186-630: The United Church of Christ ( UCC ) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational , Restorationist , Continental Reformed , and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,600 churches and 712,000 members. The UCC is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under
372-590: A means of grace with Christ actually present, though spiritually rather than bodily as in Catholic doctrine. The document demonstrates the diversity as well as unity in early Reformed theology, giving it a stability that enabled it to spread rapidly throughout Europe. This stands in marked contrast to the bitter controversy experienced by Lutherans prior to the 1579 Formula of Concord . Due to Calvin's missionary work in France , his program of reform eventually reached
558-600: A Collegium of Officers, meeting as peers. This setting is designed to provide an opportunity for mutual responsibility and reporting, as well as ongoing assessment of UCC programs." The main offices of the Covenanted ministries are at the "Church House", the United Church of Christ national headquarters at 700 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio . The Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ (PB-UCC) operates
744-422: A candidate. Members of the congregation vote for or against the committee's recommended candidate for the pastorate, usually immediately after the candidate has preached a "trial sermon;" candidates are usually presented one at a time and not as a field of several to be selected from. Typically the candidate must secure anywhere from 60 to 90 percent affirmative votes from the membership before the congregation issues
930-525: A church from another association or another denomination (this authority is exercised "in cooperation with" the person being ordained/called and the local church that is calling them). Such standing, among other things, permits a minister to participate in the UCC clergy pension and insurance plans. Local churches are usually aided in searching for and calling ordained clergy through a denominationally coordinated "search-and-call" system, usually facilitated by staff at
1116-527: A conference is to provide the primary support for the search-and-call process by which churches select ordained leadership; the conference minister and/or his or her associates perform this task in coordination with the congregation's pulpit search committee (see above) and the association to which the congregation belongs (particularly its ministerial committee). Conferences also provide significant programming resources for their constituent churches, such as Christian education resources and support, interpretation of
1302-564: A distinct tradition from the Reformed. This dispute produced the Canons of Dort , the basis for the "doctrines of grace" also known as the "five points" of Calvinism . Christianity • Protestantism Reformed Christianity is often called Calvinism after John Calvin , influential reformer of Geneva. The term was first used by opposing Lutherans in the 1550s. Calvin did not approve of the use of this term, and scholars have argued that use of
1488-411: A formal call to the candidate; this depends on the provisions in the congregation's particular constitution and/or by-laws . Local churches have, in addition to the freedom to hire ministers and lay staff, the sole power to dismiss them also. However, unlike purely congregational polities, the association has the main authority to ordain clergy and grant membership, or "standing", to clergy coming to
1674-436: A license, the use of recently retired clergy on a short-term basis, or ordained ministers serving the church on a half-time (or less) basis while earning their primary income from chaplaincies or other occupations. While this has been occurring to a lesser degree in other mainline denominations as well, the UCC's congregational polity allows for churches to adopt such approaches without ecclesiological restraint, as might happen in
1860-627: A meaning different from the one proposed by Rüstow. Rüstow wanted an alternative to socialism and the classical liberal economics developed in the German Empire . In 1938, Rüstow met with various economic thinkers—including Ludwig Mises , Friedrich Hayek , and Wilhelm Röpke —to determine how and what could renew liberalism. Rüstow advocated a powerful state to enforce free markets and state intervention to correct market failures . However, Mises argued that monopolies and cartels operated because of state intervention and protectionism and claimed that
2046-571: A mix of nationalism and Protestant-Christian-value-inflected social liberalism to overcome class antagonisms by non-revolutionary means. Naumann called this a "proletarian-bourgeois integral liberalism". Although the party could not win any seats and soon dissolved, he remained influential in theoretical German left-liberalism. In the Weimar Republic , the German Democratic Party was founded and came into an inheritance of
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#17327730321282232-432: A more hierarchical denominational structure. Local churches are typically gathered together in regional bodies called Associations . Local churches often give financial support to the association to support its activities. The official delegates of an association are all ordained clergy within the bounds of the association together with lay delegates sent from each local church. The association's main ecclesiastical function
2418-403: A more important force for change and reform. Some Victorian writers—including Charles Dickens , Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold —became early influential critics of social injustice. John Stuart Mill contributed enormously to liberal thought by combining elements of classical liberalism with what eventually became known as the new liberalism. Mill developed this philosophy by liberalising
2604-399: A mutual agreement between rational citizens, producing rights and duties as well as establishing and defining roles and tasks of the state. Rawls put the equal liberty principle in the first place, providing every person with equal access to the same set of fundamental liberties , followed by the fair equality of opportunity and difference, thus allowing social and economic inequalities under
2790-497: A person's nature, including their will. This view, that sin so dominates people that they are unable to avoid sin, has been called total depravity . As a consequence, every one of their descendants inherited a stain of corruption and depravity. This condition, innate to all humans, is known in Christian theology as original sin . Calvin thought original sin was "a hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature, extending to all
2976-528: A priest in that he intercedes to the Father on believers' behalf and offered himself as a sacrifice for sin, and a king in that he rules the church and fights on believers' behalf. The threefold office links the work of Christ to God's work in ancient Israel . Many, but not all, Reformed theologians continue to make use of the threefold office as a framework because of its emphasis on the connection of Christ's work to Israel. They have, however, often reinterpreted
3162-452: A reliance on what they believe to be a too centralized government to achieve its goals, critics have called this strain of liberalism a more authoritarian ideological position compared to the original schools of liberal thought, especially in the United States, where conservatives have called presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson authoritarians. The first notable implementation of social liberal policies occurred under
3348-538: A response to the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office. The welfare state grew gradually and unevenly from the late 19th century but fully developed following World War II, along with the mixed market economy and general welfare capitalism . Also called embedded liberalism , social liberal policies gained broad support across the political spectrum because they reduced society's disruptive and polarizing tendencies without challenging
3534-601: A restructure of the national setting, consolidating numerous agencies, boards, and "instrumentalities" that the UCC, in the main, had inherited from the Congregational Christian Churches at the time of merger, along with several created during the denomination's earlier years. These structures carry out the work of the General Synod and support the local churches, associations, and conferences. The head executives of these ministries comprise
3720-446: A sacrificial payment for sin. Christ is believed to have died in place of the believer, who is accounted righteous as a result of this sacrificial payment. In Christian theology, people are created good and in the image of God but have become corrupted by sin , which causes them to be imperfect and overly self-interested. Reformed Christians, following the tradition of Augustine of Hippo , believe that this corruption of human nature
3906-480: A social liberal government . In modern political discourse, social liberalism is associated with progressivism , a left-liberalism contrasted to the right-leaning neoliberalism , and combines support for a mixed economy with cultural liberalism. Social liberalism may also refer to American progressive stances on sociocultural issues, such as reproductive rights and same-sex marriage , in contrast with American social conservatism . Cultural liberalism
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#17327730321284092-457: A survey of United Church of Christ beliefs. Among the results of this were findings that in the UCC, 5.6% of the churches responding to the survey described their members as "very liberal or progressive", 3.4% as "very conservative", 22.4% as "somewhat liberal or progressive", and 23.6% as "somewhat conservative". Those results suggested a nearly equal balance between liberal and conservative congregations. The self-described "moderate" group, however,
4278-582: A third way between Manchester Liberalism and socialist revolution in the 1871-founded German Empire . However, the German left-liberal movement fragmented into wings and new parties over the 19th century. The main objectives of the left-liberal parties—the German Progress Party and its successors—were free speech, freedom of assembly, representative government, secret and equal but obligation-tied suffrage, and protection of private property. At
