35: Why Are There So Many Denominations?

 In Christian History, Denominations, Discipleship, Ecumenical Councils, History, Leadership, Philosophy, Podcast, Reformation, Theology


There are more than 40,000 Christian denominations in the world today. But this wasn’t always the case. For the first several centuries of the church, there was only one branch of Christianity. But in 1054 the Great Schism took place, separating the eastern churches from the western churches. This formed the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, and the beginning of major factions within Christianity.

In this episode, Kenny gives us a “mini history lesson” about the development of the Roman Catholic Church and its evolution away from quality Christian doctrine. This drift away from orthodoxy eventually causes certain priests and church leaders to rebel against the church, which turns into the Protestant Reformation, ignited mostly by Martin Luther, a German monk and Catholic priest seeking to bring reforms to the Catholic Church.

Kenny outlines Luther’s impact and explains how the launching of the Lutheran Church eventually led to the launching of many other denominations within Christianity.