Is this unity?

The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17: 22-23)

This past June, Louisa and I were in Ontario for a couple of family reunions on her side. We worshipped one Sunday in the Rainham Mennonite Church (near Selkirk). Our presence swelled the number of congregants to a total of nine. A copy of the Mennonite Historian at the back of the church included a review of a book titled Come Out From Among Them And Be Ye Separate.

As the reviewer commented, “Paradoxically, Anabaptist-origin churches have . . . maintained the unity (or ‘purity’) of the church by dividing.” Also, “many recent separations have resulted from disagreements about same sex marriage and about pandemic restrictions.” This certainly sounded familiar to me. Being currently Christian Reformed (although my parents were originally Canadian Reformed, as were my wife’s), I have lamented the divisions within the CRC over matters such as the role of women, children’s participation in communion, and, most recently, gender issues. This made me wonder about disunity in the Christian church in general.

Estranged siblings

The following statistics come from recent estimates from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity and the Barna Group.

Approximately 31 percent of the world is Christian and within global Christianity there are about 45,000 denominations: Catholicism is the largest denomination (1.345 billion adherents), Eastern Orthodox (220 million adherents) and Protestant denominations make up the rest (800 million – 1 billion adherents).

Out of the Protestant denominations, Reformed (Calvinist) denominations have 70-80 million adherents worldwide. In North America this means that, of the over 200 Protestant denominations, about 14 are Reformed (Calvinist) with historic Dutch origins and a total of about 600,000 members.

These Reformed (Calvinist) denominations are further divided. The Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA) has about 245,000 members. (By the way, this represents less than .025 percent of protestant Christians in the world.) The Reformed Church of America has 240,000 members, the United Reformed Churches of NA has 23,000, Canadian and American Reformed Churches have 17,000, the Netherlands Reformed Church has 10,000, the Protestant Reformed Church of North America has 8,000, the Free Reformed Church of North America has 4,600 and the Orthodox Christian Reformed Church has 1500 members.

Many Protestant denominations have national or ethnic origins, but the vast majority of them (including Reformed denominations) are the result of splits due to theological disputes. Why do I cite these lamentable statistics about disunity in the body of Christ?

The only response of which I can think is . . . lament.

Artist bio

Amanda is a fine artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. She works in multiple mediums, and is interested in creating art that tells meaningful stories. Her work uses surreal, sometimes unsettling imagery to explore themes of spirituality, mental health and the human experience. Follow her at lucidpalette.ca or on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook @lucidpalette.