Ethan Walker
The Catholic Church has designated many varieties of non-trinitarianism as heresies, including Arianism, Modalism, and Tritheism, as well as Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses. Non-trinitarian Christians reject the doctrine of the Trinity, which states that God is one being made up of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While the Catholic Church maintains that belief in trinitarianism is required for salvation, some Catholics may change their views after being baptized as infants, and some non-trinitarians may still experience salvation through Christ's grace.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Non-trinitarian faith groups | Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarian Christians, Unitarian Universalist Christians, Christadelphians, Church of the Blessed Hope, Christian Scientists, Dawn Bible Students, Living Church of God, Assemblies of Yahweh, Members Church of God International, Oneness Pentecostals, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, La Luz del Mundo, Iglesia ni Cristo, Scientology |
| Catholic Church's view on non-trinitarianism | The Catholic Church has designated many varieties of nontrinitarianism as "heresies", including Arianism, Modalism, Tritheism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestantism, and Calvinism. The Catholic Church also does not view non-Trinitarians as Christians. |
| Non-trinitarian beliefs | Non-trinitarian groups reject the doctrine of the Trinity, which states that God is one being made up of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. |
| Trinitarian beliefs | Trinitarian Christians believe that God exists as three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. |
| Non-trinitarian history | The term "Trinity" comes from the Latin noun "trinitas", meaning "three are one." The doctrine was first introduced by Tertullian at the end of the 2nd century but gained widespread acceptance in the 4th and 5th centuries. |
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What You'll Learn
The Catholic Church's view of non-Trinitarians
The Catholic Church considers non-trinitarianism a heresy. The doctrine of the Trinity is considered an indispensable part of the faith, and so non-trinitarians are not regarded as Christians. The Catholic Church teaches that belief in the Trinity is required for salvation. The moment a baptised adult no longer believes that God is a Trinity, the Church considers that person to have committed heresy or apostasy.
The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church, as well as most Protestant churches, consider themselves Trinitarian. However, some non-trinitarian Christians dispute the labelling of non-trinitarian groups as outside of Christianity. They argue that the doctrine of the Trinity appeared inconsistent with the unity of God, and so they accepted Jesus Christ as God's highest creature, rather than as God incarnate.
Non-trinitarian groups include Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarian Christians, Unitarian Universalist Christians, Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, and Scientologists. Forms of non-trinitarianism began to emerge among some Radical Reformation groups, particularly Anabaptists, following the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The first recorded English anti-trinitarian was John Assheton in 1548, an Anglican priest.
Some anti-trinitarians note that the Greek philosopher Plato believed in a "threeness" in life and in the universe. They argue that the adoption of the term "triad" by 3rd and 4th century professed Christians makes the Trinity doctrine extra-biblical. They allege that these ideas were forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine during the Constantinian period.
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Non-Trinitarian beliefs
While the Catholic Church and most Protestant denominations describe themselves as Trinitarian, there are some non-Trinitarian groups within Christianity, including Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Unitarian Christians. These groups have been designated as "'heresies'" by the Catholic Church. The first recorded English anti-Trinitarian was John Assheton, an Anglican priest in 1548.
Non-Trinitarian Christians argue that the Trinity doctrine is extra-biblical and that it was forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine during the Constantinian period. They contend that there is a synthesis of Christianity with Platonic philosophy in trinitarian formulas, as Plato introduced the concept of a "triad" or "threeness."
Some specific non-Trinitarian beliefs include those of Oneness Pentecostals, who believe that God is one being who has revealed himself in three different modes: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They do not accept the term "person" used in the Trinity doctrine. Unification adherents believe that God is both positive and negative, male and female, and that the universe is God's body. They do not believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus and consider Sun Myung Moon to be greater than Jesus.
Other non-Trinitarian religions include Scientology, which defines God as Dynamic Infinity and does not recognize Jesus as God or a savior. Men are considered immortal, spiritual beings with limitless capabilities in this belief system. Early Islam was also viewed as a form of Arianism, a heresy in Catholic Christianity, and some Socinian Unitarians were suspected of having Islamic leanings due to their praise for Islam's belief in the unity of God.
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Non-Trinitarian denominations
The Catholic Church has designated many varieties of non-trinitarianism as "heresies," including Arianism, Modalism, and Tritheism, as well as specifically naming Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses as heresies. However, some argue that strange beliefs alone are not enough to designate a "cult," and that the group's behavior is a more important factor.
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Non-Trinitarianism and heresy
Non-trinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which is the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church, along with most Protestant churches, is trinitarian, and it specifically designates many varieties of non-trinitarianism as heresies, including Arianism, Modalism, Tritheism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestantism, and Calvinism.
The doctrine of the Trinity was first introduced by Tertullian at the end of the 2nd century, but it wasn't widely accepted until the 4th and 5th centuries. According to churches that consider the decisions of ecumenical councils final, trinitarianism was definitively declared to be Christian doctrine at the 4th-century ecumenical councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381). However, some non-trinitarian Christians, such as Oneness Pentecostals, argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is extra-biblical and was forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine during the Constantinian period. They believe that God is one being who has revealed himself in three different modes or forms, rather than three distinct persons.
The Catholic Church teaches that belief in trinitarianism is required for salvation. However, this does not necessarily mean that non-trinitarians are damned, as the grace necessary for salvation can still come from Christ. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church considers the moment a baptised adult no longer believes that God is a Trinity as the sin of heresy or apostasy.
Non-trinitarian faith groups encompass a small minority of modern Christians and include, in addition to those mentioned above, Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, Unitarian Christians, and Scientologists, among others.
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Non-Trinitarianism and persecution
The Catholic Church has designated many varieties of non-trinitarianism as "heresies", including Arianism, Modalism, and Tritheism. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are also considered heresies, alongside Protestantism and Calvinism. The Catholic Church does not view non-Trinitarians as Christians, and this has been a reason for the persecution of non-Trinitarians (including Jews and Muslims) by the Church for hundreds of years.
Non-trinitarian faith groups reject the doctrine of the Trinity, which states that God is one being made up of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This doctrine was first introduced by Tertullian at the end of the 2nd century but was not widely accepted until the 4th and 5th centuries. Trinitarianism was definitively declared to be Christian doctrine at the 4th-century ecumenical councils of Nicaea and Constantinople.
Non-trinitarians argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is extra-biblical, imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine during the Constantinian period. They contend that the Trinity doctrine is a synthesis of Christianity with Platonic philosophy, which was forcibly imposed on the churches. They also dispute the translation of certain biblical passages, such as John 1:1, which Trinitarians translate as "and the Word was God", pointing to a distinction between God and the Logos.
The first recorded English anti-trinitarian was John Assheton, an Anglican priest in 1548. The Italian Anabaptist "Council of Venice" in 1550 and the trial of Michael Servetus in 1553 marked the clear emergence of markedly anti-trinitarian Protestants. The only organised non-trinitarian churches were the Polish Brethren, who split from the Calvinists in 1565, and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, founded in 1568.
Non-trinitarian denominations comprise a small minority of modern Christians. Among the largest non-trinitarian Christian denominations are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, La Luz del Mundo, and Iglesia ni Cristo. Other smaller groups include Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, Unitarian Christians, and Oneness Pentecostals.
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Frequently asked questions
Non-trinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which is the teaching that God is three distinct persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Examples of non-trinitarian faiths include Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Unitarianism, and Scientology.
No, the Catholic Church does not consider non-trinitarians to be Christians. They believe that non-trinitarianism is a heresy and that belief in the Trinity is required for salvation. However, some Catholics acknowledge that non-trinitarians can still be saved by Christ's grace.