4464-514: A worship service on a Sunday afternoon) of the entire congregation to elect officers, approve budgets and set congregational policy. Other churches, mainly of Evangelical and Reformed descent, have one central "church council" or " consistory " that handles most or all affairs in a manner somewhat akin to a Presbyterian session , while still holding an annual congregational meeting for the purpose of electing officers and/or ratifying annual budgets. Still others, usually those congregations started after
4650-596: Is redemption , which is the gospel of salvation from condemnation which is punishment for sin. In Reformed theology, the Word of God takes several forms. Jesus Christ himself is the Word Incarnate. The prophecies about him said to be found in the Old Testament and the ministry of the apostles who saw him and communicated his message are also the Word of God. Further, the preaching of ministers about God
4836-457: Is "naturally hateful to God." In colloquial English, the term "total depravity" can be easily misunderstood to mean that people are absent of any goodness or unable to do any good. However the Reformed teaching is actually that while people continue to bear God's image and may do things that appear outwardly good, their sinful intentions affect all of their nature and actions so that they are not pleasing to God. Some contemporary theologians in
5022-564: Is a nonprofit corporation collectively "owned" by the Conferences of the United Church of Christ . It is run by a president/CEO and a 19-member Board, with the full corporate board consisting of Conference, Region and Presbytery ministers as well as laypeople. The IB administers a property insurance , liability insurance , and risk management program serving the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church(USA), and
5208-453: Is administered in different ways throughout the Old and New Testaments, but retains the substance of being free of a requirement of perfect obedience. Through the influence of Karl Barth, many contemporary Reformed theologians have discarded the covenant of works, along with other concepts of federal theology. Barth saw the covenant of works as disconnected from Christ and the gospel, and rejected
5394-468: Is also the founding father of the German cooperative movement and the organiser of the world's first credit unions . Some liberal economists, such as Lujo Brentano or Gerhart von Schulze-Gävernitz , established the Verein für Socialpolitik (German Economic Association) in 1873 to promote social reform based on the historical school of economics and therefore rejecting classical economics , proposing
5580-682: Is another conservative association. Church of Tuvalu is an officially established state church in the Calvinist tradition. Reformed theologians believe that God communicates knowledge of himself to people through the Word of God. People are not able to know anything about God except through this self-revelation. (With the exception of general revelation of God; "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).) Speculation about anything which God has not revealed through his Word
5766-586: Is best expressed in Article III of the 1999 revision of the Bylaws and Constitution of the United Church of Christ. Within the United Church of Christ, the various expressions of the church relate to each other in a covenantal manner. Each expression of the church has responsibilities and rights in relation to the others, to the end that the whole church will seek God's will and be faithful to God's mission. Decisions are made in consultation and collaboration among
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5952-477: Is conditional or based on his foreknowledge of who would respond positively to God. Karl Barth reinterpreted the doctrine of predestination to apply only to Christ. Individual people are only said to be elected through their being in Christ. Reformed theologians who followed Barth, including Jürgen Moltmann , David Migliore, and Shirley Guthrie , have argued that the traditional Reformed concept of predestination
6138-598: Is considered " covenantal ". The structure of UCC organization is a mixture of the congregational and presbyterian polities of its predecessor denominations. With ultimate authority given to the local church, many see United Church of Christ polity as closer to congregationalism; however, with ordination and pastoral oversight of licensed, commissioned and ordained ministers conducted by Associations, and General Synod representation given to Conferences instead of congregational delegates, certain similarities to presbyterian polity are also visible. The UCC's "Covenantal Polity"
6324-464: Is desirable. At the same time, the greater society must maintain a socially just distribution of goods. Rawls argued that differences in material wealth are tolerable if general economic growth and wealth also benefit the poorest. A Theory of Justice countered utilitarian thinking in the tradition of Jeremy Bentham , instead following the Kantian concept of a social contract , picturing society as
6510-559: Is found in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 's Confession of 1967 . Those who take this view believe the Bible to be the primary source of our knowledge of God, but also that some parts of the Bible may be false, not witnesses to Christ, and not normative for the church. In this view, Christ is the revelation of God, and the scriptures witness to this revelation rather than being the revelation itself. Reformed theologians use
6696-771: Is held by the Liberal Party of Canada , while in the United States , social liberalism is a significant force within the Democratic Party . Giving an exhaustive list of social liberal parties worldwide is difficult, mainly because political organisations are not always ideologically pure, and party ideologies often change over time. However, peers such as the Africa Liberal Network , the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party ,
6882-763: Is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , Presbyterian Church (USA) , and the Reformed Church in America . Internationally, the UCC has been in full communion with the Union Evangelischer Kirchen (Union of Evangelical Churches) in Germany since 1981. The UEK is an organization of 13 Reformed and United Landeskirchen (regional churches) within the federation of Protestant churches known as
7068-503: Is no UCC hierarchy or body that can impose any doctrine or worship format onto the individual congregations within the UCC. While individual congregations are supposed to hold guidance from the general synod "in the highest regard", the UCC's constitution requires that the "autonomy of the Local Church is inherent and modifiable only by its own action". Within this locally focused structure, however, there are central beliefs common to
7254-414: Is not warranted. The knowledge people have of God is different from that which they have of anything else because God is infinite , and finite people are incapable of comprehending an infinite being. While the knowledge revealed by God to people is never incorrect, it is also never comprehensive. According to Reformed theologians, God's self-revelation is always through his son Jesus Christ, because Christ
7440-422: Is often referred to as social liberalism because it expresses the social dimension of liberalism; however, it is not the same as the broader political ideology known as social liberalism. In American politics , a social liberal may hold either conservative ( economic liberal ) or liberal ( economic progressive ) views on fiscal policy . By the end of the 19th century, downturns in economic growth challenged
7626-610: Is only one association within a conference, or where the associations within a conference have agreed to dissolve, the Conference (below) assumes the association's functions. Local churches also are members of larger Conferences , of which there are 36 in the United Church of Christ. Some cover an individual state, for example the Michigan Conference . Some states have more than one conference—for example Pennsylvania has four. Some cover more than one state—for example
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7812-513: Is sometimes given less importance out of ecumenical concerns. People are not on their own able to fully repent of their sin or prepare themselves to repent because of their sinfulness. Therefore, justification is held to arise solely from God's free and gracious act. Sanctification is the part of salvation in which God makes believers holy, by enabling them to exercise greater love for God and for other people. The good works accomplished by believers as they are sanctified are considered to be
7998-436: Is speculative and have proposed alternative models. These theologians claim that a properly trinitarian doctrine emphasizes God's freedom to love all people, rather than choosing some for salvation and others for damnation. God's justice towards and condemnation of sinful people is spoken of by these theologians as out of his love for them and a desire to reconcile them to himself. Much attention surrounding Calvinism focuses on
8184-433: Is the duty of the state to protect the freedom and independence of the country and to regulate internal affairs, the state must take care of the education and health of its citizens. The state must take care of the roads, railways, telegraphs, telephones, animals of the country, all kinds of vehicles and the general wealth of the nation to protect the peace and security of the country. During the administration and protection of
8370-808: Is the fourth largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion. Many conservative Reformed churches which are strongly Calvinistic formed the World Reformed Fellowship which has about 70 member denominations. Most are not part of the World Communion of Reformed Churches because of its ecumenical attire. The International Conference of Reformed Churches
8556-580: Is the largest Christian denomination. A 2011 report of the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life estimated that members of Presbyterian or Reformed churches make up 7% of the estimated 801 million Protestants globally, or approximately 56 million people. Though the broadly defined Reformed faith is much larger, as it constitutes Congregationalist (0.5%), most of the United and uniting churches (unions of different denominations) (7.2%) and most likely some of
8742-444: Is the only mediator between God and people. Revelation of God through Christ comes through two basic channels. The first is creation and providence , which is God's creating and continuing to work in the world. This action of God gives everyone knowledge about God, but this knowledge is only sufficient to make people culpable for their sin; it does not include knowledge of the gospel. The second channel through which God reveals himself
