Nonconformity to the world, also called separation from the world, is a Christian doctrine based on Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 6:17 and other verses of the New Testament that became important among different Protestant groups, especially among Wesleyans and Anabaptists. The corresponding German word used by Anabaptists is . Nonconformity is primarily expressed through the practices of plain dress and simple living.
Among the verses of the New Testament used to support the concept of nonconformity to the world are:
Even though not unique to Wesleyan and Anabaptist Christians (such as Mennonites), the concept of nonconformity has found an unusually intense and detailed application among these groups. Other groups that practice forms of separation from the world are the Exclusive Brethren and the Church of God (Restoration). 20th-century minister and religious radio broadcaster Carl McIntire stressed the doctrine of nonconformity to the world.
Among traditional Anabaptist groups nonconformity is practiced in relation to dress, the use of technology like horse and buggy transportation instead of cars, the rejection of television and radio, the use of language (i.e. German dialects like Pennsylvania German or Plautdietsch instead of English, Spanish, or French), nonresistance, , and .
Anabaptist groups that practice nonconformity to the world today belong either to the Old Order Movement, the "Russian" Mennonites, the Hutterites, or the Bruderhof. These groups live either in Canada, the United States, or Latin America ("Russian" Mennonites).
Methodist theology traditionally emphasizes the scriptural injunction "be ye separate", which lessens temptation. The doctrine of separation from the world continues to be emphasized by Methodist connexions in the conservative holiness movement, such as the Evangelical Methodist Church Conference, which in its 2017 Book of Discipline, teaches: