Christian denomination 342411 226083662 2008-07-16T19:25:35Z Koavf 205121 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 226042872 by [[Special:Contributions/74.235.13.175|74.235.13.175]] ([[User talk:74.235.13.175|talk]]) {{Christianity}} {{Refimprove|date=October 2007}} {{See also|Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation)}} A '''Christian denomination''' is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within [[Christianity]]. Worldwide, Christians are divided, often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and another are defined by doctrine and church authority. Issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, and papal primacy separate one denomination from another. Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination, comprising just over half of Christians worldwide. Protestant denominations comprise about 40% of Christians worldwide, and together the Roman Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, and closely related denominations compose Western Christianity. Eastern Orthodoxy, largely Greek and Russian, and the much smaller Oriental Orthodoxy are considered Eastern Christianity. Western Christian denominations prevail in Europe and its former colonies. Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe (including all of Russia), and the Near East. Christians have various doctrines about the Church, the body of faithful that they believe was established by Jesus Christ, and how the divine church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox consider themselves to faithfully represent the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Protestants exist, historically, due to several perceived Catholic Church theologies and practices that they consider unorthodox, corrupt or anti-Biblical. Generally, members of the various denominations acknowledge each other as Christians, at least to the extent that they acknowledge historically orthodox views including the deity of Jesus and doctrines of sin and salvation, even though some obstacles hinder full communion between churches. Since the reforms surrounding Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church has referred to Protestant churches as denominations, while reserving the term "church" for apostolic churches, including the Eastern Orthodox. ==Major branches== Christianitiy has denominational families (or movements) and also has individual denominations (or communions). Within these denominational families and movements are (often further denominational families and) various individual denominations or communions. The difference between a denomination and a denominational family is sometimes unclear to outsiders. Some denominational families can be considered major branches. [[Christianity]] is composed of, but not limited to, five major branches of Churches: [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] and [[Protestantism|Protestant]]; some groupings include Anglicans amongst Protestants. The [[Assyrian Church of the East]] is also a distinct Christian body, but is much smaller in adherents and geographic scope. Each of these five branches has important subdivisions. Because the Protestant subdivisions do not maintain a common theology or earthly leadership, they are far more distinct than the subdivisions of the other four groupings. '''Denomination''' typically refers to one of the many Christian groupings including each of the multitude of Protestant subdivisions. [[Denominationalism]] is an ideology which views some or all Christian groups as being, in some sense, versions of the same thing regardless of their distinguishing labels. Not all churches teach this. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches do not use this term as its implication of interchangeability does not agree with their theological teachings. There are some groups which practically all others would view as [[apostasy|apostate]] or [[heresy|heretical]], and not legitimate versions of Christianity. There were some movements considered heresies by the early church which do not exist today and are not generally referred to as denominations. Examples include the [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]] (who had believed in an [[esotericism|esoteric]] [[dualism]]), the [[Ebionite]]s (who denied the divinity of [[Jesus]]), and the [[Arianism|Arians]]. The greatest divisions in Christianity today, however, are between Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and various denominations formed during and after the [[Protestant Reformation]]. There also exists in Protestantism and Orthodoxy various degrees of unity and division. Comparisons between denominational churches must be approached with caution. For example, in some churches, congregations are part of a larger church organization, while in other groups, each congregation is an independent [[Autonomous entity|autonomous]] organization. This issue is further complicated by the existence of groups of congregations with a common heritage that are officially nondenominational and have no centralized