8928-480: Is the very Word of God because God is considered to be speaking through them. God also speaks through human writers in the Bible , which is composed of texts set apart by God for self-revelation. Reformed theologians emphasize the Bible as a uniquely important means by which God communicates with people. People gain knowledge of God from the Bible which cannot be gained in any other way. Reformed theologians affirm that
9114-514: Is to be given to all those who have faith in Christ. Faith is not purely intellectual, but involves trust in God's promise to save. Protestants do not hold there to be any other requirement for salvation, but that faith alone is sufficient. Justification is the part of salvation where God pardons the sin of those who believe in Christ. It is historically held by Protestants to be the most important article of Christian faith, though more recently it
9300-419: Is to provide primary oversight and authorization of ordained and other authorized ministers; it also is the ecclesiastical link between the local congregation and the larger UCC. The association ordains new ministers, holds ministers' standing in covenant with local churches, and is responsible for disciplinary action; typically a specific ministerial committee handles these duties. Also, an association, again with
9486-463: Is untenable because it abandons the essential unity of God in favor of a community of separate beings. Reformed theologians affirm the historic Christian belief that Christ is eternally one person with a divine and a human nature . Reformed Christians have especially emphasized that Christ truly became human so that people could be saved. Christ's human nature has been a point of contention between Reformed and Lutheran Christology . In accord with
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#17327730321289672-564: The Anglican (known as "Episcopal" in some regions) and Baptist traditions. Reformed theology emphasizes the authority of the Bible and the sovereignty of God , as well as covenant theology , a framework for understanding the Bible based on God's covenants with people. Reformed churches have emphasized simplicity in worship. Several forms of ecclesiastical polity are exercised by Reformed churches, including presbyterian , congregational , and some episcopal . Articulated by John Calvin ,
9858-720: The Barmen Confession and Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have avoided language about the attributes of God and have emphasized his work of reconciliation and empowerment of people. Feminist theologian Letty Russell used the image of partnership for the persons of the Trinity. According to Russell, thinking this way encourages Christians to interact in terms of fellowship rather than reciprocity. Conservative Reformed theologian Michael Horton, however, has argued that social trinitarianism
10044-806: The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats , the European Liberal Forum , the Liberal International , and the Liberal Network for Latin America or scholars usually accept them as parties who are following social liberalism as a core ideology. Social liberal political parties that are more left-biased than general centre-left parties are not described here. (See list of progressive parties ) Some notable scholars and politicians ordered by date of birth who are generally considered as having made significant contributions to
10230-608: The European People's Party , the Greens–European Free Alliance , and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats also house some political parties with social-liberal factions. In North America, social liberalism (as Europe would refer to it) tends to be the dominant form of liberalism present, so in common parlance, "liberal" refers to social liberals. In Canada , social liberalism
10416-545: The Evangelical Church of Germany . In 1982, the World Council of Churches (WCC) published "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry", a document that has served as a foundation for many ecumenical recognition agreements. As a WCC member church, the United Church of Christ issued a response as part of the process to work toward a statement of common theological perspectives. On October 17, 2015, representatives of
10602-729: The German Economic Association . He published the socialist democratic manifesto "Social-liberal: Tasks for Liberalism in Prussia" to create an "action group" for the general people's welfare in the Social Democratic Party of Germany , which they rejected. The National-Social Association , founded by the Protestant pastor Friedrich Naumann also maintained contacts with the left liberals. He tried to draw workers away from Marxism by proposing
10788-684: The Great Depression and the New Deal . In the 1870s and the 1880s, the American economists Richard Ely , John Bates Clark , and Henry Carter Adams —influenced both by socialism and the Evangelical Protestant movement—castigated the conditions caused by industrial factories and expressed sympathy toward labour unions . However, none developed a systematic political philosophy, and they later abandoned their flirtations with socialist thinking. In 1883, Lester Frank Ward published
10974-860: The Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom, the Democrats 66 in the Netherlands, and the Danish Social Liberal Party . In continental European politics, social liberal parties are integrated into the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament , the third biggest group in the parliament, and includes social liberal parties, market liberal parties, and centrist parties. Other groups such as
11160-693: The Liberal Party in Britain from 1906 until 1914. These initiatives became known as the Liberal welfare reforms . The main elements included pensions for poor older adults, and health, sickness, and unemployment insurance . These changes were accompanied by progressive taxation , particularly in the People's Budget of 1909. The old system of charity relying on the Poor Laws and supplemented by private charity, public cooperatives, and private insurance companies
11346-547: The Our Whole Lives curriculum (commonly known as OWL), which is a lifespan, comprehensive, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate sexuality education program. The Whole Lives includes modules for grades K–1, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12, and for Young Adults and Adults. The Our Whole Lives curricula are secular. Congregations who use this program often also use "Sexuality and Our Faith" for the age level they are offering. Sexuality and Our Faith are separate manuals that bring in
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#173277303212811532-637: The UCC Stillspeaking Daily Devotional , one in opposition and one in favor of affirming polyamory. Socially liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice , social services , a mixed economy , and the expansion of civil and political rights , as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited government and an overall more laissez-faire style of governance. While both are committed to personal freedoms, social liberalism places greater emphasis on
11718-566: The United Church of Christ Pension Boards (who would be charged with implementing any divestment of the UCC's Pension Board investments) wrote a letter to UCC President John H. Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent-setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust". The United Church of Christ, along with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of Congregations, created
11904-629: The divinity of Christ and in the Trinitarian concept of God , but it does not explicitly mention the virgin birth of Jesus . The UCC adopted its constitution and by-laws on July 4, 1961. The Constitution gives autonomy to local churches, and it provides for a representative-type of governance of regional and national church organizations. Prior to the vote, 3,669 out of 4,036 Congregational churches voted to accept it. There were 367 Congregational Christian churches that decided to stay out. Some of those churches challenged it in court, saying that it
12090-682: The real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper , Reformed Protestants were defined by their opposition to Lutherans . The Reformed also opposed Anabaptist radicals thus remaining within the Magisterial Reformation . During the seventeenth-century Arminian Controversy , followers of Jacobus Arminius were forcibly removed from the Dutch Reformed Church for their views regarding predestination and salvation , and thenceforth Arminians would be considered outside
12276-490: The "Five Points of Calvinism" (also called the doctrines of grace ). The five points have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP. The five points are popularly said to summarize the Canons of Dort ; however, there is no historical relationship between them, and some scholars argue that their language distorts the meaning of the Canons, Calvin's theology, and the theology of 17th-century Calvinistic orthodoxy, particularly in
12462-418: The "old covenant" whom God chose, beginning with Abraham and Sarah . The church is conceived of as both invisible and visible . The invisible church is the body of all believers, known only to God. The visible church is the institutional body which contains both members of the invisible church as well as those who appear to have faith in Christ, but are not truly part of God's elect. In order to identify
12648-963: The 17th century, who became known as Boers or Afrikaners . Sierra Leone was largely colonized by Calvinist settlers from Nova Scotia , many of whom were Black Loyalists who fought for the British Empire during the American War of Independence . John Marrant had organized a congregation there under the auspices of the Huntingdon Connection . Some of the largest Calvinist communions were started by 19th- and 20th-century missionaries . Especially large are those in Indonesia , Korea and Nigeria . In South Korea there are 20,000 Presbyterian congregations with about 9–10 million church members, scattered in more than 100 Presbyterian denominations. In South Korea, Presbyterianism
12834-400: The 1930s, John Dewey—an educator influenced by Hobhouse, Green, and Ward—advocated socialist methods to achieve liberal goals. John Dewey's expanding popularity as an economist also coincided with the greater Georgist movement that rose in the 1910s, pinnacling with the presidency of Woodrow Wilson . America later incorporated some social liberal ideas into the New Deal , which developed as
