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A free church is a
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, wors ...
that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A free church also does not seek or receive government endorsements or funding to carry out its work. The term is especially relevant in countries with established state churches. An individual belonging to a free church is known as a free churchperson or, historically, a free churchman. In Scandinavia, free churchpersons would include Christians who are not communicants of the majority national church, such as the Lutheran
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden ...
. In England, where the Church of England was the established church, other Protestant groups like
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
s ( Presbyterians and
Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising Congregationalist polity, congregationalist church governance, in which each Wiktionary:congregation, c ...
), Baptists, the
Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...
, Methodists and Quakers are among those counted as free churches.


History

The free church model is historically what the Christian church was before the
Emperor Constantine Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
legalized Christianity (see
Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
) and before the later setting up of the state church of the Roman Empire. There were many thriving Christian communities in the Far East (India and China) during medieval times, yet none of these communities ever wielded control of a state. Groups like the Waldensians were in practice free churches. In 16th century Europe, within the radical movements such as the
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
s were free churches with small exceptions like the Münster Rebellion. Mennonites, the
Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churche ...
, the Quakers and other churches maintain free church polities into the present date both in Europe and in North America. Free churches also evolved in the US supported by the official separation of church and state, while much of Europe maintains some government involvement in religion and churches via taxation to support them and by appointing ministers and bishops etc., although free churches have been founded in Europe outside of the state system.


By denomination


Anglicanism

One church in England in the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
tradition, has used the name 'Free Church', known as the Free Church of England. John Gifford had founded a free church in Bedford, England in 1650.


Presbyterianism

Some churches in Scotland and Northern Ireland, mainly of the splinter off Presbyterian tradition, have used the name 'Free Church'. The most important of these to persist at the present time is the Free Church of Scotland.The mainline Church of Scotland is the national church which is Presbyterian and the mother kirk for Presbyterianism all over the world, and is not part of the "Free Church".


English dissenters and nonconformists

In England and Wales in the late 19th century the new terms "free churchman" and "Free Church" started to replace "dissenter" or Nonconformist.


Free Methodist Church

Among the Methodist Churches, calling a church "free" does not indicate any particular relation to a government. Rather the Free Methodist Church is so called because of three, possibly four, reasons, depending on the source referenced. The word "Free" was suggested and adopted because the new church was to be an anti-slavery church (slavery was an issue in those days), because pews in the churches were to be free to all rather than sold or rented (as was common), and because the new church hoped for the freedom of the Holy Spirit in the services rather than a stifling formality. However, according to World Book Encyclopedia, the third principle was "freedom" from secret and oathbound societies (in particular the Freemasons).


Radical Pietism

Denominations belonging to the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches trace their roots to the Radical Pietist movement. Radical Pietists separated from the Lutheran Churches, which held the status of
state churches A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
in Europe.


By country


United States

In the United States, because of the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
forbidding the government establishment of religion, all churches are by definition free churches. However, many churches in the United States have requested tax-exempt status under section
501c3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...
of the Internal Revenue Code. This subjects the churches to certain additional regulations to maintain the tax exemption. Churches that are structured under 501(c)(3) face restrictions in the area of political speech: no substantial part of the church's activities may consist of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. A 501(c)(3) organization is also restricted from participating or intervening in any political campaign for or against any political candidate.


Germany

In Germany, Protestant churches outside the Evangelical Church in Germany are put under a common label of, and collectively referred to, as "free churches" () or "Protestant free churches" (). This includes relatively new denominations like Baptists, Methodists, etc., as well as older ones like the Mennonites and
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany) The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (German: ''Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche'', abbreviated ELFK) is a confessional Lutheran denomination based in Germany and Austria. It currently consists of 1,300 members in 17 congregations. The ELFK mai ...
.


China

Pew Research Center estimated in early 2010s that China has 35 million independent Protestants (mainly in
house churches A house church or home church is a label used to describe a group of Christians who regularly gather for worship in private homes. The group may be part of a larger Christian body, such as a parish, but some have been independent groups that see ...
) and 3.3 million underground
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.


Sweden

In Sweden, the term ''free church'' (Swedish: ) often means any Christian Protestant denomination that is not part of the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden ...
, which was the Swedish state church up to 1 January 2000. This includes Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, etc.


List of denominations bearing the name "Free Church"


Europe

* Evangelical Lutheran Free Church


England

* Free Church of England


Germany

*
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany) The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (German: ''Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche'', abbreviated ELFK) is a confessional Lutheran denomination based in Germany and Austria. It currently consists of 1,300 members in 17 congregations. The ELFK mai ...
* Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church *
Union of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany The Union of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany (german: Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland ) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Germany. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Wuste ...
* Altapostolische Kirche (see
Old Apostolic Church The Old Apostolic Church (OAC) is a church with roots in the Catholic Apostolic Church. History The Old Apostolic Church's roots are found in the Catholic Apostolic Church that was established in 1832 as an outflow of the Albury Movement. Establ ...
)


Iceland

* Reykjavík Free Church * Hafnarfjordur Free Church


Northern Ireland

*
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctri ...


Norway

*
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, or the Free Church as it is commonly known ( no, Den Evangelisk Lutherske Frikirke, shortened ''Frikirken''), is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway, consisting of 83 congregations and 21,817 baptised memb ...


Scotland

*
Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900) The Free Church of Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish Christian denomination, denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the Disruption of 1843. In 1900, the vast major ...
*
Free Church of Scotland (post-1900) The Free Church of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Eaglais Shaor'', ) is an evangelical, Calvinist denomination in Scotland. It was historically part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside the union with the United P ...
* Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (post-1893) * Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)


South Africa

* New Apostolic Church *
Old Apostolic Church The Old Apostolic Church (OAC) is a church with roots in the Catholic Apostolic Church. History The Old Apostolic Church's roots are found in the Catholic Apostolic Church that was established in 1832 as an outflow of the Albury Movement. Establ ...


Ukraine

* Baptists in Ukraine *
Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine The Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine or All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists (AUC ECB) ( ua, Всеукраїнський союз церков євангельських християн-баптистів (ВСЦ ...
* Shtundists


United States

*
Lutheran Free Church The Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States, mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1897 until its merger into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963. The history of the church body predates ...
, 1897 to 1963 *
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) is the sixth largest Lutheran church body in the United States. The AFLC includes congregations from the former Lutheran Free Church in 27 different U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. T ...
, 1962–present *
Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 peopl ...
*
Evangelical Free Church of America The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a denomination in the Evangelical Protestant tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Associa ...


See also

* Free Presbyterian Church (disambiguation) * Free Church Federation * Separation of church and state *
Powers Church The Powers Church is a historic church in York Township, Steuben County, Indiana, described as a "fine example of early northern Indiana Colonial Revival architecture". In 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, where i ...
, in Steuben County, Indiana, near Angola, also known as ''Free Church'' and listed as that on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *
Evangelical Free Church of America The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a denomination in the Evangelical Protestant tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Associa ...
, Southbridge, Massachusetts, NRHP-listed * First Congregational Free Church, Oriskany Falls, New York, NRHP-listed * Free Church Parsonage, Rhinecliff, New York, NRHP-listed *
Free Church of the Good Shepherd All Saints Chapel (listed as the Free Church of the Good Shepherd on the National Register of Historic Places) is a historic Episcopal chapel in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is a wedding venue and was formerly the home of the Episcopal C ...
, Raleigh, North Carolina, NRHP-listed


Notes


External links


Where did Separation of Church and State originate?The Free Church of Christ – Home PageThe Free Church of England – Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Church Christian terminology Protestantism