free church

American  

[free church] / ˈfri ˈtʃɜrtʃ /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letters) a church free from state control.

2. (sometimes initial capital letters) a dissenting or nonconforming church.

3. (initial capital letters) Also Free Kirk (in Scotland) the church established by those who left the Church of Scotland in 1843.

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Free Church British  

noun

1. 1. any Protestant Church, esp the Presbyterian, other than the Established Church

   2. ( as modifier )

      Free-Church attitudes

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Etymology

Origin of free church

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

We stand for a free pulpit and a free church.

From Time Magazine Archive

A 1967 graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, York has been backed by a number of local churches in operating a "free church" that ministers to Berke ley hippies.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1833, a free church of the Christian denomination was organized under the ministry of the Reverend Timothy Cole.

From The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1884 by Various

At the same time he was anxious that the church should preserve the fullest liberty, and he believed in the principle of “a free church in a free state.”

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

Cavour had his heart set on gaining Rome for the capital of the kingdom, and on establishing "a free church in a free state."

From Outline of Universal History by Fisher, George Park