13020-407: The 1957 merger, have structures incorporating aspects of both, or other alternative organizational structures entirely. In almost all cases, though, the selection of a minister for the congregation is, in keeping with the Reformed tradition of the "priesthood of all believers", vested in a congregational meeting, held usually after a special ad hoc committee searches on the congregation's behalf for
13206-430: The 1970s political and philosophic academia. Rawls may therefore be a "patron saint" of social liberalism. Following economic problems in the 1960s and 1970s, liberal thought underwent some transformation. Keynesian financial management faced criticism for interfering with the free market. At the same time, increased welfare spending funded by higher taxes prompted fears of lower investment, lower consumer spending , and
13392-486: The Bible is true, but differences emerge among them over the meaning and extent of its truthfulness. Conservative followers of the Princeton theologians take the view that the Bible is true and inerrant , or incapable of error or falsehood, in every place. This view is similar to that of Catholic orthodoxy as well as modern Evangelicalism . Another view, influenced by the teaching of Karl Barth and neo-orthodoxy ,
13578-695: The CCT, the United Church of Christ is in communication with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for cooperation towards shared issues, as well as involvement in theological dialogue. The United Church of Christ facilitates bilateral dialogues with many faith groups, including members of the Jewish and Muslim communities. This includes membership in the National Muslim-Christian Initiative. Quoting
13764-540: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches and related entities. United Church Funds (UCF) , formerly known as The United Church Foundation , provides low cost, socially responsible, professionally managed Common Investment Funds (CIFs) and other trustee services to any setting of the United Church of Christ. United Church Funds' offices are also located in New York City . Everett Parker of
13950-554: The Christian Religion was one of the most influential works of the era. Toward the middle of the 16th century, these beliefs were formed into one consistent creed , which would shape the future definition of the Reformed faith. The 1549 Consensus Tigurinus unified Zwingli and Bullinger's memorialist theology of the Eucharist, which taught that it was simply a reminder of Christ's death, with Calvin's view of it as
14136-648: The Church of England retained elements of Catholicism such as bishops and vestments , unlike continental Reformed churches , and thus was sometimes called "but halfly Reformed." Beginning in the seventeenth century, Anglicanism broadened to the extent that Reformed theology is no longer dominant in Anglicanism. Some scholars argue that Reformed Baptists , who hold many of the same beliefs as Reformed Christians but not infant baptism , should be considered part of Reformed Christianity, though this would not have been
14322-530: The Father and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and Son. However, contemporary theologians have been critical of aspects of Western views here as well. Drawing on the Eastern tradition, these Reformed theologians have proposed a " social trinitarianism " where the persons of the Trinity only exist in their life together as persons-in-relationship. Contemporary Reformed confessions such as
14508-844: The French-speaking provinces of the Netherlands. Calvinism was adopted in the Electorate of the Palatinate under Frederick III , which led to the formulation of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563. This and the Belgic Confession were adopted as confessional standards in the first synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1571. In 1573, William the Silent joined the Calvinist Church. Calvinism
14694-475: The July 2005 UCC resolutions on divestment from Israel were "functionally anti-Semitic ". The Anti-Defamation League stated that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling". In addition to the concerns raised about the merits of the "economic leverage" resolution, additional concerns were raised about the process in which the General Synod approved the resolution. Michael Downs of
14880-529: The Kingdom of Hawaii . United Church of Christ General Synod XXV also passed two resolutions concerning the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East. One calls for the use of economic leverage to promote peace in the Middle East, which can include measures such as government lobbying, selective investment , shareholder lobbying, and selective divestment from companies that profit from
15066-480: The New Liberals made a case against laissez-faire classical liberalism. It argued in favour of state intervention in social, economic and cultural life. What they proposed is now called social liberalism. The New Liberals, including intellectuals Thomas Hill Green , Leonard Hobhouse and John A. Hobson , saw individual liberty achievable only under favourable social and economic circumstances. In their view,
15252-713: The Reformed faith holds to a spiritual (pneumatic) presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper . Emerging in the 16th century, the Reformed tradition developed over several generations, especially in Switzerland , Scotland and the Netherlands . In the seventeenth century, Jacobus Arminius and the Remonstrants were expelled from the Dutch Reformed Church over disputes regarding predestination and salvation , and from that time Arminians are usually considered to be
15438-424: The Reformed tradition, such as those associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Confession of 1967, have emphasized the social character of human sinfulness. These theologians have sought to bring attention to issues of environmental, economic, and political justice as areas of human life that have been affected by sin. Reformed theologians, along with other Protestants, believe salvation from punishment for sin
15624-707: The Second World War. What was new in these reforms was the underlying assumption that the state could be a positive force, that the measure of individual freedom ... was not how much the state left people alone, but whether he gave them the capacity to fill themselves as individuals. In 1860s Germany, left-liberal politicians like Max Hirsch , Franz Duncker , and Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch established trade unions —modelled on their British counterparts—to help workers improve working and economic conditions through reconciliation of interests and cooperation with their employers rather than class struggle. Schulze-Delitzsch
15810-639: The South West Conference covers Arizona and New Mexico. A conference typically contains multiple associations; if no associations exist within its boundaries, the conference exercises the functions of the association as well. Conferences are supported financially through local churches' contribution to "Our Church's Wider Mission" (formerly "Our Christian World Mission"), the United Church of Christ's denominational support system; unlike most associations, they usually have permanent headquarters and professional staff. The primary ecclesiastical function of
15996-599: The U.S. population self-identified with the United Church of Christ. The UCC maintains full communion with other Protestant denominations. Many of its congregations choose to practice open communion . The denomination emphasizes participation in worldwide interfaith and ecumenical efforts. The national leadership and General Synod of the UCC have historically favored culturally liberal views on social issues, such as civil rights , LGBT rights , women's rights , and abortion . UCC congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and may not necessarily support
16182-623: The UCC Office of Communication, at the request of Martin Luther King Jr. , organized UCC churches during 1959 against television stations in the Southern United States that were imposing news blackouts of information pertaining to the then growing Civil Rights Movement . The UCC later won a lawsuit that resulted in a federal court decision that the broadcast air waves are public, not private, property. That led toward
16368-583: The UCC after the 2005 General Synod vote. The Biblical Witness Fellowship , a small conservative evangelical organization within the denomination, opposes the denomination's growing support for same-sex relationships. The United Church of Christ was recognized in the Apology Resolution to Native Hawaiians . Congress recognized the reconciliation made by the UCC in the Eighteenth General Synod for their actions in overthrowing
16554-553: The UCC's central beliefs is that it is "called to be a united and uniting church". Because of this, the UCC is involved in Churches Uniting in Christ , an organization seeking to establish full communion among nine Protestant denominations in America. Currently, the UCC has entered into an ecumenical partnership with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and through A Formula of Agreement , signed in 1997,
16740-488: The UCC. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches were themselves the result of earlier unions and had their roots in Congregational, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCC's 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, primarily in the U.S. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of
16926-462: The UCC. The UCC often uses four words to describe itself: "Christian, Reformed , Congregational and Evangelical". While the UCC refers to its Evangelical characteristics, it springs from (and is considered part of) mainline Protestantism as opposed to some doctrines in Evangelicalism . The word evangelical in this case more closely corresponds with the original Lutheran origins meaning "of
17112-645: The UUA principles and scripture used in the UCC to support its teachings. The curriculum is based on guidelines provided by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States . In 2021, the UCC and the UUA presented "a study on polyamory by the Canadian Unitarian Council " as a part of its sexual education programs. Prior to the sexuality education series, in 2016, the UCC published differing opinions on polyamory in
