A free church is any

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor 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 only relevant in countries with established state churches. Notwithstanding that, the description "free" has no inherent doctrinal or polity overtones. An individual belonging to a free church is known as a free churchperson or, historically, free churchman. In Scandinavia, free churchpersons would include Protestant Christians who are not communicants of the majority

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

, such as the Lutheran

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

. In England, where the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

was the established church, other Protestant denominations such as

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

s and

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

s are, accordingly, free churches. In Scotland it might be used regarding any Protestant denomination, including the Free Church of Scotland, the

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (FPC Church; , ) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is "the constitutional heir of the historic Chu ...

, the

Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland is a small, Scotland, Scottish, Presbyterian church denomination. Theologically they are similar to many other Presbyterian denominations in that their office-bearers subscribe to the Westminster Confe ...

etc, in distinction to the established

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, groups like the

Waldensians The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the l ...

were in practice free churches. In 16th century

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, within the radical movements such as the

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , 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 The Münster rebellion (, "Anabaptist dominion of Münster") was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster then under the large Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the Holy Rom ...

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

, the

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

, the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and other churches maintain free church polities into the present date both in Europe and in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

tradition, has used the name 'Free Church', known as the

Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an Episcopal Church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the FC ...

. John Gifford (nonconformist) had founded a free church in

Bedford, England Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford on the ...

in 1650.

Presbyterianism

Some churches in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, mainly of the splinter off

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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 The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

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 International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) is an international federation of evangelical free churches that trace their roots to the Radical Pietist movement (which split off/diverged from Pietistic Lutheranism). The member f ...

trace their roots to the Radical Pietist movement. Radical Pietists separated from the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

es, which held the status of state churches in Europe.

By country

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, because of the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

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 The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States. It is codified in statute as Title 26 of the United States Code. The IRC is organized topically into subtitles and sections, co ...

. 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

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Protestant churches outside the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...

are put under a common label of, and collectively referred to, as "free churches" () or "Protestant free churches" (). This includes relatively new denominations like

, Methodists, etc., as well as older ones like the

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 main ...

China

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

estimated in early 2010s that

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

has 35 million

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

(mainly in house churches) and 3.3 million underground

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Sweden

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, the term ''free church'' (Swedish: ) often means any Christian Protestant denomination that is not part of the

, 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"

Canada

* Evangelical Free Church of Canada

Europe

* Evangelical Lutheran Free Church

England

Germany

Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) (of which the Lutheran Church � ...

* Union of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany * 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. Estab ...

)

Hong Kong / China

* Evangelical Free Church of China (based in Hong Kong)

Iceland

* Reykjavík Free Church * Hafnarfjordur Free Church

Japan

* Evangelical Free Church of Japan

Malaysia

* Evangelical Free Church of Malaysia

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 is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctrinally, the church describes itself as Fundam ...

Norway

* Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

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) * Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (post-1893) *

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (abbreviation: FC(C), Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of ...

Singapore

* Evangelical Free Church of Singapore

South Africa

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Ger ...

Sweden

* Uniting Church in Sweden *

Swedish Pentecostal Movement The Swedish Pentecostal Movement () is a Pentecostal movement in Sweden. Many, but not all, of these, are members of the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches, which was founded in 2001. William Kay, Anne Dyer, ''European Pentecostalism' ...

* Evangelical Free Church in Sweden * Swedish Evangelical Mission

Switzerland

* Evangelical Free Church of Geneva

Ukraine

* Baptists in Ukraine * Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine * Shtundists

United States

* Lutheran Free Church, 1897 to 1963 * Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, 1962–present *

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is an evangelical denomination with Pietism, Pietist Lutheran roots. The Christian denomination, denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people in th ...

* Evangelical Free Church of America

Notes

External links

Where did Separation of Church and State originate?The Free Church of Christ – Home Page

The Free Church of England – Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Church Christian terminology Protestantism

History

By denomination

Anglicanism

Presbyterianism

English dissenters and nonconformists

Free Methodist Church

Radical Pietism

By country

United States

Germany

China

Sweden

List of denominations bearing the name "Free Church"

Canada

Europe

England

Germany

Hong Kong / China

Iceland

Japan

Malaysia

Northern Ireland

Norway

Scotland

Singapore

South Africa

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United States

See also

Notes

External links