Conservative Denominations

RileyG said:

I thought I would include a list to those who are interested

1. The Roman Catholic Church -RCC
2. The Eastern Orthodox Church- EOC
3. The Oriental Orthodox Church- OOC
4. Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod- LCMS
5. Lutheran Church- Wisconsin Synod- WELS
6. Ancient Church of the East
7. Assyrian Church of the East
8. Southern Baptist Convention- SBC
9. Presbyterian Church in America- PCA
10. Orthodox Presbyterian Church- OPC
11. Assembleis of God- AOG
12. Church of the Nazarene
13. Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonites etc)
14. Various Old Catholic Sects
15. Various Evangelical sects
16. Global Methodist Church
17. Anglican Church in North America/Continuing Anglican sects
18. Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Feel free to add more to accumulate

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Are these in order?

Infirmus said:

Yes, they are conservative.



Old Catholics conservative? You're having a laugh - the Union of Utrecht Old Catholic churches are in communion with Anglicans (lol!) and they have female "bishops".



These are all protestant chur... erm... I mean religious communities. How can they be conservative? They are the exact opposite of conservative - they follow this brand new, merely 500-year-old (at best), fad of protestantism.

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I used to be LCMS and it’s conservative. Especially theologically.

RileyG said:

AFAIK, WELS (Wisconsin Synod) is even more conservative. Theologically, too.

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That’s what I’d read.

John G. said:

Are you sure about this?
I tend to view all Anglican / Episcopal churches as liberal.

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You are quite mistaken in this respect. The Continuing Anglicans are extremely conservative and broke communion with the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion due to theological liberalism. Indeed, the Continuing Anglicans, the LCMS, the Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox and the Assyrian and Ancient Church of the East along with some small groups such as the small number of conservative liturgical Methodists and the conservative Old Catholics of the Union of Scranton, are the only churches on that list I am aware of that can be regarded as both theologically traditional (in terms of adhering to traditional liturgical worship) and socially conservative and not in communion with any churches which are neither traditional liturgical nor socially conservative.

RileyG said:

AFAIK, WELS (Wisconsin Synod) is even more conservative. Theologically, too.

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No, I would say that the LCMS is equally conservative and theologically is more traditional, since WELS is widely regarded to be more open to Pietism and crypto-Calvinism, and this is reflected in their 1993 hymnal, which is very minimalistic compared to the 2006 Lutheran Service Book and other liturgical texts of the LCC/LCMS. My friends @MarkRohfrietsch and @Ain't Zwinglian can verify this fact.

RileyG said:

1. The Roman Catholic Church -RCC

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While undeniably many Roman Catholic bishops are conservative (such as Raymond Cardinal Burke, Gerhard Cardinal Muller, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and also the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose name I cannot recall, all of whom would make ideal Popes) and I greatly admire them, not to mention both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, may their memory be eternal, it seems to me that Pope Francis is moderate, while the German bishops who have been campaigning for “synodality” and some of whom have openly declared a desire to change the position of the RCC on the issue of homosexuality cannot be regarded as conservative, and likewise there are fairly large numbers of liberal Roman Catholics in the US, particularly among some of the older groups of nuns, those in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, for example.

Now the LCWR is shrinking, whereas the more conservative religious orders that wear the traditional habit, and many of whom are cloistered, seem to be growing, which is a step in the right direction. It is possible that demographics, such as the high birth rate among TLM communities, vs. the much lower birth rate among liberal Catholics, will cause the issue to correct itself.

By the way I have been praying for Pope Francis, and it is miraculous he survived that last illness, and I also think it is important that all traditional Catholics and conservative Christians of other denominations such as the Orthodox pray for his successor to be a traditional conservative Roman Catholic whose views are in accord with the majority of Catholics including nearly the entirety in the developing world. Because if the RCC traverses the path envisaged for it by many of the liberal bishops of Europe (and some in the US and other English speaking countries), the result would prevent reunification with the Eastern Orthodox and other forms of ecumenical reconciliation, in the same way that the movement of the Episcopal Church in 1979 towards theological liberalism effectively rendered all dialogue between the Anglican Communion (not including the Continuing Anglicans, who are not members of the Anglican Communion) and the Eastern Orthodox Church purely academic.