17298-438: The United Church of Christ Constitution, "The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the local church." An interplay of wider interdependence with local autonomy characterizes the organization of the UCC. Each "setting" of the United Church of Christ relates covenantally with other settings, their actions speaking "to but not for" each other. The ethos of United Church of Christ organization
17484-509: The United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada came together in Niagara Falls, Ontario , to sign a historic full communion agreement. This agreement had been approved at the 30th General Synod of the UCC and the 42nd General Council of the United Church of Canada in the summer of 2015 and signifies the mutual desire of both denominations to work in cooperation and openness in the areas of worship, mission, witness, ministry and
17670-532: The United Church of Christ is the local church (also often called the congregation ). Local churches have the freedom to govern themselves, establishing their own internal organizational structures and theological positions. Thus, local church governance varies widely throughout the denomination. Some congregations, mainly of Congregational or Christian Connection origin, have numerous relatively independent "boards" that oversee different aspects of church life, with annual or more frequent meetings (often conducted after
17856-463: The United Church of Christ, creeds , confessions, and affirmations of faith function as "testimonies of faith" around which the church gathers rather than as "tests of faith" rigidly prescribing required doctrinal consent. As expressed in the United Church of Christ constitution: The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to
18042-635: The United States President Ronald Reagan . They pursued policies of deregulation of the economy and reduction in spending on social services. Part of the reason for the collapse of the social liberal coalition was a challenge in the 1960s and 1970s from financial interests that could operate independently of national governments. A related reason was the comparison of ideas such as socialized medicine, advocated by politicians such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, facing criticisms and being dubbed as socialist by conservatives during
18228-576: The United States, and Keynesian liberalism . Cultural liberalism is an ideology that highlights its cultural aspects. The world has widely adopted social liberal policies. Social liberal ideas and parties tend to be considered centre to centre-left , although there are deviations from these positions to both the political left or right . Addressing economic and social issues, such as poverty , welfare , infrastructure , healthcare and education using government intervention, while emphasising individual rights and autonomy, are expectations under
18414-689: The Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. In accordance with
18600-411: The assistance of the ministerial committee, admits and removes local congregations from membership in the UCC. Associations meet at least once annually to elect officers and board members and set budgets for the association's work; fellowship and informational workshops are often conducted during those meetings, which may take place more frequently according to local custom. In a few instances where there
18786-461: The belief that finite humans cannot comprehend infinite divinity, Reformed theologians hold that Christ's human body cannot be in multiple locations at the same time. Because Lutherans believe that Christ is bodily present in the Eucharist , they hold that Christ is bodily present in many locations simultaneously. For Reformed Christians, such a belief denies that Christ actually became human. Some contemporary Reformed theologians have moved away from
18972-464: The call of a pastor be approved by the association committee on ministry. Participation in the search and call process is usually considered a sign of the congregation's loyalty to the larger denomination and its work. At the end of 2008, 5,320 churches were reported to be within the UCC, averaging 210 members. Sixteen churches were reported to have over 2,000 members, but 64% had fewer than 200 members. The latter statistic probably indicates where most of
19158-409: The capitalist economic system. Businesses accepted social liberalism in the face of widespread dissatisfaction with the boom and bust cycle of the earlier financial system as it seemed to them to be a lesser evil than more left-wing modes of government. Characteristics of social liberalism were cooperation between big business, government, and labour unions. Governments could assume a vital role because
19344-568: The church's 2005 General Synod, which made the United Church of Christ the first major Christian deliberative body in the U.S. to endorse "equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender". It now is the second-largest Christian denominational entity in the US to support same-sex marriage , after the Presbyterian Church (USA) . The resolution was one of 32 actions by General Synod and other national bodies, beginning in 1969, which support civil rights for LGBT citizens and urge their full inclusion in
19530-413: The concept of consequentialism to promote a rights based system. He also developed his liberal dogma by combining the idea of using a utilitarian foundation to base upon the idea of individual rights. The new liberals tried to adapt the old language of liberalism to confront these difficult circumstances, which they believed could only be resolved through a broader and more interventionist conception of
19716-517: The concept of covenant to describe the way God enters into fellowship with people in history. The concept of covenant is so prominent in Reformed theology that Reformed theology as a whole is sometimes called "covenant theology". However, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theologians developed a particular theological system called " covenant theology " or "federal theology" which many conservative Reformed churches continue to affirm. This framework orders God's life with people primarily in two covenants:
19902-415: The conference level. However, the local church may, for various reasons, opt not to avail itself of the conference placement system, and is free to do so without fear of retaliation, which would likely occur in synodical or presbyterian polities. However, many UCC congregations have constitutions that mandate that their called pastor be an ordained minister approved by the association, while others require that
20088-597: The confessional standard for Presbyterians in the English-speaking world. Having established itself in Europe, the movement continued to spread to areas including North America , South Africa and Korea . While Calvin did not live to see the foundation of his work grow into an international movement, his death allowed his ideas to spread far beyond their city of origin and their borders and to establish their own distinct character. Although much of Calvin's work
20274-512: The continuing Israel-Palestine conflict. The other resolution, named "Tear Down the Wall", calls upon Israel to remove the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank. Opponents of the "Tear Down the Wall" resolution have noted that the wall's purpose is to prevent terrorist attacks, and that the resolution does not call for a stop to these attacks. The Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that
20460-462: The corruption of their nature due to original sin. Reformed Christians believe that God predestined some people to be saved and others were predestined to eternal damnation. This choice by God to save some is held to be unconditional and not based on any characteristic or action on the part of the person chosen. The Calvinist view is opposed to the Arminian view that God's choice of whom to save
20646-401: The country, the things we just counted are more important than cannons, rifles and all kinds of weapons. (...) Private interests are generally the opposite of the general interests. Also, private interests are based on rivalries. But, you can't create a stable economy only with this. People who think like that are delusional and they will be a failure. (...) And, work of an individual must stay as
20832-458: The covenant of works and the covenant of grace. The covenant of works is made with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden . The terms of the covenant are that God provides a blessed life in the garden on condition that Adam and Eve obey God's law perfectly. Because Adam and Eve broke the covenant by eating the forbidden fruit , they became subject to death and were banished from the garden. This sin
21018-470: The creation of a "dependency culture." Trade unions often caused high wages and industrial disruption, while total employment was considered unsustainable. Writers such as Milton Friedman and Samuel Brittan , whom Friedrich Hayek influenced, advocated a reversal of social liberalism. Their policies—often called neoliberalism —had a significant influence on Western politics, most notably on the governments of United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and
21204-486: The delegates gathered. This union adopted an earlier general statement of unity between the two denominations, the 1943 "Basis of Union". At the time, the UCC claimed about two million members. On January 23, 1959, 30 theologians, pastors, and laymen finished writing the UCC's Statement of Faith. The Statement of Faith was written with the intention of including the essential principles while being "broad enough for persons of varying points of view". It affirms belief in
21390-412: The denomination's declining membership has occurred, in formerly mid-sized congregations between 200 and 500 members or so. The reduction in a typical church's size has also meant that, increasingly, many congregations are no longer able, as they once were, to afford a full-time, seminary-educated pastor, and that some of them have to rely on alternatives such as one of their members serving the church under
21576-581: The denomination: Puerto Rico , expressing disapproval of national UCC tolerance of homosexuality (as well as that of a large number of mainland congregations), departed the denomination in 2006, taking all of its churches. The denomination's churchwide deliberative body is the General Synod , which meets every two years. The General Synod consists of delegates elected from the Conferences (distributed proportionally by conference size) together with
