Church of the United Brethren in Christ

The Church of the Brethren in Christ has the distinction of being the first church that was not transplanted from Europe. It originated in 1800 but its roots go back to 1767 and the Pennsylvania awakening. The Brethren Church finally separated in 1800 with the larger group eventually merging with the United Methodist Church leaving the name “United Brethren” to the smaller group. They took a strong position against slavery in the 1820s and they prohibited joining secret societies. Today they have traditional, evangelical Protestant beliefs but are flexible in how they operate and not dogmatic in their beliefs.