What does restorationism mean?
Restorationism denotes the idea that an institution or community should be returned to an earlier, authoritative condition. Its best-known historical form is the nineteenth-century Protestant Restoration Movement, which argued that the church had departed from the teachings and practices of the apostles and the early church. Advocates commonly appealed to the New Testament to promote renewed congregational independence, baptism by immersion, Communion, and other practices they believed had been restored rather than merely invented. In broader, less formal usage, Restorationism can describe any movement that seeks to recover a lost tradition, though this meaning is sometimes polemical and should be distinguished from ordinary restoration or preservation. The word is most useful when discussing religious history, but it can also describe strong commitments to reinstating an earlier model. It should not be treated as automatically approving: what counts as an earlier ideal, and who has the authority to restore it, are usually central to the debate.
nounRestorationism is the pursuit or set of principles of restoring an earlier, lost, or ideal condition, especially in religion. The term most commonly denotes the 19th-century Protestant movement that sought to restore the church to the practices and beliefs of the apostles and the early church.
- A Protestant movement, especially of the 19th century, advocating the restoration of the church to New Testament practices.
- More broadly, any movement or set of principles seeking to restore an earlier or ideal institutional, cultural, or religious condition.
"Drawing heavily on Restorationism, the congregation sought to rebuild its worship around the ordinances described in the New Testament."
"The Restorationists understood the Bible as the authoritative guide for reorganizing the church."
"The town's heritage campaign has been described as a form of civic Restorationism, though the label is usually informal in that context."
Plural forms are uncommon because the term usually names a particular historical movement or doctrine.
"Historians have compared Restorationisms that emerged in different religious communities."
Restorationism asks a radical question: can a community recover not just an old building, but an old way of life?
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does restorationism come from?
Restorationism combines restoration with the suffix -ism, a word-forming element meaning a distinctive practice, doctrine, or movement. Restoration ultimately comes through French from Latin restaurare, meaning “to restore” or “set up again,” while restaurant and restaurateur preserve the same Latin root in the history of dining and hospitality. The English religious movement developed during the early nineteenth century among Protestants who sought to recover what they regarded as New Testament church practice.
Related word forms
How restorationism is actually used
The capitalized form Restorationism usually refers to a historical Christian movement. The lowercase form is sometimes used more broadly for efforts to restore an earlier social, cultural, or institutional order, though that usage is less standardized and can be evaluative.
Easily confused with restorationism
Restoration is the act or process of returning something to an earlier condition, whereas Restorationism is a movement or body of principles advocating such a return.