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List of the largest Protestant denominations

This article is inevitably partial, taking into consideration only these Protestant bodies with a membership greater than a number specified by their assigned category. It is an ongoing work-in-progress and needs to be updated as sizes of religious organisations change over time. Reliable and most recent statistics, preferably provided by the organisations themselves, are of interest to this article.

This is a list of the largest Protestant denominations. It aims to include sizable Protestant communions, federations, alliances, councils, fellowships, and other denominational organisations in the world and provides information regarding the membership thereof. The list is inevitably partial and generally based on claims by the denominations themselves. The numbers should therefore be considered approximate. Protestant bodies being considered in this article are divided into:

  • transdenominational bodies with more than 50 million members
  • international bodies with more than 10 million members
  • national bodies with more than 5 million members
  • non-national bodies with more than 5 million members
Countries by number of Protestants in 2010
Countries by percentage of Protestants in 2010

In 2010, the most numerous international bodies accounted for more than a half of worldwide Protestant population,[note 1] while the most numerous national bodies accounted for more than 200 of the world's 800 million Protestants.[note 2][1]

Transdenominational organisations are very large and often characterized by overlapping membership as opposed to international and national bodies. Some of the national groupings cannot be considered churches in mainstream Protestant ecclesiology even when they constitute a single denomination. A good example is the Protestant Church in Germany, which differs denominationally and encompasses Lutheran, Reformed and United subchurches.

Lists of the largest Protestant bodies

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Transdenominational bodies

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Transdenominational bodies include people across all denominations that participate in a movement which goes beyond their Protestant branch, like Evangelicalism, the Charismatic movement, or the Neo-charismatic movement. These are of international scope.

The World Evangelical Alliance is so far the only major transdenominational evangelical Protestant organization that operates internationally. It represents 600 million Christians. The Porvoo Communion brings Lutherans and Anglicans in Europe into a common communion.

Name Orientation Foundation Leadership Headquarters Region Membership Notes
World Evangelical Alliance Evangelical 1846
London, England[2] 		Secretary-General Thomas Schirrmacher New York City, United States Worldwide 600,000,000[3] Aims to unite Evangelicals worldwide.
Porvoo Communion Anglican
Lutheran 		1992
Porvoo Cathedral, Porvoo, Finland 		Co-chairmen Bishop Peter Skov-Jakobsen,
Archbishop Michael Jackson 		None Europe 50,000,000[4] Communion of Anglican and Lutheran denominations in Europe.
Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe Lutheran
Reformed
Methodist 		1973
Hölstein, Switzerland 		Secretary-General Mario Fischer Vienna, Austria Europe 50,000,000[5] Communion of Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist and United denominations in Europe.


International bodies

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International bodies tend to bring together only one Protestant branch which shares common founders, tenets and history. Among the most sizeable international bodies are the Anglican Communion, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Lutheran World Federation – each with more than 70 million members.

Name Orientation Foundation Leadership Headquarters Region Membership Notes
Anglican Communion Anglican 1867
Lambeth Conference, London, England 		Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby London, United Kingdom Worldwide 85,000,000[6] Brings together Anglicans from all over the world, and is the largest of such organizations.
World Communion of Reformed Churches Reformed 2010 General Secretary Chris Ferguson Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany Worldwide 80,000,000[7] Brings together Calvinists from all over the world, and is the largest of such organizations.
World Methodist Council Methodist 1881 General Secretary Bishop Ivan M. Abrahams Waynesville, North Carolina, United States Worldwide 80,000,000[8] Brings together Methodists from all over the world.
Lutheran World Federation Lutheran 1947 General Secretary Anne Burghardt Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland Worldwide 75,000,000[9] Brings together Lutherans from all over the world, and is the largest of such organizations.
World Assemblies of God Fellowship Pentecostal 1988 General Superintendent and Chairman Doug E. Clay Springfield, Missouri, United States Worldwide 86,143,293[10] Brings together a substantial Pentecostal population, although not the majority, as it is scattered in various independent Pentecostal denominations.
Baptist World Alliance Baptist 1905 General Secretary Elijah M. Brown Falls Church, Virginia, United States Worldwide 48,000,000[11] Brings together a substantial Baptist population, although not the majority, as it is scattered in various independent Baptist denominations.


National bodies

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Although there are "mostly national" denominations like the United Methodist Church (mainly concentrated in the United States), or denominations with dispersed membership like the Apostolic Church and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) (both with membership dispersed around the world) that have a far larger membership than required to be on this list, they operate worldwide and cannot be considered alongside other national bodies like, for example, the Church of Christ in Congo, which operates solely in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is not active beyond that country's borders.

