Congregational polity

This article is about the form of church organization in which each congregation governs itself. For the family of Protestant churches characterized by and named for this form of governance, see Congregationalism. For other uses, see Congregationalism (disambiguation).

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 Evangelical Baptist churches. Some ecclesiastical bodies that have congregational polity includes 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 associations with other congregations, sometimes called conventions, denominations, or associations.

Congregationalism is distinguished from episcopal polity which is governance by a hierarchy of bishops, and is also distinct from presbyterian polity in which higher assemblies of congregational representatives can exercise considerable authority over individual congregations.

Congregationalism is not limited only to organization of Christian church congregations. The principles of congregationalism have been inherited by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Canadian Unitarian Council.

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