List of the largest Protestant churches of the world
Encyclopedia
List of international bodies with size
- Anglican CommunionAnglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
- 80,000,000
- World Methodist CouncilWorld Methodist CouncilThe World Methodist Council, founded in 1881, is an association of churches in the Methodist tradition which comprises most of the world's Wesleyan denominations.- Extension and organization:...
, congregationalCongregational churchCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, presbyterian, reformed and united churchesUnited and uniting churchesUnited and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.Perhaps the oldest example of a united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United and Reformed...
- 75,000,000 - World Alliance of Reformed ChurchesWorld Alliance of Reformed ChurchesThe World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin...
- 70,000,000 - Lutheran World FederationLutheran World FederationThe Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran churches headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of Lund in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1947 to coordinate the activities of the...
- 67,000,000 - World Assemblies of God Fellowship, pentecostals (about 60,000,000)
- Baptist World AllianceBaptist World AllianceThe Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...
- (over 47,000,000) - Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
(over 36,000,000)
List of national bodies with size
- Evangelical Church in GermanyEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
(Germany, about 26,000,000) - Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(about 25,000,000) - Eglise du Christ au CongoEglise du Christ au CongoThe Church of Christ in Congo or CCC , is a union of 62 Protestant denominations, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 25,000,000) - Church of NigeriaChurch of NigeriaThe Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as "over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 140 million.Since 2002...
(about 18,000,000) - Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
(USA alone, 16,300,000) - United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
USA (about 12,000,000) - Three-Self Patriotic MovementThree-Self Patriotic MovementThe Three-Self Patriotic Movement or TSPM is a state-controlled Protestant church in the People's Republic of China...
China 11,0000,000 - Church of UgandaChurch of UgandaThe Church of the Province of Uganda is a member church of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 34 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop....
(8,700,000) - Assembleias de DeusAssembleias de DeusThe Assembléias de Deus are a group of Pentecostal denominations in Brazil related to the Assemblies of God.- History :The Assembléias de Deus began when Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vingren, two Swedish Baptist immigrants from South Bend, Indiana had the Pentecostal experience in Chicago and departed...
(Brazil, about 8,500,000) - Church of SwedenChurch of SwedenThe Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
(6,900,000) - Church of God in ChristChurch of God in ChristThe Church of God in Christ is a Pentecostal Holiness Christian denomination with a predominantly African-American membership. With nearly five million members in the United States and 12,000 congregations, it is the largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest Christian church in the U.S....
(USA 5,500,000) - Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane YesusEthiopian Evangelical Church Mekane YesusThe Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a Christian denomination in Ethiopia. It was created in 1959 with the merger of Lutheran and other congregations established by missionary work in that country, taking its name from the first congregation in Addis Ababa, Mekane Yesus...
(Ethiopia, at least 5,300,000) - Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
(USA 4,780,000) - Evangelical Lutheran Church of FinlandEvangelical Lutheran Church of FinlandThe Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....
(Finland 4,360,000) - Anglican Church of AustraliaAnglican Church of AustraliaThe Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
(3,903,324) - Church of NorwayChurch of NorwayThe Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
(Evangelical Lutheran 3,850,000) - Church of South IndiaChurch of South IndiaThe Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...
(3,800,000)
Alphabetical list of other major churches
- Church of DenmarkChurch of DenmarkThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, Church of Denmark or Danish National Church, is the state church and largest denomination in Denmark and Greenland...
(Denmark) - Kale Heywet (Ethiopia)
- Kimbanguist Church (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Three-Self Patriotic MovementThree-Self Patriotic MovementThe Three-Self Patriotic Movement or TSPM is a state-controlled Protestant church in the People's Republic of China...
(China)
It should be remembered that the Anglican Communion, technically Catholic and Apostolic, has over 73 million members. This includes Churches (such as the Church of England, Church of Nigeria and the Anglican Church of Australia) already in the list.
See also
- List of the largest Protestant churches in the USA
- List of the largest churches in Australia
- List of largest churches in the world (buildings, not congregants)