21762-488: The doctrine of God is to be based on God's work in history and his freedom to live with and empower people. Reformed theologians have also traditionally followed the medieval tradition going back to before the early church councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon on the doctrine of the Trinity . God is affirmed to be one God in three persons: Father , Son , and Holy Spirit . The Son (Christ) is held to be eternally begotten by
21948-414: The economic policies of the New Deal appeared Keynesian , there was no revision of liberal theory in favour of more significant state initiatives. Even though the United States lacked an effective socialist movement, New Deal policies often appeared radical and were attacked by the right. American liberalism would eventually evolve into a more anti-communist ideology as a result. American exceptionalism
22134-428: The employee benefits systems for all settings of the United Church of Christ, including health, dental, and optical insurance, retirement annuity/pension systems, disability and life insurance, and ministerial assistance programs. The Pension Boards offices are located in New York City , where the headquarters of all UCC national bodies had been located prior to their move to Ohio in the early 1990s. The Insurance Board
22320-621: The end of the 20th century, at the same time that it was losing political influence, social liberalism experienced an intellectual revival with several substantial authors, including John Rawls (political philosophy), Amartya Sen (philosophy and economy), Ronald Dworkin (philosophy of law), Martha Nussbaum (philosophy), Bruce Ackerman (constitutional law), and others. In Europe, social liberal parties tend to be small or medium-sized centrist and centre-left parties. Examples of successful European social liberal parties participating in government coalitions at national or regional levels include
22506-566: The evolution of social liberalism as a political ideology include: Reformed churches Reformed Christianity , also called Calvinism , is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation , a schism in the Western Church . In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed , Presbyterian , and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of
22692-559: The five member Collegium of Officers , which are the non-hierarchical official officers of the denomination. (The Office of General Ministries is represented by both the General Minister, who serves as President of the denomination, and the Associate General minister). According to the UCC office of communication press release at the time of restructure, "In the new executive arrangement, the five will work together in
22878-560: The foundations of the welfare state in the United Kingdom before World War I. The comprehensive welfare state built in the United Kingdom after World War II, although primarily accomplished by the Labour Party 's Attlee ministry , was significantly designed by two Liberals, namely John Maynard Keynes (who laid the foundations in economics with the Keynesian Revolution ) and William Beveridge (whose Beveridge Report
23064-552: The gospel" as opposed to the Evangelical use of the word. UCC is generally theologically liberal , and the denomination notes that the "Bible, though written in specific historical times and places, still speaks to us in our present condition". The motto of the United Church of Christ comes from John 17:21 : "That they may all be one". The denomination's official literature uses broad doctrinal parameters, emphasizing freedom of individual conscience and local church autonomy. In
23250-523: The idea of covenants based on law rather than grace. Michael Horton , however, has defended the covenant of works as combining principles of law and love. For the most part, the Reformed tradition did not modify the medieval consensus on the doctrine of God . God's character is described primarily using three adjectives: eternal, infinite, and unchangeable. Reformed theologians such as Shirley Guthrie have proposed that rather than conceiving of God in terms of his attributes and freedom to do as he pleases,
23436-447: The idea that God works with people in this way. Instead, Barth argued that God always interacts with people under the covenant of grace, and that the covenant of grace is free of all conditions whatsoever. Barth's theology and that which follows him has been called "mono covenantal" as opposed to the "bi-covenantal" scheme of classical federal theology. Conservative contemporary Reformed theologians, such as John Murray , have also rejected
23622-580: The influence of New England Puritanism . Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed . Notably, its modern members' theological and socio-political stances are often very different from those of its predecessors. The Evangelical and Reformed Church , General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches , and the Afro-Christian Convention, united on June 25, 1957, to form
23808-539: The language of total depravity and limited atonement. The five points were more recently popularized in the 1963 booklet The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, Documented by David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas. The origins of the five points and the acrostic are uncertain, but they appear to be outlined in the Counter Remonstrance of 1611 , a lesser-known Reformed reply to the Arminians, which
23994-454: The larger UCC's mission work, and church extension within their bounds (the latter usually conducted in conjunction with the national Local Church Ministries division). Conferences, like associations, are congregationally representative bodies, with each local church sending ordained and lay delegates. Most current UCC conferences were formed in the several years following the consummation of the national merger in 1961, and in some instances were
24180-572: The lawsuit, the church argues that prohibiting same-sex marriages violates the freedom of religion, as the ban forced ministers for same-sex marriages to not act on their beliefs. Same-sex marriage is not supported by some UCC congregations, but it is rapidly gaining ground. Opponents included the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico ( United Evangelical Church in Puerto Rico ), three fourths of which voted to withdraw from
24366-537: The left-liberal past and had a leftist social wing and a rightist economic wing but heavily favoured the democratic constitution over a monarchist one. Its ideas of a socially balanced economy with solidarity, duty, and rights among all workers struggled due to the economic sanctions of the Treaty of Versailles , but it influenced local cooperative enterprises. After 1945, the Free Democrats included most of
24552-453: The life of the church. The UCC's Open and Affirming movement, funded by the Open and Affirming Coalition, is the largest LGBT-welcoming-church program in the world with more than 1,100 congregations and 275,000 members. On April 28, 2014, the UCC filed a lawsuit against North Carolina for not permitting same-sex marriage, the first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans in the US. In
24738-545: The local nobility, Calvinism became a significant religion in Eastern Hungary and Hungarian-speaking areas of Transylvania . As of 2007 there are about 3.5 million Hungarian Reformed people worldwide. Calvinism was influential in France , Lithuania , and Poland before being mostly erased during the Counter Reformation . One of the most important Polish reformed theologists was John a Lasco , who
24924-409: The main basis of economic growth. Not preventing an individual's work and not obstructing the individual's freedom and enterprise with the state's own activities is the main basis of the principle of democracy. Moreover, Atatürk said this in his opening speech on 1 November 1937: "Unless there is an absolute necessity, the markets can't be intervened; also, no markets can be completely free." Also it
25110-479: The meaning of each of the offices. For example, Karl Barth interpreted Christ's prophetic office in terms of political engagement on behalf of the poor. Christians believe Jesus' death and resurrection make it possible for believers to receive forgiveness for sin and reconciliation with God through the atonement . Reformed Protestants generally subscribe to a particular view of the atonement called penal substitutionary atonement , which explains Christ's death as
25296-488: The meaning that they thought their entire church emphasized. Baptism as an "entry into the Church Universal" was the most frequent response. Clergy and laity were invited to identify two meanings of Holy Communion that they emphasize. While clergy emphasized Holy Communion as "a meal in which we encounter God's living presence", laity emphasized "a remembrance of Jesus' last supper, death, and resurrection". One of
25482-519: The members of the United Church of Christ Board (see below), the officers of the denomination, and representatives of so-called "Historically Underrepresented Groups", such as the disabled, young adults, racial minorities, and gay and lesbian persons. While General Synod provides the most visible voice of the "stance of the denomination" on any particular issue, the covenantal polity of the denomination means that General Synod speaks to local churches, associations, and conferences, but not for them. Thus,
25668-567: The midst of the Red Scare , notably by the previously mentioned Reagan. Another cause was the decline of organized labour which had formed part of the coalition but was also a support for left-wing ideologies challenging the liberal consensus. Related to this were the downfall of working-class consciousness and the growth of the middle class. The push by the United States and the United Kingdom, which had been least accepting of social liberalism for trade liberalization, further eroded support. From
25854-490: The national body's theological or moral stances. It self-describes as "an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination". The United Church of Christ was formed when three Protestant churches, the Evangelical and Reformed Church , the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Afro Christian Convention united on June 25, 1957. The vote on the resolution had no dissenting votes from
26040-522: The necessary outworking of the believer's salvation, though they do not cause the believer to be saved. Sanctification, like justification, is by faith, because doing good works is simply living as the child of God one has become. Stemming from the theology of John Calvin , Reformed theologians teach that sin so affects human nature that they are unable even to exercise faith in Christ by their own will. While people are said to retain free will, in that they willfully sin, they are unable not to sin because of
