Causes Of Denominational Divisions In Christianity (1)

The first established denominational Church after the death of Peter, Paul and the other earliest disciples of Jesus was the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. Though the Catholic Church traces its formation to the first-century, the term “Catholic Church” was used by Saint Ignatius of Antioch in a letter around 110 AD.

The Eastern Orthodox Church which was based in Constantinople, which is Turkey today, used to be part of the Catholic Church. But it separated itself, making it another Christian denomination after the Catholic Church. The word “Catholic” means “universal.”

As indicated in the previous article, all other major denominations, including the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church emerged from the Catholic Church as several ministers including Martin Luther left it. 

But they did not just break away to form their own Churches for no reasons. There were causes to their actions. We will discuss some of them and also consider other factors that lead to denominational divisions in Christianity today.

Historically, denominational divisions that rocked the early Church were caused by many things. First, the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church came about as a result of disagreement over the authority of the Pope. 

The Pope being the bishop of Rome had been considered as the direct successor to Peter, and that he held universal authority and infallibility over the entire Christian community. However, some ministers of the Reformation movement, including John Hus and Martin Luther, argued that popes might be wrong, and that only the Bible was always right.

Second, the Roman Catholic Church was known to have embraced corrupt practices. An example was the sale of indulgences in which the Church “exchanged written certificates promising the reduction of temporal punishment for sins – or less time in purgatory for oneself or deceased relatives – in return for money donations.”

The third thing which contributed to denominational divisions in the Church was disagreement over doctrines. The Catholic Church had taught that people could earn salvation by good works, buying rituals, or paying the Church. However, after a careful study of the Bible, Luther discovered that salvation is a free gift from God which believers get through faith in Christ Jesus alone. 

Martin Luther and others disagreed on the Catholic Church’s teachings on marriage, worship, baptism, the Lord’s Supper (Mass) and vestments or priestly garments among others. Several other historical causes of denominational divisions in Christianity could not be discussed for the sake of brevity of this article.

Now, aside from the major Christian denominations we know about, many others continue to proliferate today from the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches. They are common in Africa. 

But what are the causes and motivations for these increasing number of denominational establishments? Are the existing ones not enough for emerging apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to serve in and do the will of God?

In the Part Two, we shall consider the causes of the proliferation of denominational Churches in the modern world, especially in Africa where the population of Christians is big. 

By James Quansah