The Church of England, the Church of Christ in Congo, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the Assembleias de Deus and the Protestant Church in Germany constitute the most numerous national bodies with more than 20 million members each.

Name Orientation Foundation Leadership Headquarters Region Membership Notes
Church of England Anglican 1534[note 3] Supreme Governor King Charles III;
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby 		London, United Kingdom England 26,000,000[12] The country's established church.
Church of Christ in Congo Methodists,
Pentecostals,
Baptists,
Mennonites,
Reformed,
Evangelicals,
United Protestants[13] 		1970 Bishop Pierre Marini Bodho Kinshasa, Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo 25,500,000[14] Federation of most Congolese Protestants. Largest United Protestant denomination worldwide.
Three-Self Patriotic Movement State-regulated theology
various Protestants 		1951 Chairperson
Fu Xianwei
Secretary General
Xu Xiaohong 		Shanghai, China China 23,000,000[15] It is the only Protestant denomination approved by the Chinese government. Its theology is regulated and controlled by the state.
Assembléias de Deus Pentecostal 1911 General Superintendent José Wellington Bezerra da Costa São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil 22,500,000[16] Fragmented into smaller units which together gather the vast majority of Brazilian Pentecostals. The largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
Protestant Church in Germany Prussian, United,
Lutheran,
Reformed 		1948 Praeses of the Synod Irmgard Schwaetzer
Chairman of the Council of the EKD Heinrich Bedford-Strohm 		Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany Germany 20,200,000[17] Federation of most German protestants.
Born Again Movement Evangelicals,
Charismatics,
Chinese house church 		1968 Henan, China China 20,000,000[18] House church, not recognized by the Chinese government.
Church of Nigeria Anglican 1979 Primate of all Nigeria, Archbishop of Abuja Province Nicholas Okoh Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria Nigeria 18,000,000[19] Local province of the Anglican Communion.
Southern Baptist Convention Baptist 1845 President Ed Litton Nashville, Tennessee, United States United States 13,200,000[20] The world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Church of Uganda Anglican 1897 Archbishop of Uganda and Bishop of Kampala Stanley Ntagali Namirembe Hill, Kampala District, Uganda Uganda 11,000,000[21] Local province of the Anglican Communion.
Fangcheng Fellowship Evangelicals,
Charismatics,
Chinese house church 		1971 China 10,000,000[22] House church, not recognised by the Chinese government.
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus Lutheran 1959 Bishop Dr. Wakseyoum Idossa Addis Ababa, Chartered city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Ethiopia 8,310,129[23] The world's largest Lutheran denomination.
China Gospel Fellowship Evangelicals,
Charismatics,
Chinese house church 		1980s China 8,000,000[24] House church, not recognized by the Chinese government.
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Baptist 1880 President Dr. Jerry Young Montgomery, Alabama, United States United States 7,500,000[25] The second largest Baptist denomination in the world. It is considered a black church with its membership being largely African American.
Nigerian Baptist Convention Baptist 1915 Rev. Dr. Samson Olasupo Adeniyi Ayokunle, President (and chief executive officer) Ibadan Nigeria 6,500,000[26] The world's third largest Baptist denomination.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania Lutheran 1963 Bishop Dr. Fredrick Onael Shoo Arusha, Arusha Region, Tanzania Tanzania 6,500,000[27] The world's second largest Lutheran denomination.
Church of Sweden Lutheran 1593 Archbishop of Uppsala Antje Jackelén Uppsala, Uppsala County, Sweden Sweden 5,600,000[28] The world's third largest Lutheran denomination, and the third largest Protestant one in Europe.
Anglican Church of Kenya Anglican 1970 Jackson Ole Sapit Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya Kenya 5,000,000[28] Local province of the Anglican Communion.

Non-national bodies

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These denominations operate worldwide and cannot be considered alongside other national bodies.

Many sizeable non-national bodies happen to be Pentecostal. The list also includes the largest Adventist church (the Seventh-day Adventist Church), the largest Methodist church (the United Methodist Church) and the largest African initiated church (the Zion Christian Church) and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) or (New Testament Church/Universal Pentecostal Church/Ceylon Pentecostal Mission).

