This is a list of Christian denominations by number of members. It is inevitably partial and generally based on claims by the denominations themselves. The numbers should therefore be considered approximate and the article an ongoing work-in-progress.
Catholicism is the largest branch of Christianity with 1.345 billion, and the Catholic Church is the largest among churches.[6] Figures below are in accordance with the Annuario Pontificio, at 2019.[6] The total figure does not include independent denominations that self-identify as Catholic, numbering some 18 million adherents.
Protestantism is the second largest major group of Christians by number of followers. Estimates vary from 800 million to 1 billion, or between 31% and 38% of all Christians.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30] The main reason for this wide range is the lack of a common agreement among scholars as to which denominations constitute Protestantism. For instance, most sources but not all include Anabaptism, Anglicanism, Baptists and Independent Nondenominational Christianity as part of Protestantism.[31] Moreover, Protestant denominations altogether do not form a single structure comparable to the Catholic Church, or to a lesser extent the Eastern Orthodox communion. However, several different comparable communions exist within Protestantism, such as the World Evangelical Alliance, Anglican Communion, World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Baptist Alliance, World Methodist Council and the World Lutheran Federation. Regardless, 900 million is the most accepted figure among various authors and scholars, and thus is used in this article. Note that this 900 million figure also includes Anglicanism, as well as Anabaptists, Baptists and multiple other groups that might sometimes disavow a common "Protestant" designation, and would rather prefer to be called, simply, "Christian".[24]
Historical Protestantism – 300–500 million
The number of individuals who are members of historical Protestant Churches totals to 300-500 million.[26]
There are about 110 million Christians in Anglican tradition,[32][33] mostly part of the Anglican Communion, the third-largest Christian communion in the world, with 42 members (provinces).
The worldwide Baptist community numbers about 100 million.[64][65][66][67][68] However, the Baptist World Alliance, the world communion of Baptist churches, self-reports only 51 million baptized believers, as Baptists do not count children as members.[67][65][66] Therefore, the BWA is the 9th largest Christian communion.[69]
The number of adherents in the Lutheran denomination totals to 70-90 million persons (the Lutheran World Federation reports 77 million, and is the sixth largest communion),[82] being represented in the following churches:[26][83]
Evangelical Church in Germany – 20.2 million (10.0 million United Protestants, i.e. Lutheran & Reformed; 9.9 million Lutherans; 0.3 million Reformed)[84]
The Methodist movement is represented by 60–80 million people (a figure including adherents but non-members), found in denominations including the following;[26][192] the World Methodist Council is the fifth largest communion.[193]
The denominations listed below did not emerge from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century or its commonly acknowledged offshoots. Instead, they are broadly linked to Pentecostalism or similar other independent evangelical and revivalistic movements that originated in the beginning of the 20th century.[219] For this reason, several sources tend to differentiate them from Protestants and classify them together as Independents, Non-core Protestants etc. Also included in this category are the numerous, yet very similar Nondenominational churches. Nonetheless, sources eventually combine their numbers to the Protestant tally.[24][25] Despite the absence of centralized control or leadership, if considered as a single cohort, this will easily be the second largest Christian tradition after Roman Catholicism.[220][221][222] According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC), there are an estimated 450 million Independents world-wide, as of mid-2019.[223]
Eastern Protestant Christianity (or Eastern Reformed Christianity) encompasses a range of heterogeneous ProtestantChristian denominations that developed outside of the Occident, from the latter half of the nineteenth century and yet keeps elements of Eastern Christianity, to varying degrees. Most of these denominations came into being when existing Protestant Churches adopted reformational variants of Orthodox Christian liturgy and worship; while others are the result of reformations of Orthodox Christian beliefs and practices, inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries.[241][242][243] Some Protestant Eastern Churches are in communion with similar Western Protestant Churches.[241][244] However, Protestant Eastern Christianity within itself, does not constitute a single communion. This is due to the diverse polities, practices, liturgies and orientations of the denominations which fall under this category.
The best estimate of the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians is 220 million[249] or 80% of all Orthodox Christians worldwide.[250] Its main body consists of the various autocephalous churches along with the autonomous and other churches canonically linked to them, for the most part form a single communion, making the Eastern Orthodox Church the second largest single denomination behind the Catholic Church.[251][252][253] In addition, there are several Eastern Orthodox splinter groups and non-universally recognized churches.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are those descended from those that rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Despite the similar name, they are therefore a different branch of Christianity from the Eastern Orthodox (see above). There are an estimated 62 million Oriental Orthodox Christians, worldwide.[267][268][269]
A sixth group is composed by NontrinitarianRestorationists. These groups are quite distinct from orthodox Trinitarian restorationist groups such as the Disciples of Christ, despite some shared history.
Unitarian Universalist Association – 0.2 million[294] (Unitarian Universalism developed out of Christian traditions but no longer identifies as a Christian denomination.)
