The End of Protestantism: Pursuing Unity in a Fragmented Church

An unforeseen and unfortunate result of the Protestant Reformation was the shattering fragmentation of the church, leading to a Protestant tribalism that was and continues to be a major hindrance to any solution to Christian division and its cultural effects. Influential thinker Peter Leithart critiques American denominationalism in the context of global and historic Christianity in The End of Protestantism: Pursuing Unity in a Fragmented Church, calling for an end to Protestant tribalism and presenting a vision for the future church that transcends post-Reformation divisions.

Leithart offers pastors and churches a practical agenda, backed by theological arguments, for pursuing local unity now. Unity in the church will not be a matter of drawing all churches into a single, existing denomination, says Leithart. Returning to Catholicism or Orthodoxy is not the solution. But it is possible to move toward church unity without giving up our convictions about truth. This critique and defense of Protestantism urges readers to preserve and celebrate the central truths recovered in the Reformation while working to heal the wounds of the body of Christ.