Predestination
SoteriologyWhether God predetermines who will be saved, the role of human free will in salvation, and the tension between divine sovereignty and human choice.
Key scriptures: Romans 8:29-30, Ephesians 1:4-5, 2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16
Catholic (5)
Eastern Catholic (Byzantine Rite)
Nuanced
Synergism affirmed; divine foreknowledge and free will cooperate
Maronite Catholic
Nuanced
God wills all to be saved; human free will and grace cooperate
Old Catholic Church
Nuanced
Divine foreknowledge; synergistic cooperation; free will affirmed; no double predestination
Roman Catholic
Nuanced
God predestines the elect; free will preserved; double predestination rejected
Saint Thomas Christians (Syro-Malabar Church)
Nuanced
Synergistic; divine election and human cooperation; Molinist-influenced framework
Orthodox (5)
Assyrian Church of the East
Nuanced
God wills all to be saved; human free will cooperates genuinely; no double predestination
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Nuanced
God wills all to be saved; human free will genuinely cooperates with grace
Eastern Orthodox
Nuanced
Synergism: human free will genuinely cooperates with divine grace toward theosis
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Nuanced
God wills all to be saved; human free will cooperates genuinely with grace
Oriental Orthodox (Miaphysite)
Nuanced
Synergism: free will genuinely cooperates with divine grace for salvation
Mainline Protestant (8)
Anglican / Episcopalian
Nuanced
Predestination to life affirmed; double predestination deliberately avoided
Calvinist / Reformed
Affirms
Double predestination: God ordains both election and reprobation
Congregationalist (UCC)
Varies
Historically Calvinist; modern UCC rejects double predestination
Lutheran
Nuanced
Election to salvation affirmed; double predestination rejected
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Nuanced
Single predestination to salvation; no reprobation decree; election grounded in grace
Methodist
Denies
Double predestination denied; Arminian free grace affirmed
Presbyterian
Affirms
Double predestination: election and reprobation both sovereignly decreed
Reformed Church in America
Affirms
Unconditional election; Canons of Dort; double predestination acknowledged; varies internally
Evangelical (15)
Baptist (Southern Baptist Convention)
Varies
Internal debate between Calvinist election and Arminian free-will views
Calvary Chapel
Nuanced
Rejects Calvinist election; God foreknew those who freely choose him
Christian & Missionary Alliance
Nuanced
God's foreknowledge and prevenient grace enable free response; no double predestination
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Affirms
Unconditional election and reprobation; God's sovereign choice before creation
Church of the Nazarene
Nuanced
Arminian: prevenient grace enables genuine free will; no unconditional election
Evangelical Covenant Church
Varies
Predestination viewed as non-essential; both Calvinist and Arminian members coexist
Evangelical Free Church of America
Varies
Secondary doctrinal freedom; Calvinist and Arminian views both present
IFCA International (Independent Fundamental Churches of America)
Nuanced
Eternal security affirmed; Calvinist/Arminian views coexist; premillennial dispensationalism
National Association of Free Will Baptists
Nuanced
Conditional election based on foreseen faith; no double predestination; free will
Non-denominational Evangelical
Varies
Wide spectrum from Calvinist election to Arminian free will; no consensus
Pentecostal (Assemblies of God)
Nuanced
Arminian: God foreknew who would believe; human free will is genuine
Presbyterian Church in America
Affirms
Unconditional election and double predestination both affirmed; supralapsarian-infralapsarian internal debate
Reformed Baptist Churches (1689 London Baptist Confession)
Affirms
Double predestination; unconditional election to life; reprobation of the lost
The Wesleyan Church
Nuanced
Conditional election; God foreknows free responses; Arminian framework; no double predestination
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Nuanced
Election intuitu fidei — foreseen faith; no reprobation; God desires salvation of all
Charismatic (5)
Charismatic Movement
Varies
Predestination views vary; Arminian-leaning emphases are common
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
Nuanced
Conditional election; God foreknows free response; universal prevenient grace
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
Nuanced
