Christianity is the world’s largest religion at nearly 2.5 billion adherents. Christians are the majority of the population in almost 160 different countries and territories. This Abrahamic, monotheistic faith is one that is diverse in culture and doctrines. Between Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism and Protestantism, there are many different denominations of this religion around the world. You may be familiar with many of these, such as Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran. You’ve likely also heard of other groups such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witnesses. But here are some unique sects from history that you may not have heard of.
Southcottism
Joanna Southcott was an English woman who lived from 1750 to 1814. Originally a member of the Church of England, she became convinced that she had the gift of prophecy. She believed that she was the Woman of the Apocalypse referenced in Revelation 12 in the New Testament. When she was 64, Southcott affirmed that she was pregnant with the new Messiah, the Shiloh mentioned in Genesis 49 of the Old Testament. By 1814, Southcott had over 100,000 followers in the London area. She died shortly thereafter without giving birth. While the number of Southcottian adherents declined after her death, there are still a few adherents today.
Muggletonianism
The Muggletonian movement was a mid-17th century sect based in London. This group started when two tailors declared that they, not Moses and Elijah, were the two prophets described in the Book of Revelation. This sect takes its name from that of one of the tailors, Lodowicke Muggleton. His cousin, John Reeve started the group, claiming that God had revealed the following:
- God provided understanding of His approach in the Bible to Reeve more than any other human.
- The kingdoms of Heaven and Hell were within the body.
- God chose Muggleton to be Reeve’s messenger.
- God granted Reeve the power to verbally bless and curse eternally.
Muggletonians generally avoided evangelism, worship and preaching in their gatherings. They believed that Jesus Christ is God and that until His resurrection, Heaven was being cared for by Moses and Elijah. This religious movement gained some notoriety in 1979 when Philip Noakes, the last Muggletonian, released several documents to the British Library upon his death.
Church of the Almighty God
Established in China in 1991, this religious movement asserts that Jesus Christ has returned to the earth in the form of a Chinese woman named Lightning Deng. This sect is also known as “Eastern Lightning” as a reference to Matthew 24:27: “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Founded by Zhao Weishan, this religion holds the belief that Deng has drafted a third testament of the Bible. Described as a cult by both the Chinese government and Christian critics, members of this church view the history of mankind as a 6000-year management plan by God. The church is non-Trinitarian and preaches a type of millennialism, where the Earth will experience a period of paradise before final judgment. Adherents number between 300,000 and 1 million.
Abecedarians
This 16th century German sect came out of the Anabaptist movement. This group of believers had extreme contempt for human knowledge, believing that God provided enlightenment from within through visions. They viewed education and human learning as a hindrance to these divine revelations. Salvation required a high level of ignorance. While some believe that cleanliness is next to godliness, the Abecedarians view ignorance as the highest virtue.
More people identify as Christian than any other religion in the world. With so many nations, peoples and cultures included under this large umbrella, it should be no surprise that there are many smaller sects, denominations and movements that are not as well known. Some of these faiths are relatively new while others are centuries old.