authority or records, but which are identified as denominations by non-adherents. Study of such churches in denominational terms is therefore a more complex proposition. Numerical comparisons are also problematic. Some groups count membership based on adult believers and [[baptism|baptized]] children of believers, while others only count adult baptized believers. Others may count membership based on those adult believers who have formally affiliated themselves with the congregation. In addition, there may be political motives of advocates or opponents of a particular group to inflate or deflate membership numbers through [[propaganda]] or outright deception. ==Historical schisms and methods of classification scheme== Christianity has not been a monolithic faith since the first century, if ever, and today there exist a large variety of groups that share a common history and tradition within and without [[Mainstream (terminology)|mainstream]] Christianity. Since Christianity is the largest [[religion]] in the world (making approximately one-third of the population), it is necessary to understand the various faith traditions in terms of commonalities and differences between tradition, [[theology]], [[ecclesiology|church government]], doctrine, language, and so on. The largest [[schism (religion)|schism]] or division in many classification schemes is between the families of [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Western Christianity]]. After these two larger families come distinct branches of Christianity. Most classification schemes list six (in order of size: Roman [[Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], and [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrians]]). Others may include [[Restorationism]] as a seventh, but classically this is included among Protestant movements. Some include [[Anabaptism]] as an eighth, although Anabaptism is often included among Protestant movements. After these branches come denominational families. In some traditions, these families are precisely defined (such as the autocephalous churches in both Orthodox branches), in others, they may be loose ideological groups with overlap. This is especially the case in Protestantism, which includes [[Adventism|Adventists]], [[Anabaptists]], [[Baptists]], [[Congregationalism|Congregationalists]], [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Methodism|Methodists]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], [[Reformed churches]], and possibly others, depending on who is organizing the scheme. Although [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] are sometimes grouped with Protestants the Anglican tradition is now usually considered as being a distinct tradition. From there come denominations, which in the West, have complete independence to establish doctrine (for instance, national churches in the [[Anglican Communion]] or in [[Lutheranism]]). At this point, the scheme becomes more difficult to apply to the Eastern churches and Roman Catholic faiths, due to their [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] structures. More precise units after denominations include kinds of regional councils and individual congregations and church bodies. [[Image:ChristianityBranches.svg|frame|center|A schematic of Christian denominational taxonomy. The different width of the lines (thickest for "Protestantism" and thinnest for "Oriental Orthodox" and "Nestorians") is without objective significance. Protestantism in general, and not just Restorationism, claims a direct connection with Early Christianity.]] [[Image:Protestantbranches.svg|frame|Major branches and movements within Protestantism]] The initial differences between the East and West traditions stem from socio-[[culture|cultural]] and [[linguistics|linguistic]] divisions in and between the [[Western Roman Empire|Western Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire]]s. Since the West (that is, Western Europe) spoke [[Latin]] as its ''[[lingua franca]]'' and the East (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and northern Africa) largely used [[Koine Greek]] to transmit writings, theological developments were difficult to translate from one branch to the other. In the course of [[ecumenical council]]s (large gatherings of Catholic leaders), some church bodies split from the larger family of Christianity. Many earlier [[heresy|heretical]] groups either died off for lack of followers and/or suppression by the church at large (such as [[Apollinarianism|Apollinarians]], [[Montanism|Montanists]], and [[Ebionites]]). The first significant, lasting split in historic Christianity came from the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], who left following the [[Christology|Christological]] controversy over [[Nestorianism]] in [[431]] (the Assyrians in 1994 released a common Christological statement with the [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]]). Today, the Assyrian and Roman Catholic Church view this schism as largely linguistic, due to problems of translating very delicate and precise