Restorationism

This article deals with the restoration of Christian authenticity in worship and living; see Supersessionism for a discussion regarding Restorationism in Dispensational Christian views towards Jewish people in the End times.

Related Topics:
Supersessionism - Dispensational - End times

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Restorationism is an attitude that typifies a religious movement which sees itself as a rediscovery and establishment of the original form of Christianity in recent times. The term has been used to describe several comparably motivated Christian religious movements, some of which originated in the British Isles, but which only began to prosper in the eastern United States and then in the American frontier, in the 19th century in the wake of the Second Great Awakening.

Related Topics:
Christianity - British Isles - United States - 19th century - Second Great Awakening

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More generally, this attitude is referred to by the less appealing term, Primitivism (which describes many movements going back to Early Christianity, and up to modern times, including Baptists, and before them, the Anabaptists). However, the religious movements referred to as Restorationists ordinarily:

Related Topics:
Primitivism - Early Christianity - Baptist - Anabaptist

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• sought a restoration of primitive Christianity
• originated as distinct movements primarily in the United States
• originated between approximately 1795 and 1881
• originally tended to resist identification as a Protestant church, or
• may include any movement with a goal or perspective reminiscent of the 19th century restorationists

The term has special application to the Restoration Movement, and by comparison it is applied to other groups, whose similarity is largely coincidental. The name "Restoration" is also used by groups descended from early followers of Joseph Smith, and is preferred for a self description over the name better known to outsiders (Mormonism). These two movements have a briefly overlapping history; but other groups also are called restorationists, because of their comparable goal to re-establish Christianity in its original form, as they thought it to be.

Related Topics:
Restoration Movement - Joseph Smith - Mormonism

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