| 1. | (sometimes initial capital letters ) a church free from state control. Compare established church. |
| 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. |
free church
generally, any Protestant religious body that exists in or originates in a land having a state church but that is itself free of governmental or external ecclesiastical control. Examples of such free churches are the Baptists in Scotland, where the established church is Presbyterian; the Presbyterians in England, where the Anglican Church is established; the Waldensian Church in Italy, where the Roman Catholic Church is established; and the Mission Covenant Church in Sweden, where the established church is Lutheran.
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