terminology from Latin to [[Aramaic]] and vice-versa (see [[Council of Ephesus]]). Following the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in [[451]], the next large split came with the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syrian]] and [[Coptic Christianity|Alexandrian]] (Egyptian or Coptic) churches dividing themselves, with the dissenting churches becoming today's [[Oriental Orthodoxy]]. (A similar Christological statement was made between [[Pope John Paul II]] and Syriac patriarch [[Ignatius Zakka I Iwas]], as well as between representatives of both Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy). Although the church as a whole didn't experience any major divisions for centuries afterward, the Eastern and Western groups drifted until the point where patriarchs from both families [[excommunication|excommunicated]] one another in about 1054 in what is known as the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]]. The political and theological reasons for the schism are complex, but one major controversy was the inclusion and acceptance in the West of the [[filioque clause]] into the [[Nicene Creed]], which the East viewed as erroneous. Another was the definition of [[Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|papal primacy]]. Both West and East agreed that the patriarch of Rome (ie. the [[Pope]]) was owed a "primacy of honour" by the other patriarchs (those of [[Alexandria]], [[Antioch]], [[Constantinople]] and [[Jerusalem]]), but the West also contended that this primacy extended to jurisdiction, a position rejected by the Eastern patriarchs. Various attempts at dialogue between the two groups would occur, but it was only in the 1960s, under Pope [[Paul VI]] and Patriarch [[Athenagoras]], that significant steps began to be made to mend the relationship between the two. In Western Christianity, there were a handful of geographically-isolated movements that preceded the spirit of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. The [[Cathars]] were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times. In northern [[Italy]] and southeastern [[France]], [[Peter Waldo]] founded the [[Waldensians]] in the 12th century. This movement has largely been absorbed by modern-day Protestant groups. In [[Bohemia]], a movement in the early 15th century by [[Jan Hus]] called the [[Hussite]]s defied Roman Catholic [[dogma]] and still exists to this day (alternately known as the [[Moravian Church]]). A huge schism was unintentionally founded by the posting of [[Martin Luther]]'s [[95 Theses]] in [[Saxony]] on [[October 31]], [[1517]]. Initially written as a set of grievances to spur the Roman Catholic church into reforming itself, rather than beginning a new [[sect]], Luther's writings combined with the work of [[Switzerland|Swiss]] theologian [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and French theologian and politician [[John Calvin]] instigating a rift in European Christianity that created today's second-largest branch of Christianity after Roman Catholicism itself, [[Protestantism]]. In [[England]], [[Henry VIII of England]] declared himself to be supreme governor of the [[Church of England]] with the [[Act of Supremacy]] in 1531, founding the [[English Reformation]], though with much more subdued goals than reformations of [[John Calvin|Calvin]] or [[Huldrych Zwingli]]. Unlike the other branches (Roman Catholicism, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrians, and Anglicans), Protestantism is a general movement that has no internal governing structure. As such, diverse groups such as [[Adventism|Adventists]], [[Anabaptists]], [[Baptists]], [[Congregationalism|Congregationalists]], [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Methodism|Methodists]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], [[Reformed churches|Reformed]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]], and possibly [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] and [[Restorationism|Restorationists]] (depending on one's classification scheme) are all a part of the same family, and with further doctrinal variations within each group. The largest amount of new churches and denominations have come from Protestantism in its first four hundred years, compared to the millennium and a half prior in all of [[Christendom]]. The [[Old Catholic Church]] split from the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the [[dogma]] of [[Papal Infallibility]] as promoted by the [[First Vatican Council]] of 1869–1870. The term 'Old Catholic' was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht that were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht. The [[Liberal Catholic Church]] started in 1916 via an Old Catholic bishop in London, bishop Matthew, who consecrated bishop James Wedgwood to the Episcopacy. This stream has in its relatively short existence known many splits. These splits operate world-wide under several names. ===Western churches=== {{Denominations of Christianity}} [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism]] are the two