Church has roots in the early days of the Protestant Reformation. Early Baptists fled religious persecution in England in 1607, but the church grew most in the 19th century.

The Leading Figure: A minister named John Smyth started the church. Smyth rejected Catholic traces in the Church of England and baptized himself. The church rejected him, so he fled to Holland.

Defining Beliefs: Baptists have no hierarchy.Some preachers exist, but no one is "above" anyone else. They hold that everyone is responsible for their own relationship with God.

Unique Practices: Baptists' main practices center on full immersion of adults in baptism. They think children cannot fully commit to Jesus, so they must be baptized as adults. Also, full water immersion honors the original baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

Notable Members: Jimmy CarterBill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears

When It Arose: Lutherans are the oldest branch of Protestantism. They date back to the original teachings of Martin Luther.original teachings of Martin Luther, who nailed 95 theses to the church door in 1517.

Leading Figure:This branch follows Martin Luther, the theologian who fought the Catholic Church's control. Luther's main idea was that people should find their own salvation in the Bible, not trust corrupt priests.

Defining Beliefs: Despite leaving the church, Luther was a strict, conservative theologian. He held a strict view.strict, literal, and inerrantview of the Bible led him to teach that Jesus's body and blood are physically present during communion. He also thought baptism was absolutely necessary for salvation.

Unique Practices: Lutherans keep many Catholic practices, unlike most other Protestant groups.Lutherans keep the practices of Catholicism.Lutherans keep altars and vestments. They also focus on the sacraments of communion and baptism.

Notable Members: Johann Sebastian Bach.Johann Sebastian Bach.Other notable members include David Letterman, Bruce Willis, and Dana Carvey.

Methodism started when.The Methodist Church split from the Anglican Church, just like the Baptists. It started properly in 1738. Anglican minister John Wesley had a vision that changed his faith.

Leading Figure: John Wesley.John Wesley started the church. He was an Anglican minister whose study of the Bible gave the church its name.

Methodist Churches have specific defining beliefs.Methodists have believed in certain things since they began.Methodists value good works and personal responsibility. Thus, Methodists have historically done charity work and avoided alcohol. Methodists believe in both original sin and universal salvation, unlike some other groups.Methodists believe in original sin and universal salvation. They value good works and personal responsibility. This leads Methodists to participate in charity and avoid alcohol.

Methodist Churches use unique practices.Methodists are a powerfully evangelical branch.Methodists are a powerfully evangelical branch.Methodists work in charity, politics, and business. Their services feature hymns and singing, which Wesley favored as a form of worship.

Notable Members: George W. Bush.George W. Bush.Other notable members include Beyonce Knowles, Christopher Walken, Hillary Clinton, and Rosa Parks.

Calvinism began when.John Calvin wrote the writings that started Calvinism. He worked until 1564. Calvinism grew after the scholar died, eventually becoming a major Christian denomination.

Leading Figure: John Calvin.This branch gets its name from John Calvin. He spent much of his life writing down the faith's rules.

Calvinist Churches hold defining beliefs.Calvinism includes specific teachings.most debated belief is predestination. This belief holds that God chose who would be saved before the world even began. Calvin made this the center of his writing. Calvinists stick to it while other groups dropped it over the centuries.Predestination is Calvinism's most contentious belief. It states God selected who would be saved before creation. Calvin made this the center of his writing. Calvinists stick to it while other groups dropped it over the centuries.

Calvinist Churches have unique practices.In worship, Calvin believed incutting out clutter.bringing worship back to simple glorification of God instead of traditional mass.

Evangelicalism started when.Evangelicalism is a broad movement.Evangelicalism is a broad movement, not a specific splinter group. The main paths toward modern evangelicalism developed in the 17th century.The major strands that formed modern evangelicalism began developing in the 17th century.

Leading Figure: John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards founded the Evangelical movement. These men faced spiritual crises that made them act alone, eventually forming what is now Evangelicalism.The founders of the Evangelical movement were men with spiritual crises who acted alone, forming Evangelicalism. These men included John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards.

Evangelical Churches have defining beliefs.Evangelicals have certain beliefs.four core beliefs: conversionism (being born again), activism (spreading the Word of God), Biblicism (the Bible is inerrant), and crucicentrism (the crucifixion is the faith's main event).Evangelicals have four core beliefs: conversionism (one must be born again), activism (one must spread the Word of God), Biblicism (the Bible is inerrant), and crucicentrism (the crucifixion is the central moment of the faith).

Evangelical Churches employ unique practices.Evangelical churches span from fundamentalist to liberal. All share one practice: evangelizing.Evangelizing.This means spreading the faith.

When It Arose: Like the Evangelical churches, the African-Initiated Churches (AIC) form a loose coalition of linked churches. These churches have no set beginning.Some sourcesplace their formation near 1870.

Defining Beliefs:Most AIC churches mix beliefs; they fold native African beliefs into the Christian Church. Rejecting and persecuting witchcraft binds these AIC churches together. Some scholars call this the "Witchcraft Eradication Movement"

Unique Practices: Because they stress witchcraft, exorcisms matter more in AIC church life than in other Protestant groups. AIC churches believe in and honor Jesus Christ, but their services focus more on the Holy Spirit.

