About Congregationalism

Congregationalist polity describes a form of church governance in which each local congregation is independent and self-supporting, governed by its own members. Some though band into loose voluntary associations with other congregations that share similar beliefs and others join conventions. Congregationalism is not limited to Christian congregations. The principles of congregationalism have been inherited by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Jewish synagogues and most Islamic mosques in the U.S. operate under congregational government with no hierarchies. Congregations that belong to associations and conventions are still independently governed.

Christian congregationalism flows from a set of principles which originate in the New Testament. The great characteristic of congregationalism is a commitment to the principle of the Lordship of Jesus Christ manifested in the life of each local congregation. The essence of congregationalism is that each church obeys the Lord’s leading.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) combines the organizational styles of Congregationalism and Presbyterianism. The UCC is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed tradition, and formed in 1957 by the union of two denominations, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. About 200 Congregational Christian churches at the time chose not to join the merger, mainly on the issue of congregational polity.