Why Are There So Many Denominations?… 1 August 2025

 
	 Why Are There So Many Denominations
     **If we’re one Church under one Savior, why do our Sunday
     mornings feel so divided?
     May 2nd, 2025 / Unknown Author
     Step into any town in America and you’ll see the signs First
Baptist, Grace Methodist, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Living Word Non-
denominational. Each one distinct in style, history, and theology,
but all claiming to follow the same Jesus. It's no wonder many
believers, especially younger Christians, are asking Why are there
so many denominations? And does any of it actually matter?
     It’s a question that reaches beyond curiosity and into the
heart of Christian identity. And the answer, while complicated,
begins with one surprising truth: most denominational differences
are about preference, not principle.
     *Not Just Theology But Taste
     We like to think denominations split over serious theological
concerns. And sometimes, they do. The Protestant Reformation in the
16th century was a needed correction to abuses within the Church.
The Methodists emphasized sanctification. The Baptists reclaimed
believer’s baptism. The Pentecostals highlighted the gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
     But over time, many new divisions haven’t been about doctrine.
They’ve been about personality, politics, and preference. Whether
we sing hymns or contemporary worship. Whether we baptize by
sprinkling or submersion. Whether the pastor wears robes or ripped
jeans. These aren’t insignificant, but they’re rarely worth parting
ways over.
     As church historian David Bebbington noted, denominational
fragmentation has often been "less about doctrine and more about
ego, ethnicity and ecclesiastical turf wars." In other words, we’ve
let pride and tradition become louder than unity.
     *One Body, Many Divisions
     The early Church was diverse, but it was united. In Acts, the
Holy Spirit brought together Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles into
one fellowship. This was no small feat. It meant bridging centuries
of hostility, culture, and worship traditions. Yet what held them
together wasn’t agreement on every issue it was a shared Lord, a
shared Gospel, and a shared mission.
     Fast forward to today, and we have more than 47,000 Christian
denominations worldwide. That number isn’t inherently bad. Diversity
can reflect the richness of God’s creation. But it becomes a problem
when denominations stop being expressions of unity and start being
expressions of division.
     In the United States, denominational loyalty is rapidly fading.
According to Pew Research, only 28% of adults under 30 identify with
a specific Protestant denomination. Nearly half of this group now
attend nondenominational churches, many of which operate like
denominations under a different name.
     This isn’t just a trend; it’s a reflection of disillusionment.
Many younger Christians are tired of seeing the Church divided over
secondary issues. They’re weary of worship wars, doctrinal gate-
keeping, and theological tribalism.
     *The Cost of Division
     When denominational identity becomes central, we risk turning
the Church into a collection of clubs rather than a family. We speak
of “one body, many parts,” but often act like we’re many bodies,
competing for relevance and market share.
     Jesus prayed that His followers would be one (John 17:21), not
just in spirit, but in witness. “By this everyone will know that you
are my disciples,” He said, “if you love one another” (John 13:35).
He didn’t say they’d know us by our doctrinal exactness or ecclesi-
astical alignment. Love, not logos, was to be our distinguishing
mark.
     That doesn’t mean theology is unimportant. It shapes how we
understand God, how we interpret Scripture, and how we live. But
when theological clarity becomes an excuse for division, we’ve
stopped building Christ’s Church and started building our own.
     As theologian N.T. Wright put it, “When we let our theological
emphases turn into identities that exclude others, we’re no longer
expressing unity in Christ we’re undermining it.”
     *From Division to Mission
     So what’s the path forward?
     It starts with humility. We must admit that not all of our
convictions are essential. Some are preferences wrapped in passion.
Others are cultural habits dressed up as doctrine.
     Next, we must prioritize the Gospel. The core message of Christ
crucified and risen should be the foundation of every local church.
Everything else styles, structures, sacraments should support, not
supersede, that mission.
     Finally, we must reclaim our shared identity. We serve the same
Lord. We were given the same Spirit. We are called to the same
mission - make disciples, love God, love others.
     Heaven won’t be divided into denominational sections. There
won’t be separate rows for Baptists and Pentecostals, Anglicans and
Charismatics. There will be one Bride, united in worship before one
Savior.
     So maybe it’s time we started living that way down here.
     Share this with someone navigating church differences or for
more honest reflections on faith and unity.**

     Often the divisions boil down to cutting and pasting the parts
that a particular group want to follow like members of the LBGTQ+
communities so they split away like the Catholic Church did last
year.
     Read Revelation 22:19-21. It leaves no room for many of the
problems we have.
     Pray that we can return to what God's Word says, not what some
want it to say.

  Conservatively,
  John