List of the largest Protestant churches
This article lists the largest Protestant communions and church organizations in the world and provides information regarding the membership thereof. Shown here are international and national bodies with more than 10 and 5 million members, respectively.
Some of these groupings cannot be considered churches in a theological understanding. For example, the Evangelical Church in Germany differs denominationally, encompassing Lutheran, Reformed and United subchurches.
The most numerous international bodies account for more than a half of worldwide Protestant population,[note 1] while the most numerous national bodies account for more than 200 of the world's 800 million Protestants.[note 2][1]
Among the most sizeable international bodies are the Anglican Communion, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Council and the Lutheran World Federation – each with more than 70 million members. The Church of England, the Church of Christ in Congo, the Evangelical Church in Germany and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement constitute the most numerous national bodies with more than 20 million members each.
List of international bodies with size
- Anglican Communion – 85,000,000[2]
- World Methodist Council – 80,500,000[3]
- World Communion of Reformed Churches – 80,000,000[4]
- Lutheran World Federation – 72,000,000[5]
- World Assemblies of God Fellowship – 66,400,000[6]
- Baptist World Alliance – 42,000,000[7]
List of national bodies with size
- Church of England – 28,000,000[8]
- Church of Christ in Congo – 25,500,000[9]
- Evangelical Church in Germany – 24,300,000[10]
- Three-Self Patriotic Movement – 23,0000,000[11]
- Convenção Geral das Assembleias de Deus do Brasil – 22,500,000[12]
- Church of Nigeria – 18,000,000[13]
- Southern Baptist Convention – 16,000,000[14]
- Fangcheng Fellowship – 10,000,000[15]
- Church of Uganda – 8,800,000[16]
- China Gospel Fellowship – 8,000,000[17]
- National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. – 7,500,000[18]
- Church of Sweden – 6,400,000[19]
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – 6,100,000[20]
- Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus – 5,300,000[21]
Footnotes
- ↑ In this comparison, the Pew Forum's figure of 800 million Protestants is used. Mentioned international bodies together account for some 420 million people.
- ↑ In this comparison, the Pew Forum's figure of 800 million Protestants is used. Mentioned national bodies account for a little more than 200 million Protestants.
See also
- Protestantism by country
- List of the largest Protestant churches in the USA
- List of largest churches in the world (buildings, not congregants)
References
- ↑ "Pewforum: Christianity (2010)" (PDF). Pewforum.org. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
- ↑ "- Anglican Communion". Anhglicancommunion.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Member Churches". Worldmethodistcouncil.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "About The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)". World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "About the LWF". Luthernworld.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Statistics of the Assemblies of God (USA)" (PDF). Agchurches.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Baptist World Alliance". Bwanet.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Church of England statistics 2011" (PDF). Churchofengland.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Eglise du Christ au Congo". Ecc.faithweb.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Zensus 2011 : Bevölkerung und Haushalte". Ergebrnisse.zensus2011.de. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Regional Distribution of Christians". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Assembleia de Deus no Brasil é a maior do mundo". Fronteira Final. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Nigerian Anglicans May Control the Future of the Church". Thinkafricapress.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "SBC Baptisms and Churches Increased in 2011, Membership Declined". Lifeway.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World. Books.google.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ Archived November 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Authority of Scripture in China's Underground House Church". Biblereadingproject.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "About Us – The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.". Nationalbaptist.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ Svenska kyrkan i siffror Svenska kyrkan
- ↑ "ELCT Press Release". Elct.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Brief History". EEcmy.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.