Are Denominations Bad?

One thing the Church in the United States has plenty of: denominations. According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, there were 217 formal denominations in the United States in 2006. That doesn’t include all the informal denominations and “church networks” that really act like their own denominations. Regardless of how you look at it, there are a LOT of denominations out there.

But are denominations a bad thing? Some folks think so. “Why can’t we all just get along?” is a strong and sympathetic notion when it comes to denominations. There’s certainly no reason why brothers and sisters in Christ shouldn’t get along, despite membership in different denominations. Congregations should reach across boundaries to work together in helping the downtrodden and spreading the Good News; to show love for one another; and to share in the Holy Spirit.

At the same time, though, we recognize that we don’t agree on everything. Should newborns be baptized into the faith community, or should baptism be reserved only for believers? Is there a formal clergy, or are we all an egalitarian “priesthood of believers?” Does an ecclesiastical hierarchy govern the local church, or is there congregational self-government? Should women be elders/pastors, or is that a role reserved for some men only? Does the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper become the actual body and blood of Christ, does it remain just bread and wine, or is it something in between? There are also sharp doctrinal disagreements over Christ’s atonement, God’s sovereignty, sanctification, eternal security, and so on.

We can’t just paper over these differences. There are good, honest Christians on every side of these debates. Christians of all stripes are at different points in their transformation. There are Bible passages that, frankly, are difficult to interpret, and those interpretations can lead to sharply different understandings. We naturally tend to congregate with those who are (at least somewhat) like-minded, which is not necessarily a bad thing. What makes a division bad is when Christians fail to treat each other in a Christ-like manner. Romans 14 makes clear that we may disagree over certain matters, but we shouldn’t cause one another to stumble in our faith journey.

So, are denominations a bad thing? Not necessarily, but we should strive to see the Church as something larger than our denomination, work together to follow Christ’s commands, and live in harmony for the glory of God. Remember the old adage: in essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.