major divisions of [[Christianity]] in the Western world, if [[Anglicanism]] is included as a part of the latter. However, Catholics do not describe themselves as a denomination but rather as the original Holy and Universal Church; which all others branched off from. The [[Baptist]], [[Methodism|Methodist]], and [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches are generally considered to be Protestant denominations, although strictly speaking, of these three, the Lutheran denomination, is the only one of these founded as a "protest" against Roman Catholicism. [[Anglican Church|Anglicanism]] is generally classified as Protestant, but since the "Tractarian" or [[Oxford Movement]] of the 19th century, led by [[John Henry Newman]], Anglican writers emphasize a more catholic understanding of the church and characterize it as more properly understood as its own tradition — a ''via media'' ("middle way"), ''both'' Protestant and Catholic. A case could be made to understand Lutheranism in a similar way considering the catholic character of its foundational documents (the [[Augsburg Confession]] and other documents contained in the [[Book of Concord]]) and its historic separation from [[Calvinistic]] and [[Reformed]] churches, out of which all other Protestant denominations arise in one way or another. One central tenet of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], like [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] and some other denominations, is its practice of [[Apostolic Succession]]. "Apostle" means "one who is sent out." Jesus commissioned the first [[twelve apostles]] (see [[Biblical Figures]] for the list of the Twelve), and they, in turn laid hands on subsequent church leaders to ordain (commission) them for ministry. In this manner, Roman Catholics trace their ordained ministers all the way back to the original Twelve. Roman Catholics believe that the [[Pope]] has authority which can be traced directly to the apostle [[Saint Peter|Peter]] whom they hold to be the original head of and first Pope of the [[Christian Church]]. There are smaller churches, such as the [[Old Catholic Church]] which rejected the definition of [[Papal Infallibility]] at the [[First Vatican Council]], and [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholics]], [[Anglican Church|Anglicans]] who believe that Anglicanism is a continuation of historical [[Catholicism]] and who incorporate many Catholic beliefs and practices. Although the [[Roman Catholic Church]] generally prefers to refer to itself simply by the terms ''Catholic'' and ''Catholicism'' (which mean universal), such usage is generally rejected in formal contexts by most other denominations in that they do not accept the Church's right to appropriate these [[Nicene Creed|historic]] terms for itself (hence the use of the slightly less controversial expression ''Roman Catholic''). The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally rejected any notion that those outside its communion can be regarded as part of any true Catholic Christian faith. Roman Catholicism has a hierarchical structure in which supreme authority for matters of faith and practice are the exclusive domain of the Pope, who sits on the Throne of Peter, and the bishops when acting in union with him. Most Roman Catholics are unaware of the existence of [[Old Catholic Church|Old Catholicism]] which represents a relatively recent split from the Roman Catholic Church and is particularly vocal in rejecting their use of the term ''Catholic''. Since [[Protestantism]] does not represent a unified body of believers, but a faith tradition which itself has split many times, it is more often understood in large denominational families. Each Protestant movement has developed freely, and many have split over theological issues. For instance, a number of movements grew out of spiritual [[Revivalism|revivals]], like [[Methodism]] and [[Pentecostalism]]. Doctrinal issues and matters of [[conscience]] have also divided Protestants. The [[Anabaptist]] tradition, made up of the [[Amish]], [[Hutterites]], and [[Mennonites]], rejected the Roman Catholic and Lutheran doctrines of [[pedobaptism|infant baptism]]; this tradition is also noted for its belief in [[pacifism]]. Many churches in the Restorationist group reject being identified as Protestant or even as denominations, as they use only the Bible not creeds, and model the church after what the feel is the first century church found in scripture; the [[Church of Christ|churches of Christ]] are one example, [[African Initiated Church]]es, like [[Kimbanguism]], mostly fall within Protestantism, with a varying degree of syncretism. The measure of mutual acceptance between the denominations and movements varies, but is growing largely due to the [[ecumenism|ecumenical movement]] in the 20th century and overarching Christian bodies such as the [[World Council of Churches]]. Protestant [[theology]] for each [[religious denomination|denomination]] is usually guarded by local church councils. ===Eastern churches=== In the Eastern world, the largest body