Election conditional on foreseen faith; Arminian; human free will preserved
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
Nuanced
Election conditional on foreseen faith; Arminian; prevenient grace enables choice
Vineyard Churches
Nuanced
Arminian-leaning; salvation is offered to all and freely received
Anabaptist (5)
Amish (Old Order)
Nuanced
Arminian: God desires all to be saved; Calvinist election rejected
Brethren in Christ Church
Nuanced
Arminian predestination based on foreseen faith; prevenient grace enables free will
Church of the Brethren
Nuanced
Free will emphasized; God's love universal; no Calvinist double predestination
Hutterite Brethren
Nuanced
Arminian: salvation freely offered to all who yield to God in faith
Mennonite Church
Nuanced
Arminian: salvation offered to all; Calvinist election rejected
Adventist & Restorationist (5)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Varies
No official position; Arminian instincts predominate in the tradition
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Nuanced
Conditional election based on foreknowledge; Arminian theology; individual response always required
Churches of Christ
Nuanced
Rejects Calvinist election; God foreknew those who freely respond in faith
International Churches of Christ
Nuanced
Rejects Calvinist election; salvation is genuinely available to all
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Nuanced
Arminian: God foreknows freely made choices; Calvinist election rejected
Other Protestant (8)
Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)
Nuanced
God's sovereignty affirmed; Zinzendorf leaned universalist; no rigid Calvinism.
Plymouth Brethren
Nuanced
God's sovereignty in salvation affirmed, but not rigid Calvinist TULIP framework.
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Nuanced
Rejected double predestination; affirmed universal saving Light
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference
Varies
Calvinism vs Arminianism debated; SDB historically permits diverse views
The Salvation Army
Nuanced
Reject Calvinist election; affirm universal prevenient grace
True Jesus Church
Nuanced
Conditional election; God desires all to be saved; obedience to conditions required
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
Nuanced
Conditional election; God desires all to be saved; seed-faith and faith activate divine blessing
Waldensian Church (Chiesa Evangelica Valdese)
Nuanced
Reformed predestination tradition; modern Waldensians less dogmatic
Non-Trinitarian (6)
Biblical Unitarians
Nuanced
Arminian orientation; genuine human free will; God foreknew but did not predetermine
Christadelphians
Nuanced
God foreknew and purposed salvation through Christ; human free will is genuine
Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)
Nuanced
Arminian; God foreknew but did not unconditionally predetermine; free will real
Jehovah's Witnesses
Nuanced
144,000 selected by Jehovah; the great crowd can gain salvation through faithfulness
Oneness Pentecostals (UPCI)
Nuanced
Arminian: God foreknew; free will is real; all can be saved who respond
Unitarian Universalist
Denies
Predestination rejected; free will and human responsibility affirmed universally
Latter-day Saint (2)
Unique & Independent (7)
Armstrongism (Sabbatarian splinter groups)
Nuanced
God is now calling a firstfruits; others called in Millennium and Great White Throne judgment
Church of Christ, Scientist
Denies
Divine Love is universal; no God choosing some; all equally God's children
General Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian)
Denies
God wills all to be saved; double predestination rejected; freedom essential
Iglesia ni Cristo
Nuanced
Félix Manalo predestined as God's last messenger for the Far East
Message Movement (Branhamism)
Affirms
Strict Calvinist predestination; serpent seed reprobate; bride of Christ foreordained
Messianic Judaism
Varies
Varies: Calvinist election and Arminian prevenient grace both represented
New Apostolic Church
Nuanced
Synergistic; God desires all to be saved; ongoing opportunity extends to departed
African Independent (4)
Cherubim and Seraphim Church
Nuanced
God foreknows human response to gospel; free will affirmed; prayer and faith shape destiny
Church of Jesus Christ on Earth through the Prophet Simon Kimbangu (EJCSK)
Nuanced
Kimbangu was chosen and predestined as the Holy Spirit's incarnation
Redeemed Christian Church of God
Nuanced
Election conditional upon foreseen faith; Arminian; free will and prevenient grace
Zion Christian Church
Nuanced
Spirit-led discernment of God's will; no formal predestination doctrine