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Congregationalism
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Congregationalism is the theory that every local church is a full realization in miniature, of the entire Church of Jesus Christ; and, the Church while on earth, besides the local Church, can only be invisible and ideal. While other theories may insist on the truth of the first precept, the second of congregationalism gives the entire theory a unique character among plans of church government. There is no other reference than the local congregation, for the "visible church" in congregationalism. And yet, the connection of all Christians is ... asserted, albeit in a way that can't be clearly or consistently described. This first, foundational principle by which congregationalism is guided, results in the extreme limitation of authority, confining it to operate with the consent of a single gathering of believers.
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Congregationalism was the predominant religious denomination throughout much of New England during Colonial times and the 1800s. In 1776, over 12% of Maine residents, 13% of New Hampshire residents, 13% of Connecticut residents, and 16% of Massachusetts residents were Congregationalists. Congregationalism was one of America's "mainstream" Protestant denominations. There was a period of over one hundred years during which divisions and schisms split the denomination into separate Congregationalist religious bodies. Then in the 1900s there was a period of reconcilliation and mergers between many of these bodies (and some other liberal denominations which had not previously been Congregationalist). Eventually these mergers culminated in the consolidation of most U.S. Congregationalist groups, forming the United Church of Christ in 1957.
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Congregationalism had no creed to which subscription was required on the part of its ministers, but in belief it always leaned towards the Westminster standards. Though each congregation was independent and unions were formed for the purposes of fellowship and conference, there was an increasing sense of the need of a central body which would hold stated meetings and have some measure of authority consistent with the autonomy of each individual church. Thus it came about that some Congregational ministers and churches, convinced that the liberty for which they had stood firmly had been won, gradually found their way into the Presbyterian Church. In consequence, the number entering with the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches into the organic union of 1925 was correspondingly small and the membership only some 12,000.
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In England, modern Congregationalism began with the followers of John Wyclif. Men and women called the Lollards, met together in woods and fields to hear the Bible read in their own language. As the English Reformation progressed in the sixteenth century, many men and women called for a more reformed church. During the reign of Elizabeth I, many who had been influenced by the continental Reformation believed that the Church of England still contained the "remnants of Popery". In 1567, some small groups of Christians were meeting together independently of the Church of England. The best known of these congregations was the one which met in the Plumber's Hall, London. It seems to have contained as many as a hundred people, of whom number were in time imprisoned for holding illegal religious worship.
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When the excitement caused by the Revolution had subsided, Congregationalism entered upon a new period of energy. From 1791 onwards revival work again became prominent with results which far surpassed those of the Edwardean period. The number of church members steadily increased, and activities of wider and more lasting importance were undertaken. The loss of Harvard College compelled the provision of new seminaries, and missionary work both home and foreign was vigorously carried on. The following are the seminaries founded since 1800: Andover (1808), Bangor (1816), Hartford (1834), the theological school of Oberlin College (1835), Chicago (1858), Pacific (1869; now at Berkeley, Cal.), and Atlanta (Georgia), 1901. In 1822 a special theological department was organized at Yale.
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Congregationalism was carried to America in 1620 by the Pilgrims, who were members of John Robinson’s congregation in Holland, originally of Scrooby, England. In America, Congregationalism reached its greatest public influence and largest membership. In New England numerous communities were established based on Congregational-type religious principles. In 1648 in the Cambridge Platform a summary of principles of church government and discipline was drawn up. Congregationalists took a leading part in the Great Awakening that, in New England, was started in 1734 by the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. As the country expanded, Congregational churches were established in the newly opened frontier regions.
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Congregationalism