of believers is the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], sometimes imprecisely called "Greek Orthodox" because from the time of Christ through the Byzantine empire, Greek was the common language ([[Greek Orthodox]] actually refers to only one portion of the entire Orthodox Church). The Eastern Orthodox Church believes itself to be the continuation of the original Christian church established by [[Jesus Christ]], and the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostle]]s. They consider themselves to be spiritually one body while administratively they are grouped into several [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] councils. They do not recognize any single bishop as universal church leader, but rather each bishop governs only his own [[diocese]]. The [[Patriarch of Constantinople]] is known as the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]], and holds the title "[[primus inter pares|first among equals]]" meaning only that if a great council is called, the Patriarch sits as president of the council. He has no more power than any other bishop. Currently, the largest [[synod]] with the most members is the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. The [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] are organized in a similar manner, with six national autocephalous groups and two autonomous bodies. Although the region of modern-day [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] has had a strong body of believers since the infancy of Christianity, these regions only gained autocephaly in 1963 and 1994 respectively. Since these groups are relatively obscure in the West, literature on them has sometimes included the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] as a part of the Oriental Orthodox Communion, but the Assyrians have maintained theological, cultural, and ecclesiastical independence from all other Christian bodies since [[431]]. The church is administered in a hierarchical model not entirely unlike the Catholics, with the head of the church being the [[List of Patriarchs of Babylon|Patriarch Catholicos of Babylon]], currently HH [[Mar Dinkha IV]]. Due to [[oppression]], the church's headquarters is in [[Chicago, Illinois]], rather than [[Assyria]] (Syria, northern [[Iraq]] and part of [[Iran]]). Some believers have remained in the Middle East, though, and a small congregation still exists due to missionary efforts of the [[7th century|7th]] and [[8th century|8th centuries]] in [[Peoples Republic of China|China]]. Even within this small group, there is a rival [[Catholicos]] (Patriarch) in [[California]]. ==Christianity outside of the mainstream== While a precise definition of what constitutes mainstream Christianity is difficult at best, there are some groups that fall outside of what is popularly construed to be Christian groups, but share some manner of historical connection with the larger community of Christians. Considering this diversity, it may be impossible to define what Christianity is without either rejecting all definitions, or adopting a particular definition as authoritative and thus excluding others. In terms of the modern aim of scientific and objective definition, both options are considered problematic. [[Christianity]], even in its infancy as a [[Judaism|Jewish]] sect, rejected ethnic definition. It was conceived and grew as an international religion with global ambitions, spreading rapidly from [[Judea]] to nations and people all over the world. Doctrines, rather than ethnicity, define essential Christianity - even where ethnic groups have been Christian for generations. The multiplicity of communities of faith may be partly accounted for by the definition of Christianity according to specific points of indispensable doctrine, the denial of which sets the [[heresy|heretic]], or apostate, outside of the "Church", where perhaps he is accepted by another "Church" holding doctrines compatible with his own. Points of distinctive doctrine may be a very small number of simple propositions, or very numerous and difficult to explain, depending on the group. Some groups are defined relatively statically, and others have changed their definitions dramatically over time. As an example, before the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], Christian teachers who denied the doctrine of the [[Holy Trinity]] (a widely held doctrine about the nature of [[God the Father]], [[God the Son|Jesus the Son]], and the [[Holy Spirit]] drawn from New Testament passages, believed from the earliest days of the Church and formally recognized in [[325]] during the [[Nicene Council]]), would be cast out of their churches, and at times exiled or otherwise deprived of the protection of law. In later times, some points of the traditional doctrine of the Trinity are considered false doctrines according to groups such as [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the [[Iglesia ni Cristo]], [[Christadelphians]], and the [[Jehovahs Witnesses|Jehovah's Witnesses]] (representing tens of millions of believers combined). For