Congregationalist polity

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

Ecclesiastical polity

 Episcopal
 Connexional
 Presbyterian
 Congregationalist

 v
 t
 e

Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known

as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every
local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or
"autonomous". Its first articulation in writing is the Cambridge Platform of 1648
in New England.
Major Protestant Christian traditions that employ congregationalism
include Quakerism, the Baptist churches, the Congregational Methodist Church,
and Congregational churches known by the Congregationalist name and having
descended from the Independent Reformed wing of the Anglo-
American Puritan movement of the 17th century. More recent generations have
witnessed a growing number of nondenominational churches, which are often
congregationalist in their governance. [citation needed]