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'''Campbellite''' is a mildly [[pejorative]] term<ref>The ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' describes the term as "sometimes offensive".  Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.  Entry on "''Cambellite''."</ref> referring to adherents of certain religious groups that have historic roots in the [[Restoration Movement]], among whose most prominent 19th-century leaders were [[Thomas Campbell (minister)|Thomas]] and [[Alexander Campbell (minister)|Alexander Campbell]].
==Influence of the Campbells==
Thomas and Alexander Campbell were the most prominent leaders of the [[Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement)|Disciples of Christ]] movement of the early 19th century.  The group was committed to restoring [[Christian primitivism|primitive Christianity]].  It merged with the [[Christians (Stone Movement)]] in 1832 to form what is now described as the American [[Restoration Movement]] (also known as the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement).  Other prominent individuals in the Restoration Movement included [[Barton W. Stone]], [[Walter Scott (clergyman)|Walter Scott]] and [[John Smith (Restoration movement)|"Raccoon" John Smith]].
==Historically associated groups==
Over time, strains grew within the Restoration Movement. In 1906, the U.S. Religious Census listed the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Christian Churches]] and the [[Churches of Christ]] as separate and distinct groups for the first time.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975">McAlister, Lester G. and Tucker, William E. (1975), ''Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)'' - St. Louis, Chalice Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8272-1703-4}}</ref>{{rp|251}} This, however, was simply the recognition of a division that had been growing for years, with published reports as early as 1883.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975" />{{rp|252}} The most obvious distinction between the two groups was the rejection of musical instruments in the Churches of Christ. The controversy over musical instruments began in 1860 with the introduction of [[Organ (music)|organ]]s in some churches. More basic were differences in the underlying approach to Biblical interpretation. For the Churches of Christ, any practices not present in accounts of New Testament worship were not permissible in the church, and they could find no New Testament documentation of the use of instrumental music in worship. For the Christian Churches, any practices not expressly forbidden could be considered.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975" />{{rp|242–247}}  The major groups with historical roots in the movement are:
*The [[Churches of Christ]]
*[[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]]
*The [[Christian churches and churches of Christ]]
*[[The churches of Christ (non-institutional)]]
The term ''Campbellite'' is most often applied to the more conservative branches of the movement, including the [[Churches of Christ]] and the [[Christian churches and churches of Christ]].
==Term==
Members of these groups generally consider the term ''Campbellite'' inappropriate, saying that they are followers of [[Jesus]], not Campbell.<ref>see, for example, Weldon E. Warnock, [http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume29/GOT029319.html "Why I Am Not A Campbellite,"] ''Guardian of Truth'' XXIX: 23, pp. 705, 727, December 5, 1985</ref><ref>See also  Wayne Jackson, [https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/822-alexander-campbell-and-christs-church "Alexander Campbell and Christ's Church,"] ''Christian Courier'' (accessed 11-15-2012)</ref><ref name="Redigging the Wells">Monroe E. Hawley, ''Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity'', Quality Publications, Abilene, Texas, 1976, page 86 {{ISBN|0-89137-512-0}} (paper), {{ISBN|0-89137-513-9}} (cloth)</ref>{{rp|85–87}}<ref name="Bales 1967">[[James D. Bales]], ''The Faith Under Fire'', Lambert Book House, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1867</ref>{{rp|91–93}}  They draw parallels with [[Martin Luther]]'s protest of the name ''[[Lutheran]]s''<ref name="Howard 1971">V. E. Howard, ''What Is the Church of Christ?'' 4th Edition (Revised) Central Printers & Publishers, West Monroe, Louisiana, 1971</ref>{{rp|162,163}} and the [[Anabaptists]]' protest of the name given to them by their enemies. With specific reference to the early Restoration Movement, "[t]he terms Campbellism and Campbellites were universally rejected by those to whom they were applied."<ref name="Redigging the Wells" />{{rp|86}}
== Popular culture ==
A Campbellite family is featured in Chapter IX of [[MacKinlay Kantor]]'s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "[[Andersonville (novel)|Andersonville]]" (1955).
==References==
{{Reflist}}{{Restoration Movement}}
[[Category:Restoration Movement]]