example, [[Latter-day Saints]] teach that God the Father, His Son [[Jesus Christ]], and the [[Holy Ghost]] are [[Trinity#Other Views of the Trinity|three distinct beings]]. Some groups, like [[Community of Christ]], have their roots in the [[Restoration Movement]] and the [[History of the Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saint Movement]] but have reformed to such an extent that they are now trinitarian and striving to be recognized as mainstream Christianity. Other movements coalesced to form today's [[Unitarian Universalism]], whose member congregations recognize to varying degrees and in different ways their Christian origins. Unitarians and Universalists have historically been non-creedal and congregations have been self-governing, such that when the denominations consolidated in 1961, some congregations and individual Unitarian Universalists continued to identify themselves broadly as Christian, even more as "followers of Jesus." Another group, the [[local churches]], is similar in many respects to mainstream Christianity but theologically reject [[denominationalism]] altogether. There are also some Christians that reject organized religion altogether. [[Christian anarchism|Christian anarchists]] believe that the original teachings of Jesus were corrupted by Roman [[statism]] (see [[early Christianity]]), and that earthly authority such as government, or indeed the established Church, do not and should not have power over them. Following "[[Ethic of reciprocity|The Golden Rule]]", many oppose the use of physical force in any circumstance, and advocate [[nonviolence]]. The great [[Russia]]n novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] wrote ''[[The Kingdom of God Is Within You]]'', [http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html] and was a Christian anarchist. ===Christians with Jewish roots=== One group which has maintained its Jewish identity alongside an acceptance of Jesus as the [[Messiah]] and the [[New Testament]] as authoritative are [[Messianic Jews]], also called Hebrew Christians. Since the founding of the church, there have been Jewish elements retained by particular groups that wanted to retain their national heritage alongside the [[Gospel]] message. In fact, the first council was called in Jerusalem to address just this issue, and the deciding opinion was written by Christ's relative [[James the Just]], the first bishop of Jerusalem and a pivotal figure in the Christian movement. Due to the entirely different history of such movements and groups, they defy any simple classification scheme. ===Uncategorized=== Some denominations which arose alongside the Western Christian tradition consider themselves Christian, but neither Roman Catholic nor wholly Protestant, such as the [[Religious Society of Friends]] ([[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]]). Quakerism began as an evangelical Christian movement in 17th century [[England]], eschewing priests and all formal Anglican or Roman Catholic sacraments in their worship, including many of those practices that remained among the stridently Protestant [[Puritan]]s such as baptism with water. They were known in America for helping with the Underground Railroad and, like the Mennonites, Quakers traditionally refrain from participation in war. The [[Salvation Army]] is often, albeit incorrectly, understood to be a social relief organization. It is, in fact, a denomination that does extensive social relief work. ===Messianic movements=== Other faith traditions claim not to be descended from any of these groups directly. [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], for instance, is often grouped with the [[Protestant]] churches, but does not characterize itself as Protestant. Its origination during the [[Second Great Awakening]] parallels the founding of numerous other indigenous American religions, especially in the [[Burned-over district]] of western [[New York]] state, and in the western territories of the [[United States]], including the [[Millerites|Adventist]] movement, the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Christian Science]] (which had roots in [[Congregationalism]] but regarded itself as restorative), and the [[Restoration Movement]] (sometimes called "Campbellites" or "Stone-Campbell churches", which include the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]] and the [[Church of Christ]]). Each of these groups, founded within fifty years of one another, originally claimed to be an unprecedented, late restoration of the primitive Christian church. ===New Thought Movement=== Another group of churches are known under the banner of "[[New Thought]],". These churches share a [[spiritual]], [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and [[mysticism|mystical]] predisposition and understanding of the [[Bible]] and were strongly influenced by the [[Transcendentalist]] movement particularly the work of [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]]. Another antecedent of this movement was [[Swedenborgianism]], founded on the writings of [[Emanuel Swedenborg]] in 1787. The New Thought concept was established by [[Emma Curtis Hopkins]] ("teacher of teachers") after breaking off from [[Mary Baker Eddy]]'s [[Church of Christ, Scientist]]. The New Thought movement includes [[Religious Science| Religious Science]] founded by [[Ernest Holmes]]; [[Divine Science]], founded by [[Malinda Cramer]] and the [[Nona L. Brooks|Brook sisters]]; and [[Unity Church|Unity]] founded by [[Charles Fillmore (Unity Church)|Charles Fillmore]] and [[Myrtle Fillmore]]. The founders of these denominations all studied with Emma Curts Hopkins. Each of one these [[New Thought]] Churches has been influenced by a wide variety of ancient spiritual ideas.