The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
The AME was established in 1816 following a split from the Methodist Church. The oldest independent black denomination in the world, the AME has 3.5 million members worldwide. It was founded by Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816, along with several black Methodist congregations seeking independence from white Methodists, with whom they had sociological rather than theological differences. Their belief system is essentially an adherence to The Apostle’s Creed and the Articles of Religion of Methodism.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ)
Although it was officially established in 1821, the AMEZ church began in New York around 1800 after splitting from the Methodist Church following continued discrimination. They currently have over 1.2 million members worldwide.
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME)
The CME was organized by 41 ex-slaves in 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee following a split with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South over differences in church government. Their beliefs follow the Articles of Religion of Methodism. They have an estimated 850,000 members worldwide.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC)
The Church of God in Christ was founded in 1897 by excommunicated Baptists in the South following a doctrinal dispute. It is considered the largest Pentecostal denomination and the fifth largest Christian denomination with close to 8 million members worldwide.
The National Baptist Convention (NBCUSA) was established in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s the second largest predominantly black denomination and the second largest Baptist denomination with an estimated 7.5 million members.