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Multitudinism is a term characteristic of French Protestant vocabulary. It emerged in 1842 from the pen of Alexandre Vinet to describe the “multitude” churches. It is an equivalent of the German word Volkskirche, used by Schleiermacher in a course of 1822-1823. In both cases, the aim was to take the Church away from the control of the State, while maintaining its service to the whole population. But the word Volkskirche can be ambiguous, while Multitudinist is suitable for majority as well as for minority churches.