26226-629: The only legitimate role for the state was to abolish barriers to market entry. He viewed Rüstow's proposals as negating market freedom and saw them as similar to socialism. Following World War II, the West German government adopted Rüstow's neoliberalism, now usually called ordoliberalism or the social market economy , under Ludwig Erhard . He was the Minister of Economics and later became Chancellor. Erhard lifted price controls and introduced free markets. While Germany's post-war economic recovery
26412-556: The other Protestant denominations (38.2%). All three are distinct categories from Presbyterian or Reformed (7%) in this report. The Reformed family of churches is one of the largest Christian denominations. According to adherents.com the Reformed/Presbyterian/Congregational/United churches represent 75 million believers worldwide. The World Communion of Reformed Churches , which includes some United Churches , has 80 million believers. WCRC
26598-413: The other settings of the church are allowed to hold differing views and practices on all non-constitutional matters. General Synod considers three kinds of resolutions: As agents of the General Synod, the denomination maintains national offices comprising four "covenanted ministries", one "associated ministry", and one "affiliated ministry". The current system of national governance was adopted in 1999 as
26784-613: The pale of Reformed orthodoxy, though some use the term Reformed to include Arminians, while using the term Calvinist to exclude Arminians. Reformed Christianity also has a complicated relationship with Anglicanism , the branch of Christianity originating in the Church of England . The Anglican confessions are considered Protestant, and more specifically, Reformed, and leaders of the English Reformation were influenced by Calvinist, rather than Lutheran theologians. Still
26970-465: The parts of the soul." Calvin asserted people were so warped by original sin that "everything which our mind conceives, meditates, plans, and resolves, is always evil." The depraved condition of every human being is not the result of sins people commit during their lives. Instead, before we are born, while we are in our mother's womb, "we are in God's sight defiled and polluted." Calvin thought people were justly condemned to hell because their corrupted state
27156-516: The poverty, squalor, and ignorance in which many people lived made it impossible for freedom and individuality to flourish. New Liberals believed through collective action coordinated by a strong, welfare-oriented and interventionist state could alleviate these conditions. The Liberal governments of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith , mainly thanks to Chancellor of the Exchequer and later Prime Minister David Lloyd George , established
27342-458: The precondition that privileged positions are accessible to everyone, that everyone has equal opportunities and that even the least advantaged members of society benefit from this framework. This framework repeated itself in the equation of Justice as Fairness . Rawls proposed these principles not just to adherents of liberalism but as a basis for all democratic politics, regardless of ideology. The work advanced social liberal ideas immensely within
27528-452: The principles of classical liberalism , a growing awareness of poverty and unemployment present within modern industrial cities, and the agitation of organised labour . A significant political reaction against the changes introduced by industrialisation and laissez-faire capitalism came from one-nation conservatives concerned about social balance and the introduction of the famous Education Act 1870 . However, socialism later became
27714-485: The priority of scripture as a source of authority. Scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace . Another shared perspective was their denial of the Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist . Each understood salvation to be by grace alone and affirmed a doctrine of unconditional election ,
27900-466: The proclamation of a common faith. This agreement will allow the two denominations to recognize the validity of each other's sacraments and ordination of ministers and opens up the possibility of ministers being called to serve in congregations of either denomination. The UCC is a member of Christian Churches Together (CCT), an interdenominational fellowship in the United States aimed at strengthening ties between different branches of Christianity. Through
28086-558: The proliferation of people of color in television studios and newsrooms. The UCC national body has been active in numerous traditionally liberal social causes, including support for abortion rights, the United Farm Workers , and the Wilmington Ten . Churches in the UCC may solemnize same-sex unions. A resolution, "In support of equal marriage rights for all", was supported by an estimated 80 percent of delegates to
28272-646: The reforms. Liberals most identified with these reforms were Prime Minister H. H. Asquith , John Maynard Keynes , David Lloyd George (especially as Chancellor of the Exchequer ), and Winston Churchill (as President of the Board of Trade ), in addition to the civil servant (and later Liberal MP) William Beveridge . Most of the social democratic parties in Europe (notably the British Labour Party ) have taken on strong influences of social liberal ideology. Despite Britain's two major parties coming from
28458-537: The role of government in addressing social inequalities and ensuring public welfare. Economically, social liberalism is based on the social market economy and views the common good as harmonious with the individual's freedom. Social liberals overlap with social democrats in accepting market intervention more than other liberals; its importance is considered auxiliary compared to social democrats. Ideologies that emphasize its economic policy include welfare liberalism , New Deal liberalism and New Democrats in
28644-433: The same time, they were strongly opposed to creating a welfare state , which they called state socialism . The main differences between the left-liberal parties were: The term social liberalism ( German : Sozialliberalismus ) was used first in 1891 by Austria-Hungarian economist and journalist Theodor Hertzka . Subsequently, in 1893, the historian and social reformer Ignaz Jastrow also used this term and joined
28830-671: The social liberals while others joined the Christian Democratic Union of Germany . Until the 1960s, post-war ordoliberalism was the model for Germany. It had a theoretical social liberal influence based on duty and rights. As the Free Democrats discarded social liberal ideas in a more conservative and economically liberal approach in 1982, some members left the party and formed the social liberal Liberal Democrats . In France, solidaristic thinkers, including Alfred Fouillée and Émile Durkheim , developed
29016-497: The social-liberal theory in the Third Republic. Sociology inspired them, and they influenced radical politicians like Léon Bourgeois . They explained that a more extensive division of labour caused more opportunity and individualism and inspired more complex interdependence. They argued that the individual had a debt to society, promoting progressive taxation to support public works and welfare schemes. However, they wanted
29202-431: The state to coordinate rather than manage, encouraging cooperative insurance schemes among individuals. Their main objective was to remove barriers to social mobility rather than create a welfare state. Social liberalism was a term in the United States to differentiate it from classical liberalism or laissez-faire . It dominated political and economic thought for several years until the word branched off from it around
29388-401: The state. Ensuring that individuals did not physically interfere with each other or merely by impartially having formulated and applied laws could not establish an equal right to liberty. More positive and proactive measures were required to ensure that every individual would have an equal opportunity for success. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a group of British thinkers known as
29574-498: The teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians, it recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. The denomination, therefore, looks to a number of historic confessions as expressing the common faith around which the church gathers, including: In 2001, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research conducted a "Faith Communities Today" (FACT) study that included
29760-694: The teaching that some people are chosen by God to be saved. Martin Luther and his successor, Philipp Melanchthon were significant influences on these theologians, and to a larger extent, those who followed. The doctrine of justification by faith alone , also known as sola fide , was a direct inheritance from Luther. The second generation featured John Calvin (1509–1564), Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563), Peter Martyr Vermigli (1500–1562), Andreas Hyperius (1511–1564) and John à Lasco (1499–1560). Written between 1536 and 1539, Calvin's Institutes of
29946-640: The term is misleading, inaccurate, unhelpful, and "inherently distortive." The definitions and boundaries of the terms Reformed Christianity and Calvinism are contested by scholars. As a historical movement, Reformed Christianity began during the Reformation with Huldrych Zwingli in Zürich , Switzerland. Following the failure of the Marburg Colloquy between Zwingli's followers and those of Martin Luther in 1529 to mediate disputes regarding
30132-433: The traditional language of one person in two natures, viewing it as unintelligible to contemporary people. Instead, theologians tend to emphasize Jesus's context and particularity as a first-century Jew. John Calvin and many Reformed theologians who followed him describe Christ's work of redemption in terms of three offices : prophet , priest , and king . Christ is said to be a prophet in that he teaches perfect doctrine,
30318-510: The traditions of socialism and conservatism, the most substantive political and economic debates of recent times were between social liberal and classical liberal concepts. Alexander Rüstow , a German economist, first proposed the German variant of economically social liberalism. In 1932, he dubbed this kind of social liberalism neoliberalism while speaking at the Social Policy Association. However, that term now carries
