Definition of "congregationalism" [con•gre•ga•tion•al•ism]

• A type of church government in which each local congregation is self-governing. (noun)
• The system of government and religious beliefs of a Protestant denomination in which each member church is self-governing. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Boland said that one of his pet peeves was the "congregationalism" in churches."
• "Limits of Unitarian Universalist congregationalism: "Unitarian Universalism" exists beyond the limits of congregational affiliation, and beyond the formal boundaries of the UUA."
• "The alternative to renewal as a unified movement could instead be a further move towards radical congregationalism - and for UUism to exist more as an umbrella group of various congregations and movements."