Divisions occurred within the church itself, but by 1830 two unified patriarchates and distinct churches remained: the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church (an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See). The Ancient Church of the East split from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1968. In 2017, the Chaldean Catholic Church had approximately 628,405 members,[296] the Assyrian Church of the East 323,300,[297] while the Ancient Church of the East had 100,000.
^Sherwood, Harriet (27 August 2018). "Religion: why faith is becoming more and more popular". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020. According to 2015 figures, Christians form the biggest religious group by some margin, with 2.3 billion adherents or 31.2% of the total world population of 7.3 billion.
^Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J., eds. (2020). "All Religions (global totals)". World Religion Database. Leiden, Boston: BRILL, Boston University.
^Lundberg, Magnus (2015). "Modern alternative popes"(PDF). uu.diva-portal.org. Uppsala University Library. Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
^ abcGordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Center for the Study of Global Christianity. "Christianity 2017: Five Hundred Years of Protestant Christianity"(PDF). Protestants 559,258,000 Independents 437,418,000. If Independent churches are considered as offshoots of Protestantism, then the "wider" Protestants' share of global Christians is even higher. For example, Protestants and Independents together represent more than 40 percent of all Christians in 2017
^Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip J. World Religions and Democracy. 2005, page 119.( also in PDF file (archived from the original on 13 April 2008), p49), saying "Not only do Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America."
^Brown, Stephen F. (5 September 2017). Protestantism. Infobase Publishing. ISBN9781604131123. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Google Books.
^Shurden, Walter B. (1995). Not a Silent People: Controversies that Have Shaped Southern Baptists. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc. p. 48. ISBN978-1-57312-021-0.
^Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (2015). Encyclopedia of Christian Education. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 50. ISBN978-0-8108-8493-9. With a membership currently estimated at over 85 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
^"Member Unions | Baptist World Alliance". www.baptistworld.org. Retrieved 31 December 2022. The Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1905, is a fellowship of 246 conventions and unions in 128 countries and territories comprising 51 million baptized believers in 176,000 churches.
^"About the LWF". The Lutheran World Federation. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2021. The LWF is a global communion of 148 churches in the Lutheran tradition, representing over 77 million Christians in 99 countries.
^"Lutheran CORE Update". spiritofaliberal.com. Spirit of a Liberal. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
^"Christian Movements and Denominations". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 19 December 2011. Presbyterian or Reformed 7% Congregationalist 0.5%
^"United Church Statistics"(PDF). The United Church of Canada. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
^Administrator. "Qui sommes-nous?". Eeccameroun.org. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2014.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Yearbook 2016"(PDF). crcna.org. Christian Reformed Church in North America. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^"Membership". methodist.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
^"Member Churches – World Methodist Council". Retrieved 3 August 2021. The World Methodist Council is made up of 80 Methodist, Wesleyan and related Uniting and United Churches representing over 80 million members in 138 countries.
^The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2005. p. 137. ISBN978-0-8028-2416-5. With half a billion adherents, Pentecostal/charismatic churches represent the second largest Christian tradition in the world today, second only to Roman Catholicism.
^Miller, Donald E.; Sargeant, Kimon H.; Flory, Richard (2013). Spirit and Power: The Growth and Global Impact of Pentecostalism. OUP USA. pp. 9, 297. ISBN978-0-19-992057-0. It is widely regarded as the fastest growing element of Christianity and as a consequence it is reshaping the demography of Christianity, with the majority of Christians now living in the Southern Hemisphere rather than in Europe or North America.
^Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church, Overview of EMWACDO, etfullgospel.org, Ethiopia, retrieved September 17, 2019
^"Home". Vineyard USA. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
^"Our World". awf.world. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^"Born Again Movement". Adherents.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Gordon Melton. "African Initiated Churches". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
^"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Oriental Orthodoxy has separate self-governing jurisdictions in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Armenia and Syria, and it accounts for roughly 20% of the worldwide Orthodox population.
^"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has an estimated 36 million adherents, nearly 14% of the world's total Orthodox population.
^"Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 8 November 2017. Egypt has the Middle East's largest Orthodox population (an estimated 4 million Egyptians, or 5% of the population), mainly members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
^Harvard Divinity School, THE RELIGIOUS LITERACY PROJECT. "Coptic Christianity in Egypt". rlp.hds.harvard.edu. The Coptic Church experienced a religious revival beginning in the 1950s, and currently claims some seven million members inside of Egypt.
^"Catholicos of All Armenians". armenianchurch.org. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
^Fahlbusch, Erwin; Lochman, Jan Milic; Mbiti, John S.; Vischer, Lukas; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2003). The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Encyclopedia of Christianity) Volume 5. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 285. ISBN0-8028-2417-X.
![A map of countries that have a church that is a member of the Anglican Communion (blue),[dubious – discuss] the Porvoo Communion (green), comprising European Anglican and Lutheran churches, and the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic) (red), a federation of Old Catholic Churches.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Anglican_C.%2C_Porvoo_C.%2C_Utrecht_Union.svg/800px-Anglican_C.%2C_Porvoo_C.%2C_Utrecht_Union.svg.png)
