Conservative Holiness Movement

The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of conservative Wesleyan-Holiness Christian denominations that trace their origin back to Methodist roots and the teachings of John Wesley. This movement became distinct from other Wesleyan-Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment and other "old holiness standards." There are an estimated 2,000 congregations in the movement.

The Holiness movement was largely contained within Methodism during the 19th century. By the 1880s a persistent wave of "come-outism" was beginning to gather steam. The come-outers were concerned that Methodism had begun to water-down Holiness teachings and even shun its more outspoken proponents.

Denominations which now comprise the conservative holiness movement such as the Church of God (Holiness), and educational institutions such God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio, joined a growing number of groups which were forced out or which left Methodism to practice Holiness uninhibited (e.g. Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, Churches of Christ in Christian Union, etc.).

The Holiness movement, for the most part, huddled together tightly while Pentecostalism was competing for the hearts and minds of its adherents.

During the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and onward, most Holiness groups found themselves at home in the Fundamentalist camp or allied with them. While many Holiness groups made the jump toward the Evangelical movement in the late 1930s, there were groups that felt their Holiness peers were drifting away from Biblical inerrancy and cultural separation.

By the post-World War II era, a more relaxed attitude toward morality and theological differences caused Holiness conservatives and fundamentalists to guard their flocks more closely. Many conferences, districts and local churches reinforced prohibitions on behavior in their governing documents. The list of prohibitions varied from denomination to denomination, but included the wearing of gold (which included wedding rings), watching television as an extension to previous bans on theater patronage, women cutting their hair, wearing short skirts, etc. These items were often referred to as "old holiness standards."

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