[http://www.bartleby.com/65/ne/NewThoug.html] Each of these churches identify to different degrees with Christianity, Unity being the most explicit. ===The Christian Community=== [[The Christian Community]] (German: Die Christengemeinschaft) is a worldwide Movement for Religious Renewal. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by the Lutheran theologian and minister Friedrich Rittlemeyer, inspired by [[Rudolf Steiner]], the Austrian mystic and founder of [[Anthroposophy]]. Both Protestants and Roman Catholics took part in the initial development of this movement, which combines a "high church" regard for the spiritual significance of the mass with rational theology and freedom of thought. ===Christian-related movements=== Two movements which are entirely unrelated in their founding share a common element of an additional Messiah or incarnation of Christ: the [[Unification Church]] and the [[Rastafari movement]]. These groups would also fall outside of traditional [[taxonomy|taxonomies]] of Christian groups. ===Christian mystery movements=== {{Main|Esoteric Christianity|The Rosicrucian Fellowship}} The religion of the Christ is taught as a [[mystery religion]]. It is composed of ''schools'', ''currents'' or ''movements'' which have an [[occult]] system of thought based on ''[[esoteric knowledge]]''. They aim to prepare the individual for ''[[spiritual evolution]]''. These groups teach systems of ''[[esoteric cosmology]]'' and contain some common themes such as [[Reincarnation|rebirth]], an [[occult]] history of human evolution, [[plane (cosmology)|planes of existence]], and [[Initiation]] into those same ''planes'' or ''inner worlds''. Another small [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] group which purports to be a "[[Buddhism|Buddhist]] branch of original Christianity" refers to itself as [http://www.essenes.net The Order of Nazorean Essenes], though they have no historic links to the ancient [[Essenes]] in the [[Land of Israel]]. These and numerous other [[syncretism|syncretists]] may make use of certain Christian terms or personalities, but are not generally considered Christian in the strict sense of the term. ==Related independent religions== In addition, the figure of Jesus is revered in other religions, like [[Islam]] and the [[Bahá'í Faith]], whose adherents do not consider themselves Christians but do consider Jesus to be a [[prophet]] or divine being. The [[Mandaeanism|Mandaeans]] are unique in that they represent virtually the last historic [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] group in existence (the [[Druze]] have ancient Gnostic influences also). They were discovered in obscurity on the coast of modern-day [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] by [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[missionary|missionaries]] in the 14th century. They were erroneously identified as "Christians of [[John the Baptist]]", but reject Jesus entirely as a false prophet, and following [[esotericism|esoteric]] teachings they claim come from John the Baptist himself. ==See also== *[[Denominationalism]] * [[Religious denominations]] * [[List of Christian denominations]] * [[List of Christian denominations by number of members]] ==External links== * [http://www.christonline.info Save the World Online Church] * [http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations.htm Christian Denominations] History, profiles and comparison charts of major Christian denominations. * [http://www.ecumenism.net/denom/ Denominational links] from the [http://www.ecumenism.net/ Ecumenism in Canada] site * [http://www.christianpost.com/ The Christian Post] * [http://www.ecumenism.net/denom/directory.htm Canadian Church Headquarters] * [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=3&IndexView=toc The Eastern Christian Churches – A Brief Survey] * [http://www.wikichristian.org/index.php?title=Denominations Denominations at WikiChristian] * [http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/religion.html Map Gallery of Religion in the United States] [[Category:Christian denominations| ]] [[Category:Christian group structuring|Denominations]] {{Link FA|pt}} [[ca:Divisió del cristianisme]] [[cs:Denominace]] [[de:Denomination (Religion)]] [[es:Denominación cristiana]] [[ko:기독교의 분파]] [[id:Denominasi Kristen]] [[ku:Mezheb]] [[pt:Denominações cristãs]] [[sl:Denominacija (religija)]] [[zh:基督教派]]