Name Orientation Foundation Leadership Headquarters Region Membership Notes
Assemblies of God
 Pentecostal 1914/1988 George O. Wood None Worldwide 69,189,381[29] The world's largest Pentecostal denomination.
Seventh-day Adventist Church
 Adventist 1863 Ted N.C. Wilson[30] Silver Spring, Maryland, United States Worldwide 21,912,161[31] The world's largest Adventist denomination. Brings together the vast majority of the world's Adventists.
The Apostolic Church
 Pentecostal 1911/1916 Worldwide 15,000,000 Trinitarian Pentecostal denomination which emerged from the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival.
Zion Christian Church
 African initiated Zion City Moria, Limpopo, South Africa Southern Africa 15,000,000 The world's largest African initiated church with Anglican, Pentecostal and evangelical influences.
United Methodist Church
 Methodist 1968 None Worldwide 12,000,000 The world's largest Methodist denomination.
New Apostolic Church International Irvingian 1863 Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider Zürich, Switzerland Worldwide 9,240,000[32]
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
 Pentecostal Los Angeles, California, U.S. Worldwide 9,000,000
Church of God in Christ
 Pentecostal Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Worldwide 6,500,000
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
 Pentecostal 1886 Dr. Tim Hill Cleveland, Tennessee, U.S. Worldwide 7,000,000[33]
United Pentecostal Church International Oneness Pentecostal 1945 David K. Bernard Weldon Spring, Missouri, U.S. Worldwide 5,750,000 The world's largest denomination in Oneness Pentecostalism.
Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide
 Full Gospel 1978 Bro. Eddie Villanueva
 Manila, Philippines Worldwide 1,000,000[34]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In this comparison, the Pew Forum's figure of 800 million Protestants is used. Mentioned international bodies together accounted for some 420 million people in 2010.
  2. ^ In this comparison, the Pew Forum's figure of 800 million Protestants is used. Mentioned national bodies accounted for a little more than 200 million people in 2010.
  3. ^ The English church can be traced back to 597. It separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.

References

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  1. ^ "Pewforum: Christianity (2010)" (PDF). Pewforum.org. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  2. ^ "WEA – World Evangelical Alliance Est. 1846 – Page Whoweare". Archived from the original on 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  3. ^ "WEA – World Evangelical Alliance Est. 1846 – Page Whoweare". Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  4. ^ "Common Statement" (PDF). Anglican Communion. February 1993.
  5. ^ "Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe CPCE | Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa GEKE – Communion d'Églises Protestantes en Europe CEPE". Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe CPCE.
  6. ^ "Anglican Communion". Anhglicancommunion.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Called to communion. Committed to justice" (PDF). World Communion of Reformed Churches. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  8. ^ "Statistical Information". Worldmethodistcouncil.org. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  9. ^ "About the LWF". Luthernworld.org. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ^ https://ag.org/about/statistics
  11. ^ "Baptist World Alliance". Bwanet.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Church of England statistics 2011" (PDF). Churchofengland.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Église du Christ au Congo". ecc.faithweb.com.
  14. ^ "Eglise du Christ au Congo". Ecc.faithweb.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Regional Distribution of Christians". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Assembleia de Deus no Brasil é a maior do mundo". Fronteira Final. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  17. ^ "Zahlen und Fakten zum kirchlichen Leben 2021" (PDF). EKD (in German). Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  18. ^ "China's Dynamic Church". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  19. ^ "Nigerian Anglicans May Control the Future of the Church". Thinkafricapress.com. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  20. ^ Aaron Earls, Southern Baptists grow in attendance and baptisms, decline in membership, baptistpress.com, USA, May 9, 2023
  21. ^ "2002 Uganda Population and Housing Census: Main Report" (PDF). Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2007.
  22. ^ Micklethwait, John; Wooldridge, Adrian (2009-04-02). God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World. Penguin. ISBN 9781101032411. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  23. ^ "New and Events". EEcmy.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  24. ^ "Authority of Scripture in China's Underground House Church". Biblereadingproject.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  25. ^ "About Us – The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc". Nationalbaptist.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  26. ^ "Home". nigerianbaptist.org.
  27. ^ "ELCT Press Release". Elct.org. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  28. ^ a b Svenska kyrkan i siffror Svenska kyrkan
  29. ^ 2017 Summary Statistical Reportag.org Archived 2023-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ "Leadership". General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  31. ^ "Seventh-day Adventist World Church Statistics 2021". 17 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  32. ^ "NAC worldwide: the key figures". 2 June 2023.
  33. ^ "A Brief History of the Church of God".
  34. ^ "About Bro Eddie and JIL". Retrieved 20 April 2023.
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