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Religious Diversity: Diversity within Christianity

Published July 19, 2023 by Christian Lee Seibold

*Christianity** is a very diverse religion, from its structures to its doctrines to its rituals. This essay will look at some of these variations.

*Polity** is the organization and governing structure of a denomination. Some denominations are hierarchical, whereas some are congregational, meaning each local church is separate from the others in terms of governance; they are each self-governing.

In fact, there are three main governance structures within Protestant Christianity: **Episcopal, Presbyterian,** and **Congregational.** The Roman Catholic structure was modelled highly after the Roman Empire’s Government structure and is very similar to the Episcopal structure. In the Episcopal structure, there is a hierarchy of bishops, with the very top being the archbishop. The Presbyterian structure relies on a hierarchy of boards of multiple elders or presbyters, with the General Assembly at the top. Sometimes elders are elected or ratified by congregants. In Congregational Churches, final authority rests with the congregation; the congregation is involved in every decision and there are few leaders. Sometimes, however, someone is elected to make decisions in conversation with the congregation. **Mega-Churches, Baptist/Congregationalist,** and **non-denominational** are three other variations of polity structure.

There is also a wide range of beliefs and doctrines within Christianity. For example, in regard to the Trinity, there is **trinitarian** and **non-trinitarian** denominations, the former holding the doctrine of the Trinity while the latter not. Unitarians are an example of a non-trinitarian denomination.

Non-trinitarian could mean that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are *one person* and one substance; this contrasts with the trinitarian position of *three persons in one substance.* An important consideration in non-trinitarian doctrine is how Jesus is the same person and substance as God, and historically there have been several different answers to this question.

*Adoptionism** is the belief that Jesus was adopted by the Father, rather than existing as divine since the very beginning. If one believes in Adoptionism, then one might also say that God went into Jesus, so that Jesus contains two separate persons - one human, and the other God.

One might say Jesus was never human and was an illusion, a position prevalent within Gnostic Christianity and **Docetism.** This was rejected by catholic (‘universal’) orthodoxy because it reduced Jesus’ humanity, and humanity was seen as essential for what the suffering and crucifixion of Christ meant - if Jesus was not human, then he didn’t feel human emotions, he didn’t feel pain during his crucifixion, and his sinlessness and sacrifice meant nothing.

*Arianism** is the belief that while Jesus was created by the Father from the very beginning, Jesus is not divine, but a spiritual being lesser than God. And so, for those who believe in Arianism, Jesus is of *similar substance (homoiousios)* to God, rather than the *same substance (homoousios).*

There are two final variations of non-trinitarian doctrine: that Jesus is not God himself but a separate person and substance who is not divine, or that Jesus is a separate God from God the Father. The latter position is similar to **Tritheism** which includes the Holy Spirit as a separate God as well.

*Nestorianism** spread to China and other parts of the east very early on (way before the Protestant Reformation). Nestorianism was considered a heresy by the Catholic Church for specific *theological* reasons - because it held that Jesus Christ had two distinct persons/substances, one human and the other divine.

*Orthodox Christianity** split off from Catholicism and thus ended up with a different polity structure than Catholicism. The next to split off is the **Church of England.** Then comes the **Protestant Reformation,** where we get Luther (**Lutheranism**), Calvin (**Calvinism**), and **Zwingli.** They each held different views on the presence of Christ during the Eucharist (transubstantiation vs. real presence vs. soul goes to heaven to meet Christ vs. no presence). The doctrine of the Separation of Church and State starts developing out of this, as well as the various polity structures mentioned above.

The **Anabaptists,** who baptized people multiple times, and the **Puritans,** who emphasized purity, were among the many Protestant groups to be widely persecuted within Europe. This leads them to escape persecution by immigrating to the colonies in North America, and out of this is founded, later on, the United States of America. We see a tremendous growth in denominationalism within North America due to its religious tolerance and diversity.

*The Great Awakening** within the colonies of North America in the 1700s developed out of people’s search for greater piety and spirituality, and some important leaders come out of this, including Wesley and George Whitefield, both of whom influenced the **evangelical movement** and **Methodism.** Calvinism, personal religion, and personal connection to God are all emphasized greatly during this time period.

The rise in **Fundamentalism** first begins within Protestantism as a reaction against modern Science, Darwin, and modern Biblical Criticism. The response was a set of *five fundamentals* that one must believe in to be considered a Christian. With the recent discoveries in Biblical Criticism, Science, and literary criticism, a new form of religion is formed called **liberal religion,** which reconciles modern ideas and Science with religion. This led to more splintering off of denominations as well as wide diversity within denominations as people grappled with what was coming out of scholarship at the time.

Along with the issue of **Feminism** and women’s place within the Church, there is also the **Civil Rights Movement,** which included important individuals like Martin Luther King Jr. (a Protestant) and Abraham Heschel (a Jew). This led to more splintering as denominations tackled the questions of slavery and segregation. Some Churches supported slavery and others opposed it, and the same was true for segregation, leading to separate denominations for Black people. This legacy is still present today.

This leads us to the LGBTQ+ rights movement, which we are currently in. Many Churches have taken the (correct) step of publicly affirming LGBTQ+ people, and others the opposite.

Christianity is very diverse. Everything from the Trinity to the Mosaic Law to polity structure, transubstantiation, biblical infallibility, race, women, and LGBTQ+ people are all viewed differently in each denomination and within each denomination. While some of the diverse opinions are oppressive and hateful towards minorities, there is an overall diversity of doctrine and ritual which is beneficial to Christianity as a whole. In the next article, I will make *The Case for Religious Diversity.*

2. The Case for Religious Diversity