30504-413: The two-volume Dynamic Sociology . He formalized the basic tenets of social liberalism while at the same time attacking the laissez-faire policies advocated by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner . The historian Henry Steele Commager ranked Ward alongside William James , John Dewey , and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and called him the father of the modern welfare state. A writer from 1884 until
30690-600: The unions of former Congregational Christian conferences (led by superintendents) and Evangelical and Reformed synods (led by presidents, some of whom served on only a part-time basis). A few have had territorial adjustments since then; only one conference, the Calvin Synod, composed of Hungarian-heritage Reformed congregations, received exemption from the geographical alignments, with its churches scattered from Connecticut westward to California and southward to Florida . Only one conference has ever withdrawn completely from
30876-470: The various parts of the structure. As members of the Body of Christ, each expression of the church is called to honor and respect the work and ministry of each other part. Each expression of the church listens, hears, and carefully considers the advice, counsel and requests of others. In this covenant, the various expressions of the United Church of Christ seek to walk together in all God's ways. The basic unit of
31062-472: The view of early modern Reformed theologians. Others disagree, asserting that Baptists should be considered a separate religious tradition. The first wave of Reformed theologians included Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Martin Bucer (1491–1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), John Oecolampadius (1482–1531), and Guillaume Farel (1489–1565). While from diverse academic backgrounds, their work already contained key themes within Reformed theology, especially
31248-452: The views in the pews but that its governing structure is set up to allow such disagreements. Starting in 2003, a task force commissioned by General Synod 24 studied the diverse worship habits of UCC churches. The study can be found online and reflects statistics on attitudes toward worship, baptism, and communion, such as "Laity (70%) and clergy (90%) alike overwhelmingly describe worship 'as an encounter with God that leads to doing God's work in
31434-441: The visible church, Reformed theologians have spoken of certain marks of the Church . For some, the only mark is the pure preaching of the gospel of Christ. Others, including John Calvin, also include the right administration of the sacraments . Others, such as those following the Scots Confession , include a third mark of rightly administered church discipline , or exercise of censure against unrepentant sinners. These marks allowed
31620-507: The wartime economy had strengthened their power, but the extent to which this occurred varied considerably among Western democracies. Social liberalism is also a generally internationalist ideology. Social liberalism has also historically been an advocate for liberal feminism among other forms social progress. Social liberals tend to find a compromise between the perceived extremes of unrestrained capitalism and state socialism to create an economy built on regulated capitalism . Due to
31806-467: The world. ' " "95 percent of our congregations use the Revised Common Lectionary in some way in planning or actual worship and preaching" and "96 percent always or almost always have a sermon , 86 percent have a time with children , 95 percent have a time of sharing joys and concerns, and 98 percent include the Prayer of Our Savior/Lord's Prayer ." Clergy and laity were invited to select two meanings of baptism that they emphasize. They were also to suggest
31992-459: Was a unique economic system for Turkey and that it was different from socialism , communism , and collectivism . Atatürk explained his economic idea as follows: State can't take the place of individuals, but, it must take into consideration the individuals to make them improve and develop theirselves. Etatism includes the work that individuals won't do because they can't make profit or the work which are necessary for national interests. Just as it
32178-448: Was also involved into organising churches in East Frisia and Stranger's Church in London. Later, a faction called the Polish Brethren broke away from Calvinism on January 22, 1556, when Piotr of Goniądz , a Polish student, spoke out against the doctrine of the Trinity during the general synod of the Reformed churches of Poland held in the village of Secemin . Calvinism gained some popularity in Scandinavia , especially Sweden, but
32364-474: Was brought on by Adam and Eve's first sin, a doctrine called original sin . Although earlier Christian authors taught the elements of physical death, moral weakness, and a sin propensity within original sin, Augustine was the first Christian to add the concept of inherited guilt ( reatus ) from Adam whereby every infant is born eternally damned and humans lack any residual ability to respond to God. Reformed theologians emphasize that this sinfulness affects all of
32550-447: Was contrary to traditional Congregational principles. Their court challenges were unsuccessful. The vote to adopt the Constitution and by-laws was unanimous among the delegates that met in Philadelphia on July 4, 1961. The Afro-Christian Convention was a long-ignored "Fifth Stream" that had been neglected voice or visibility, resulting in an official apology from the denomination at the 2023 General Synod in Indianapolis, Indiana. There
32736-438: Was declared the official religion of the Kingdom of Navarre by the queen regnant Jeanne d'Albret after her conversion in 1560. Leading divines, either Calvinist or those sympathetic to Calvinism, settled in England, including Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr , and John Łaski , as did John Knox in Scotland . During the First English Civil War , English and Scots Presbyterians produced the Westminster Confession , which became
32922-430: Was due to these policies, the welfare state—which Bismarck had established—became increasingly costly. The Kemalist economic model was designed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1930s, founder of the Republic of Turkey, after an unsuccessful attempt to embrace a regulated market economy from İzmir Economic Congress until the 1929 Depression . He put the principle of " etatism " in his Six Arrows and stated that etatism
33108-492: Was in Geneva , his publications spread his ideas of a correctly Reformed church to many parts of Europe. In Switzerland, some cantons are still Reformed, and some are Catholic. Calvinism became the dominant doctrine within the Church of Scotland , the Dutch Republic , some communities in Flanders , and parts of Germany , especially those adjacent to the Netherlands in the Palatinate , Kassel , and Lippe , spread by Olevianus and Zacharias Ursinus among others. Protected by
33294-413: Was in crisis, giving the state added impetus for reform. The Liberal Party caucus elected in 1906 also contained more professionals, including academics and journalists, sympathetic to social liberalism. The large business owners had mostly deserted the Liberals for the Conservatives , the latter becoming the favourite party for commercial interests. Both business interests and trade unions regularly opposed
33480-529: Was likely the reason for the separate development of modern liberalism in the United States , which kept mainstream American ideology within a narrow range. John Rawls ' principal work, A Theory of Justice (1971), can be considered a flagship exposition of social liberal thinking, noted for its use of analytic philosophy and advocating the combination of individual freedom and a fairer distribution of resources. According to Rawls, every individual should be allowed to choose and pursue their conception of what
33666-430: Was passed down to all mankind because all people are said to be in Adam as a covenantal or "federal" head. Federal theologians usually imply that Adam and Eve would have gained immortality had they obeyed perfectly. A second covenant, called the covenant of grace, is said to have been made immediately following Adam and Eve's sin. In it, God graciously offers salvation from death on condition of faith in God. This covenant
33852-450: Was rejected in favor of Lutheranism after the Synod of Uppsala in 1593. Many 17th century European settlers in the Thirteen Colonies in British America were Calvinists, who emigrated because of arguments over church structure, including the Pilgrim Fathers . Others were forced into exile, including the French Huguenots . Dutch and French Calvinist settlers were also among the first European colonizers of South Africa , beginning in
34038-485: Was said by İsmet İnönü that Atatürk's principle of etatism was Keynesian and a Turkish variant of New Deal . The post-war governments of other countries in Western Europe also followed social liberal policies. These policies were implemented primarily by Christian democrats and social democrats as liberal parties in Europe declined in strength from their peak in the 19th century. American political discourse resisted this social turn in European liberalism. While
34224-446: Was the largest at 45%. Other statistics found by the Hartford Institute show that 53.2% of members say "the Bible" is the highest source of authority, 16.1% say the "Holy Spirit", 9.2% say "Reason", 6.3% say "Experience", and 6.1% say "Creeds". David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research who has studied the United Church of Christ, said surveys show the national church's pronouncements are often more liberal than
34410-411: Was used to design the welfare system). Historian Peter Weiler has argued: Although still partially informed by older Liberal concerns for character, self-reliance, and the capitalist market, this legislation nevertheless marked a significant shift in Liberal approaches to the state and social reform, approaches that later governments would slowly expand and that would grow into the welfare state after
34596-450: Was written prior to the Canons of Dort. The acrostic was used by Cleland Boyd McAfee as early as circa 1905. An early printed appearance of the acrostic can be found in Loraine Boettner's 1932 book, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination . Reformed Christians see the Christian Church as the community with which God has made the covenant of grace, a promise of eternal life and relationship with God. This covenant extends to those under
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