Is the term Non-denominational Misleading?

Let’s start with a dictionary’s definition of the term, “open or acceptable to people of any Christian denomination.” This definition gets at both the usual meaning of the term, but also its difficulties. Before looking at the difficulties, let’s consider some other ways the term is used. One way is to highlight that a particular worship service, church, or even Christian is not formally tied to a particular denomination of the Christian faith (e.g. Southern Baptist, Roman Catholic, or United Methodist). Sometimes, the term means that a particular resource or curriculum or book is meant for all Christians and not just for one particular group of Christians.

Some Christians, who wish to stress their allegiance to Christ first and foremost, and are hesitant about denominations and the divisions they seem to cause, identify as non-denominational. Often, but not always, these individuals are from or have been greatly influenced by Evangelical or Fundamentalist expressions of Christianity. Others still, who identify as Christian, but are not particularly active in their faith or in the life of the Church will also sometimes use this identification. Often these individuals have a general sense of connection to Christ and His teachings, but have no particular connection to any denomination.

All this is understandable and generally works on the surface level, but when you go below the surface, difficulties can emerge. For example, to be a member of a specific Christian denomination situates an individual with a particular framework of the Christian faith with its own approach to worship, congregational life, and distinctive beliefs. Each denomination is also rooted in a particular historical tradition that makes it both similar to and different from other denominations. Every Christian and every Christian church has been influenced by one or more particular frameworks of the Christian faith (whether they know it or not). 

The person who is explicitly a member of or attending a denominational church is aware of this. They know that the Roman Catholic Church has a particular understanding of the Christian faith and they can research that understanding, read about its history, and study its teachings. A person who identifies as non-denominational runs the risk of not knowing the particular framework of Christian faith they influences them. Sometimes non-denominational Christians will claim they are only following the teachings of the Bible. However, the reality is that every understanding of the Bible is influenced by a particular framework or perspective.

Those perspectives may be Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, Anglican, Nazarene, etc. with various ways of nuancing those terms (e.g. a liberal Roman Catholic perspective). To state it another way, a person may claim to be non-denominational, and indeed not hold official membership in a denomination; yet, their understanding of Christianity, how they read the Bible, how they practice their faith in daily life, etc. match up almost entirely with a particular denomination or tradition of Christianity. Again, the danger here is that these persons may not be aware of this and thus blind to what is shaping their faith in Christ.

In the same way, a church may identity itself as being non-denominational, but in almost every other respect (how they conduct worship, how they govern themselves, how they approach the Bible, what they believe about X and Y issues), are like a Baptist Church. Christianity has a rich and venerable history. Whether denominations are good or bad is another question (click here), but to pretend that any Christian or Church stands outside of a wider stream of influence or Church history or differing ways of understanding Christianity is to choose to be blind about the richness of Christianity and one’s personal understanding of it.

So what should a Christian do? 1) Choose a denomination; this should not be done lightly, but after a rigorous period of discernment 2) At least recognize what traditions/denominations are most similar to your own understanding of the faith or which of them have shaped your understanding of Christianity the most. A person might say, “I’ve attended a number of churches. I guess I’m officially non-denominational, but my understanding of Christianity is very Pentecostal (or Lutheran, or Baptist, etc.). 3) You could say, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not really sure where I fall in the Christian spectrum, so right now I identify as non-denominational.”

Are hostile atheists actually helpful to Christianity?

The answer is a fair helping of yes and a fair helping of no.

Before we proceed further it must be said that most atheists are not particularly hostile to Christianity or any other world religion. Most atheists simply do not believe in the claims of religion and go about their lives accordingly. Most are not on a personal campaign to attack, discredit or otherwise give religious people a hard time. Further, there are many atheists whose lives of compassion, service and moral integrity exceed that of many Christians. This should remind us that atheists and Christians (and all people of good will) should partner together for the common good; indeed, for Christians, our faith demands this of us (Matthew 22:35-40).

Let’s start with a fair helping of no.

