CHURCHES OF CHRIST emerged from the Stone-Campbell movement (also called the Disciples, or Restoration, movement) during the half-century following the American Civil War. Opposition to instrumental music in worship, missionary societies, and a professional ministry characterized the views of conservatives who had essentially coalesced by the time of the first U.S. Religious Census in 1906.

The majority of Churches of Christ were then located in the states of the former Confederacy, with a membership of approximately 160,000. By 1926 this number had grown to over 435,000, with estimates of 600,000 in 1941. This growth was largely the result of evangelism by traveling preachers and ordinary members who were convinced Churches of Christ had restored New Testament Christianity. In 2000 the Atlas of American Religion listed Churches of Christ as one of seven national denominations, partially based on the group's presence in every part of the nation, a reflection of this...