Why is Denominational Affiliation Avoided?

American churches are increasingly refraining from including denominational affiliation in their name. This trend seems to be most prevalent amongst Baptist churches and less common in historically liturgical denominations such as the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican or Presbyterian churches.

Rather than include denominational affiliation in their name, many local churches instead opt for generic, one-word names such as Life, Grace or Crossroads. Others use location in their name to build the identity of the church such as Chapel Hill Church, West Hills Church, or Wesley Chapel Church. Notable examples of churches hiding affiliation include Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, and Woodlands Church near Houston.

Both Texas megachurches are in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). A non-Baptist example is Church of the Resurrection, an Anglican church in Washington, D.C. that does not place its affiliation up-front nor is the word Anglican on the landing page of its website.

Nowhere on its website does Woodlands Church indicate affiliation with the SBC. Instead, their emphasis is placed on mission, with the slogan “From the Woodlands to the World” appearing on the “about” page of their website. The only way to discern The Woodlands affiliation with the SBC is to visit the SBC’s own church database. This is only one example of churches hiding their denominational affiliations.

It has also become commonplace for individuals to shy away from admitting what denomination they affiliated with. I have found that there is no single reason for this trend but rather an amalgamation of different reasons.

Some people are open about why they choose not to identify with the denomination of the church they attend. Amongst these, I have found that the most common reason is because they care more about being seen as part of the universal Church than as a part of a specific denomination. These people generally wish that there was less denominational division and emphasize unity as the body of Christ over whatever doctrinal differences define different denominations. People who use this reasoning generally cite the need for Christians to unite as the universal Church against evil rather than allowing differences to divide the Church. In my experience, those who adhere to this line of thought often point back to the church in the time of the apostles where there were no denominations, only the undivided Church made up of the whole body of believers.

An unspoken reason for avoiding denominational affiliations are the negative stereotypes sometimes attached to certain denominations. Sects within each denomination foster negative stereotypes about other denominations. Granted, this does not apply to everyone in a given denomination. Many people are tolerant and gracious towards other denominations but do little to debunk stereotypes. Once created, these stereotypes grow in popularity until they become widely accepted. When this happens, it is difficult for people to transcend those stereotypes, even if they do not fit the assigned stereotype. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the stereotype that Catholics are obsessive mariolaters. Because of this, many people tend to distance themselves from their denominational affiliation in order to avoid the negative stereotypes associated with that denomination. For example, many Baptists might distance themselves from their affiliation because of negative stereotypes that Baptists are low-church fundamentalists, dumb down the faith, or make God out to be overly familial.

Another facet of this disaffiliation trend is denominational elitism. This is arguably the reason for denominations in general but nonetheless contributes to the trend of disaffiliation. Large groups within many denominations, including among some reformed Baptists and Catholics, hold that their way is the only way and treat those who do not hold the same beliefs as heretical or unchristian. This is often combined with negative stereotypes to attack those from other denominations. For example, many Baptists might lump all Catholics together and say that none are true Christians. This goes both ways, with many Catholics maintaining an elitist air that only Rome is the true Church and shunning Protestant denominations.

The problem with this elitism is that every denomination uses the Bible to back up their claims, saying that because the Bible backs them up, they must be right. Every other denomination does the same thing, however, since each can usually find some part of the Bible where they can back up their claims by interpreting the passage a certain way. Take baptism for example. Both paedobaptists and credobaptists cite scripture for why their stance is correct.

Because of this, neither side budges and staunchly maintains that their side is correct, building an ethos of elitism around the idea that only their belief is correct.

Many decline to admit denominational affiliation because they do not want to face backlash from those who buy into denominational stereotypes or those who maintain an elitist air, excluding others who do not embrace loyalty to their church.

Although some choose to obscure their affiliation in order to promote the universal Church (an admirable sentiment) an underlying, unspoken fear of backlash might be just as prevalent. Dissatisfied with inter-denominational fighting, people fear judgement from others if they admit affiliation with a scorned denomination. Especially for young Christians who have not grown up entrenched in any one denomination, it is more appealing to affiliate only with a non-denominational church than it is to affiliate with a specific denomination.

Isaac Cullum is a student at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, pursuing a degree in Government: Political Theory and serving as a Summer 2025 intern with the Institute on Religion & Democracy in Washington, D.C.