The number bantered about most recently is 30,000. What started out several years ago as 20,000 has increased significantly in recent times. The trend is continuing upwards with no limit in sight. What now stands at an incredible number might well be 40-50-or 60,000 in only a matter of years. What is it, you might be wondering?
The latest figure I have seen from Roman Catholic apologists to estimate the current number of Protestant denominations is 30,000. This prodigious number is regurgitated gratuitously by apologists who argue against the Protestant position of sola Scriptura in support of papal infallibility in the interpretation of Scripture. (Never mind that Roman apologists fail to mention that their own Church is replete with differing denominations.)
If you are just as skeptical about the grandiose figure as I was, you would be correct in your incredulity. Setting aside the improbability that 30,000 differing denominations could all qualify as Protestant denominations without falling into heresy, I wanted to find out how the Roman Catholic apologist arrived at such an inflated number. What I soon discovered was that the reference used by Catholics to support this audacious claim comes from David A. Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World A.D. 1900-2000.
When first published over 25 years ago, Barrett identified seven major ecclesiastical "blocs" into which 22,189 different denominations belonged (with the number growing exponentially each year). That is, he identified the 7 "blocs" as follows:
1. Roman Catholicism - 223 denominations
2. Protestant - 8,196 denominations
3. Orthodox - 580 denominations
4. Non-White Indigenous - 10,956
5. Anglican - 240
6. Marginal Protestant (of which includes Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, New Age Groups, and all cults) - 1,490
7. Catholic (Non-Roman) - 504
Thus, the number usually promulgated by Catholics is nothing more than an amalgamation of all non Roman Catholicism "blocs". This disingenuous tactic is not a true representation of Barrett's research. Nevertheless, given the total of 8,196 denominations only serve to raise questions, the chief of which is how did Barrett define the term "denomination" in order to reach his final tally?
Eric Svendsen describes in his article 30,000 Protestant Denominations:
Barrett has defined "denomination," it is clear that he does not think of these as major distinctions; for that is something he reserves for another category. In addition to the seven major ecclesiastical "blocs" (mentioned above), Barrett breaks down each of these traditions into smaller units that might have significant differences (what he calls "major ecclesiastical traditions," and what we might normally call a true denomination) (Barrett, 14). Referring again to our seven major ecclesiastical "blocs" (mentioned above, but this time in reverse order): For (1) Catholic (Non-Roman), there are four traditions, including Catholic Apostolic, Reformed Catholic, Old Catholic, and Conservative Catholic; for (2) Marginal Protestants, there are six traditions; for (3) Anglican, there are six traditions; for (4) Non-White Indigenous, which encompasses third-world peoples (among whom can be found traces of Christianity mixed with the major tenets of their indigenous pagan religions), there are twenty traditions, including a branch of Reformed Catholic and a branch of Conservative Catholic; for (5) Orthodox, there are nineteen traditions; for (6) Protestant, there are twenty-one traditions; and for (7) Roman Catholic, there are sixteen traditions, including Latin-rite local, Latin-rite catholic, Latin/Eastern-rite local, Latin/Eastern-rite catholic, Syro-Malabarese, Ukrainian, Romanian, Maronite, Melkite, Chaldean, Ruthenian, Hungarian, plural Oriental rites, Syro-Malankarese, Slovak, and Coptic. It is important to note here that Barrett places these sixteen Roman Catholic traditions (i.e., true denominations) on the very same level as the twenty-one Protestant traditions (i.e., true denominations). In other words, the true count of real denominations within Protestantism is twenty-one, whereas the true count of real denominations within Roman Catholic is sixteen. Combined with the other major ecclesiastical blocs, that puts the total number of actual denominations in the world at ninety-two--obviously nowhere near the 23,000 or 25,000 figure that Roman Catholic apologists constantly assert--and that figure of ninety-two denominations includes the sixteen denominations of Roman Catholicism (Barrett, 15)! Barrett goes on to note that this figure includes all denominations with a membership of over 100,000. There are an additional sixty-four denominations worldwide, distributed among the seven major ecclesiastical blocs.
There has been a gross exaggeration from Catholic apologists who either out of ignorance or malfeasance continue to propagate this nonsense. A rudimentary study of Barrett's work would yield a sum far closer to the actual number of Protestant and Catholic denominations in existence. His work should also prove sufficient to dismantle the Roman Catholic claims of doctrinal chaos. If Protestantism is proved false because of multiple denominations and that, "God cannot be the author of such chaos," as one apologist recently emailed me, then the same standard must also apply to Roman Catholicism. It too would be proved false on the basis of doctrinal chaos as represented by the multiple denominations within its structure.
The next time you encounter a Roman Catholic apologist who feels compelled to argue against sola Scriptura because is causes multiple denominations, kindly instruct him in the fact that Protestantism is just ahead of Catholicism in number of denominations, and remind him that unity of believers is not the measuring rod by which to judge the veracity of beliefs for even the apostles were not always of one understanding after hearing the words of their infallible Teacher. The real issue is of authority: do we accept the Word of God as the infallible source, or are we to believe the mutable and contradictory positions of popes and councils?