The attacks on Christianity from hostile atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher, and others have encouraged an acceptance of a negative view of Christian faith in wider society. Is there plenty of misbehavior among Christians to warrant some criticism; of course! But much of the attacks are directed toward one particular understanding of Christianity and very often a caricature of Christianity and not Christianity at its best or even in its usual expressions. Knocking down straw men is not very difficult and when bringing a critique against a belief system or way of life it’s wise to critique it as its best, not just its worst. 

This applies to Christian disagreement among themselves and with others (atheists included). This encouragement of hostility and misrepresentations of Christianity has discouraged the faith of large numbers of Christians, deterred many truth seekers from seeing Christianity as a worthwhile option to explore, and has, perhaps, contributed to some walking away from faith, which necessarily involves participation in the community of faith. Atheists are free to argue against the faith, just as Christians are free to argue for the faith. Debate and criticism can be intense, but it should be conducted fairly, truthfully, and with the best intentions of good will. 

And now, for a fair helping of yes.

Hostile atheists do an incredible amount of good for Christians and Christianity in general. Some atheists have had terrible and sometimes tragic encounters with Christians in particular (who likely manifested behavior that contradicted Jesus’ teachings) or the Christian Church in general. Christians need to be reminded of the immense weight that our actions carry. We need to apologize for our own sins and failures and those of our sisters and brothers who carry the name Christian. When atheists bring these examples up, it’s an opportunity for us as Christians to own our faith, to grow in our faith, and admit to the wrongs done in Christ’s name.

Not all atheists have had some terrible encounter with a Christian; rather, many atheists object to Christianity on intellectual grounds. This is often true of the hostile atheists who get lots of “screen” time in our society. They object to “blind faith” and to claims that don’t seem to have evidence or logical warrant. These guys do a wonderful service to Christians, because they force us to think more clearly about our faith. Often the beliefs, practices, and conception of god they are attacking are not actually reflective of the mainstream of Christianity. It’s a shame that our fuzzy thinking is not addressed more regularly in the lives of our congregations and families.

God can and does work through whoever God wishes to accomplish the good, the beautiful, and the true; however, beyond the Spirit’s direct intervention, much of the “good” that atheists can do for Christians depends on our response. Sadly, whether talking about religion or politics or anything else, we seem increasingly less able as human beings to disagree agreeably and to maintaining goodwill and even friendship with those whom we passionately disagree. If we are open, the hostility of a small number of atheists can force us to be more humble, to live lives that reflect our stated beliefs, and be clearer about what those beliefs actually are. 

What religion…err denomination are you?

Not long ago, I was walking into a hospital and a woman in wheel chair asked me “what religion are you?” Dozens of people have asked me this question over the years, but with a couple of exceptions, none of them were actually asking me which religion I was. They were asking what denomination I belong to. In the vast majority of cases, it was obvious to the questioner that I was a Christian (wearing a penguin suit or a friar’s habit does that, it also gets me great compliments every year around Halloween!), but it wasn’t obvious to them which denomination or tradition of Christianity I belonged to.  

In other words, Roman Catholics and Baptists, Methodists and Lutherans, Anglican and Mennonites, are all members of the same world religion: Christianity; albeit, they are members of different denominations within that one religion. Members of different religions would be Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Wiccans, for example. Do you see the difference? Christianity is a very diverse religion, but there are core beliefs and common practices across denominations. Similarly, most other world religions have a variety of denominations or schools within them.

Who cares? One black eye, among many, of the Christian faith, has been the division among Christians. Jesus prayed in John 17:21 (NRSV), referring to his followers, “that they may all be one.” Claiming that our fellow sisters and brothers are members of an entirely different religion does not encourage Christian unity. Also, older generations will remember (and there are still communities where this dynamic is present) when cooperation or marriage between members of different Christian denominations was almost unheard of. Thankfully, that has changed, a bit.

So the next time someone asks you what religion you are, you can answer, in a couple of ways. 1) “I think you mean what denomination I belong to? I’m a Christian and part of a Lutheran Church” or 2) “I’m a Roman Catholic Christian” or “I’m a Baptist Christian.” Etc.  Or the next time someone says “We are different religions. I’m Catholic and you’re Assembly of God” you can reply, “No, we are both Christians, but members of different Christian denominations.” This little practice can help us move us a little closer toward the “oneness” that Jesus prayed for.

Are denominations bad?

