Congregational polity

Common card · No. 272099

Congregational or congregationalist polity is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church is completely independent and ecclesiastically sovereign. Its first articulation in writing is the Cambridge Platform of 1648 in New England. The name comes from Congregationalism, a Protestant tradition descended from English Puritanism, a 16th and 17th century Reformed Protestant movement in the Church of England. Major Protestant Christian traditions that employ congregational polity include Congregationalists, Pentecostals, and most modern Baptist churches. Some ecclesiastical bodies that have congregational polity include the Congregational Methodist Church, the American Baptist Churches USA, the United Church of Christ (with a mix of Presbyterian polity), and many others. More recent generations have witnessed a growing number of nondenominational churches, which are often congregationalist in their governance. Although autonomous, like minded congregations may enter into voluntary...

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