When It Arose: Though its roots are old in Scotland, the church truly started when John Knox presented his faith statement to the Scottish Parliament in 1560.

Leading Figure: John Knox, the Scottish theologian, founded the church. He shaped its principles in his declaration, "The Scots Confession.", even though the Church took heavy influence from John Calvin.

Defining Beliefs: The church accepts many mainline Christian ideas. This includes predestination and Christ's literal presence during communion. Presbyterians also focus on reform.reformPresbyterians embrace new ideas and challenges. This makes them one of the most modern Protestant groups.

Unique Practices: Unlike most churches, Presbyterians operate democratically. They vote on their ruling elders and major policy issues. In 2014, the congregation voted toThey allow same-sex marriages.in the church.

Notable Members: Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan

When It Arose: Anabaptists emerged in what is now Switzerland. They were an early split from Protestantism. They started around 1522 when several thinkers disagreed with Martin Luther on key theology points.

Leading Figure: Conrad Grebel was a theologian. He supported Martin Luther first, but he grew let down by the Protestant faith's development. He performed a second baptism, naming the group the Anabaptists, which means "baptized again."

Defining Beliefs: Initially, Anabaptists defined themselves by believing thatinfant baptism is not in the scripture. These churches rejected the Old Testament entirely. They based all theology only on the New Testament.

Unique Practices:The second baptism was the Anabaptist's original unique practice. Different offshoots of the faith now use it commonly. Early Anabaptists also practiced asceticism and communism.

Notable Members:Many famous Anabaptists existed in past eras. For example, such asJan van LeidenandFelix Manz,Few public figures openly identify as Anabaptist today.

When It Arose:Adventism began in upstate New York during the 1860s. Seventh-Day Adventists became the largest Adventist Group. These groups believed Jesus's return was near.

Leading Figure:William Miller was the first major Adventist prophet. Ellen G. White followed him. White's writings form themain theologyThis theology separates Seventh-Day Adventists from other Protestant groups.

Defining Beliefs:Adventists share most Christian beliefs. They have extra tenets, mostly from Ellen G. White's work. One belief holds that souls stay in limbo until Christ's final coming.

Unique Practices:Seventh-Day Adventists observe the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. This matters for their view of the six-day creation cycle and changes their worship.

Notable Members:Prince, Malcolm X, Ben Carson, Magic Johnson

When It Arose:In 1909, the first Apostolic churches split from Pentecostal roots. These churches, mostly in England, seemed Pentecostal initially. Over ten years, they grew into aseparate denomination.

Leading Figure:William Oliver Hutchinson founded the first Apostolic church. The Welsh clergyman Daniel Powell Williams quickly joined him.

Defining Beliefs:Apostolic and Pentecostal churches share many beliefs. Their differences seem small to outsiders. For instance, Apostolic churches see the Trinity not as separate, but asthree names for one being.

Unique Practices:Apostolic churches baptize members only in Jesus's name. They do not baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

When It Arose:Henry VIII did not get a papal permit to divorce his wife. This separation pulled England from the Vatican's control. Clergymen's patient work developed the true tenets of Anglicanism years later.due to the patient efforts of clergymen.

Leading Figure:Henry VIII founded the church, but Thomas Cranmer earned the credit. Cranmer pushed his son, Edward VI, to add Protestant ideas to the Anglican church. He also helped write the Book of Common Prayer, a key Anglican document.

Defining Beliefs:The Church of England has close ties to the government of England. The current monarch remains the Supreme Governor of the Church.Defender of the FaithShe exercises little power, though.

Unique Practices: Thomas Cranmer took heavy influence from Benedictine monks. Anglicans place a strong emphasis on public and private prayer.

Notable Members: Humphrey BogartKate Winslet, Theodore Roosevelt, Robin Williams

When It Arose: Before becoming Quakers, they were the Religious Society of Friends. People formed the Society in the mid-1600s during England's great turmoil, seeking a more direct communal experience of God.God.

Leading Figure: George Fox founded Quakerism. As a young man, he traveled England, meeting many people who wanted a different religious experience. People persecuted Fox for his beliefs, but he founded and spread the Quaker faith.

Defining Beliefs: The Quaker faith's cornerstone is the belief thatGod exists in every person.Therefore, they believe in pacifism, communal worship, and living a simple life.

Unique Practices: Quakers are a large, varied group of worshippers. Some practices are distinct. For instance, common Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas are not celebrated in the Quaker community. They haveno clergy or liturgy, and their meetings stay silent.

Notable Members: Richard NixonJames Dean, Edward Murrow, Annie Oakley

When It Arose: The "Restoration Movement" peaked in the early 1800s. Six different churches shared the same ideas, completely separate from one another.

Leading Figure: Founders of the Restoration Movement include leaders of the six original churches: James O'Kelly, Abner Jones, Elias Smith, Barton W. Stone, Alexander and Thomas Campbell, and leaders of the Scotch Baptist Movement.

Defining Beliefs:Members of the Restoration Churches see themselves returning to the originalNew Testament faith. This faith in the New Testament church defines them.

Unique Practices: The Restoration movement states four things needed to stay Christian: prayer, Bible study, worship, and faithfulness.