The answer to this question is yes and no and maybe.

Yes, denominations are bad. They are a visible sign of division within the body of Christ. They violate the spirit of Jesus’ prayer for his followers in John 17:21 (NRSV), “that they all may be one.” These divisions, infighting, and historical bloodshed between denominations have been a scandal to Christians and an obstacle to some becoming Christian over the centuries.  

No, denominations are not always bad. They reflect a diversity of cultures and historical developments related to the Christian faith in different times and places. While lamentable in many ways, denominations have allowed Christianity to take on particular shapes, sizes, and colors that have contributed to the richness of Christianity overall.

The variety of denominations has also allowed a greater diversity of forms in Christian practice, worship, organization, and custom which likely allows a greater number of persons to become Christian and live out the Christian way of life. Without this diversity it’s possible to imagine that certain groups or types of people would not be reached with the Gospel message.

There is also a maybe component to this question. The maybe depends on how individual Christians and churches and denominations understand themselves in regard to other denominations. To have “team” pride is perfectly acceptable and some gentle ribbing among varied Christians can be a genuine sign of family. However, without respect this turns sour.

Sadly, Christians of different stripes, particularly denominations which differ greatly on social teachings or certain theological convictions can view other Christian Churches as “less than” or “second class” or “not up to par.” This manifests equally (albeit with its own version of smugness) among conservative, liberal, mainline, evangelical, and Roman Catholic groups.

Sometimes, even worse than above, are the infighting within denominations and individual churches, especially regarding social teaching (“!!!!!!!***!!!!!!****”), worship styles (“I refuse to worship with a projection screen!”) or furniture rearrangement (“This rug has been red since my grandfather founded this church!”)

So yes, denominations are bad. No, they aren’t bad in every way. Sometimes, maybe, they can be worse than they have to be when Christians of different denominations fail to recognize their oneness in Christ and are less than charitable toward one another. Respect and cooperation around the Lordship of Jesus doesn’t require uniformity, but it does require love.

Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?

The answer is no and yes.

No. There are lots of people who never darken the door of a church and yet identify themselves as Christian. They may have been raised in the Church or once been active in the Church or have had some minimal exposure to Christianity and for whatever reason choose to identify as Christian. Many, though not all, will say that they have accepted Christ and that they try to follow Jesus’ teachings in their daily lives, which sometimes, but not always, mostly means being a good person and praying on occasion. Lots of people fall into this category and certainly a person can admire and even practice certain aspects of the Christian faith on their own without going to church.

Years ago, a young woman told me that she was not a Christian, but that Christianity, specifically Episcopal Christianity, was her family’s religion. She recognized that she had not personally committed to the Christian faith, but also recognized that her family had a Christian heritage, even if she wasn’t specifically committed to it herself.  Lots of people who would answer the question with a no, are like this young woman; though, instead of saying “Christianity [Episcopalian] is my family religion,” they just say, “I’m a Christian [Episcopalian].” This is not unlike individuals who know and do very little politically, but still identify as XZY party because their family does.   

So that’s the no part of the answer, but here is the yes part of the answer.

Yes. You need to go to church to be a Christian. Christianity is a communal faith. If you are going to acknowledge Christ as the way to God then you also have to hang out with Christ’s people. To say you believe in Christ or follow Christ but ignore His people is like professing to be in love with someone but never giving them or their family or friends the time of day. Christianity, like most of the world’s religions, isn’t just a matter of privately held beliefs, but is about living a certain kind of life, engaging in certain spiritual practices, and being part of specific, spiritual community. Christianity is a team sport (No, watching the Saints doesn’t count!)  

You can’t play basketball by yourself; you need other people to play the game. The same is true with Christianity. Yes, you can do some spiritual dribbling and shooting on your own, but you can’t fully live the Christian life without being part of a Christian team. The question itself is a bit flawed, “going to church.” Attending weekly worship is an important part of the Christian life, but Christianity is about far more than a one hour event once a week. Christianity is a particular way of life designed to help us become fully human, fully alive, as God intended. Christians aren’t called so much to “go to church” as to “be the church” wherever they go. This involves community life in many ways, not just, but certainly including, attending worship.