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Congregationalism
Sources: Robert Browne, Reformation Without Tarrying for Any (~1582); the Cambridge Platform (1648); William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation; the Savoy Declaration (1658).
Congregationalism (~1581) is the principle that the local congregation of believers is the highest earthly authority in church governance — Christ rules each congregation directly, with no external bishop, presbytery, or synod having authority over it. Robert Browne (one of the original “Separatists”) articulated this in 1582; the movement attracted the “Pilgrims” (Separatist Congregationalists) who sailed on the Mayflower (1620) and the “Puritans” (non-Separatist Congregationalists) who founded Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630). The Cambridge Platform (1648) defined New England Congregationalism: each church is self-governing, chooses its own officers, admits and disciplines its own members, but cooperates voluntarily with other churches through councils. The theological heritage: (1) The covenant — the founding act of a Congregational church is a covenant among believers; (2) The gathered church — only regenerate believers (not merely baptized inhabitants) constitute the true church; (3) The “Half-Way Covenant” (1662) — a controversial compromise allowing partial membership for children of members who hadn’t experienced conversion. American Congregationalism became the United Church of Christ (1957 merger) and influenced the broader American democratic ethos of local self-governance. Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth were founded as Congregational institutions.