RileyG said:

I thought I would include a list to those who are interested

1. The Roman Catholic Church -RCC
2. The Eastern Orthodox Church- EOC
3. The Oriental Orthodox Church- OOC
4. Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod- LCMS
5. Lutheran Church- Wisconsin Synod- WELS
6. Ancient Church of the East
7. Assyrian Church of the East
8. Southern Baptist Convention- SBC
9. Presbyterian Church in America- PCA
10. Orthodox Presbyterian Church- OPC
11. Assembleis of God- AOG
12. Church of the Nazarene
13. Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonites etc)
14. Various Old Catholic Sects
15. Various Evangelical sects
16. Global Methodist Church
17. Anglican Church in North America/Continuing Anglican sects
18. Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Feel free to add more to accumulate

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What do "conservative" and "liberal" mean in the context of Christianity and the church? When I was growing up, I was taught that individuals who believe the Bible is the inspiration of God are considered conservative, whereas those who accept certain parts of the Bible but reject others are viewed as liberal. This is still my belief.

RileyG said:

I guess social values or those considered traditional? That was my interpretation.

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Unless the Social value is supported by Biblical principles, it is just a man made value. Many social values practiced by Christians over millennia may not have roots in Biblical principles or sometimes even oppose Biblical principles.

FAITH-IN-HIM said:

What do "conservative" and "liberal" mean in the context of Christianity and the church? When I was growing up, I was taught that individuals who believe the Bible is the inspiration of God are considered conservative, whereas those who accept certain parts of the Bible but reject others are viewed as liberal. This is still my belief.

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Specifically, the liberals are those who demand we reject certain parts of Scripture because they are seen as discriminatory to homosexuals (nevermind that sodomy is clearly defined as a sin and doing this is contrary to our religion) or otherwise offensive to contemporary “morality” or the lack thereof.

The Liturgist said:

Specifically, the liberals are those who demand we reject certain parts of Scripture because they are seen as discriminatory to homosexuals (nevermind that sodomy is clearly defined as a sin and doing this is contrary to our religion) or otherwise offensive to contemporary “morality” or the lack thereof.

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Rejecting scripture about homosexuality is a recent perspective. Many Christians dismiss more significant teachings than those on homosexuality.

Many Christians accept Jesus but doubt the virgin birth. They believe in eternal life but question Christ's resurrection. Some believe Israelites left Egypt and settled in the Holy Land, yet doubt the Bible's account of the Red Sea's division.

FAITH-IN-HIM said:

Many Christians accept Jesus but doubt the virgin birth. They believe in eternal life but question Christ's resurrection.

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Such persons, who tend to be Unitarian Universalists, since they deny the deity of Christ, and thus the Nicene Creed, and the rest of the CF Statement of Faith, are not considered Christians and are not allowed to debate in the Christian-only forums such General Theology.

For that matter I don’t think they are even allowed to post in the Liberal Christians forum, but our friend @RileyG and other staffers would know more than I.

RileyG said:

Correct, anyone who denies the trinity is not considered nicene Christian per the rules.

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Indeed, and denying the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection also directly contradict the Nicene Creed.

The nice thing about the Nicene Creed is that it excludes all of the most problematic heresies; I love the Apostle’s Creed, and I think its a great creed, and I love the Western tradition of using it during the Hours (except at Prime, when traditional the Athanasian Creed was used), but it excludes Arianism only be implication, whereas the Nicene Creed was specifically designed to tackle Arianism and related non-Trinitarian heresies, such as that of Macedonius the Pneumatomach.

John G. said:

Are you sure about this?
I tend to view all Anglican / Episcopal churches as liberal.

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From what I understand two main issues of women ordination and SSM which includes the ordination of gay and lesbian priests and bishops in SSM have caused a schism in the Anglican world communion.

As a result the Anglican Church in North America was created which primarily aligns with more conservative views as opposed to the Episcopal churches. In more recent times due to the ordination of gay and lesbian priests and bishops more splits have occurred such as the Anglican realignment and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches. Which declared "impaired communion" with the Church of England and no longer recognised Justin Welby as "first among equals" among the bishops of the communion.

Also the Diocese of the Southern Cross in Australia. The Ai overview mentions they are conservative Anglicans have formed a breakaway group due to disagreements over issues like same-sex marriage and biblical interpretation. This new diocese aims to provide a space for those who feel alienated by more progressive views within the existing Anglican Church.

It seems to me that over reccent decades there has been a gradual trend towards conservativism due to these issues and especially the issue of SSM and gay and lesbian priests and bishops. I think this pushed some over the edge and in doing so they are reaffirming more traditional positions altogether,