congregationalism

listen to the pronunciation of congregationalism
English - Turkish
English - English
A system of self-governing Protestant churches
Any of several forms of church organization in which each congregation is responsible for its own government
{n} church government by the members of the church and congregation
a type of Christianity in which each congregation is responsible for making its own decisions. Movement that arose among English Protestant Christian churches in the late 16th and early 17th century. It developed as one branch of Puritanism and emphasized the right and duty of each congregation to govern itself independent of higher human authority. Its greatest influence and numbers were in the U.S., where Puritans first established it at Plymouth Colony. The Half Way Covenant (1662) loosened requirements for church membership, and the Great Awakening led U.S. Congregationalism away from its Calvinist roots. Many churches defected to Unitarianism. In general, Congregationalists eschew creeds and emphasize preaching over sacraments, accepting only baptism and the Eucharist. English Congregationalists are now part of the United Reform Church. Most American Congregationalists are now part of the United Church of Christ. Baptist, Disciples of Christ, and Unitarian Universalist churches also practice congregational polity
{i} form of church government (Protestantism)
That system of church organization which vests all ecclesiastical power in the assembled brotherhood of each local church
system of beliefs and church government of a Protestant denomination in which each member church is self-governing
The faith and polity of the Congregational churches, taken collectively
congregationalism
Favorites