Protestant1517
Lutheran
📍 Wittenberg, Germany
Born from Martin Luther's reformation. Salvation by grace through faith alone.
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Denomination Explorer
Christianity is not one tradition. It is a family shaped by centuries of faith, geography, and the many ways people have met God. Explore the full family here. All branches. No judgment.
Protestant1536–1560
Reformed / Presbyterian
📍 Geneva, Switzerland; Scotland
Calvin's legacy: God's sovereignty, covenant theology, and Presbyterian governance.
Learn moreProtestant1738 (Wesley's conversion); formally 1784
Methodist
📍 England
John Wesley's movement of grace, holiness, and social action.
Learn moreProtestant1525
Mennonite
📍 Zurich, Switzerland
Radical Reformation heirs: peace, believers' baptism, and simple discipleship.
Learn moreProtestant1693
Amish
📍 Alsace (France/Germany border); now primarily Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, USA
Radical separation from the world: horse and buggy, plain dress, and Gelassenheit.
Learn moreProtestant1647–1652
Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)
📍 England (Midlands and North)
Silent waiting on God: no clergy, no creed, no sacraments.
Learn moreProtestant1832
Disciples of Christ
📍 American frontier (Kentucky and Virginia)
Unity, freedom, and weekly communion - the moderate Stone-Campbell tradition.
Learn moreProtestant~1173
Waldensian
📍 Lyon, France; Piedmont valleys, Italy
Medieval proto-Reformers who survived centuries of persecution in the Alpine valleys.
Learn moreProtestant~1415
Hussite / Czech Brethren
📍 Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Jan Hus's reform movement - the first to break with Rome before Luther.
Learn moreProtestant1457 (Unitas Fratrum); renewed 1722 (Herrnhut)
Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)
📍 Bohemia (Czech Republic); renewed at Herrnhut, Saxony
The Renewed Brethren: mission, joy, and the Lamb of God.
Learn moreProtestant1843
Free Church of Scotland
📍 Scotland
The Disruption of 1843: when Scottish ministers chose conscience over Crown.
Learn moreProtestant1528
Hutterite
📍 Moravia (Czech Republic); now South Dakota, Alberta, Manitoba
Radical communalism: all things held in common on farming colonies across North America.
Learn moreProtestant1708
Church of the Brethren (Dunkers)
📍 Schwarzenau, Germany; emigrated to Pennsylvania 1719–1729
Triple-immersion baptism, love feasts, and Anabaptist-Pietist pacifism.
Learn moreProtestant1620 (Pilgrim roots); UCC formed 1957
Congregationalist (United Church of Christ)
📍 England; Plymouth Colony, New England, USA
Puritan covenant theology, Mayflower pilgrims, and locally governed churches.
Learn moreProtestant1628
Reformed Church in America
📍 New Amsterdam (New York City), Dutch colony
America's oldest Protestant denomination - Dutch Calvinist since 1628.
Learn moreProtestant1811
Primitive Methodist
📍 Mow Cop, Staffordshire, England
Camp meetings, outdoor preaching, and the religion of the common worker.
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Reformed Church in America
Protestant1628
📍 New Amsterdam (New York City), Dutch colony
🌍 ~210,000 (USA and Canada)
Origin
The Reformed Church in America (RCA) traces its origins to 1628 when Reverend Jonas Michaelius organised the first Reformed congregation in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) under the Dutch West India Company. It is the oldest Protestant denomination in continuous service in North America. Dutch Reformed in theology and confessional heritage, the RCA dominated the Hudson Valley for two centuries and founded Rutgers University (1766).
Core beliefs
- Calvinist soteriology: sovereignty of God, unconditional election, perseverance of the saints
- Three Forms of Unity: Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort
- Two sacraments: Baptism (including covenant infants) and the Lord's Supper
- Presbyterian-synodical governance with ordained elders and deacons
- Biblical authority as the supreme norm for faith and life
Worship style
Reformed liturgical worship using the Book of Common Worship. Mix of traditional and contemporary depending on congregation. Heidelberg Catechism preaching - preaching through the catechism systematically - is the traditional norm.
Key scriptures
- Romans 8:28–30
- Ephesians 1:4–11
- John 6:37–44
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
Relationship to other denominations
Part of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. In full communion with the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and others. Sister denomination to the Christian Reformed Church in North America.