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                                                                 CHURCH AND SECT

DEFINING “A RELIGION”

Defining what “a religion” is rather than what “religion” is

What is “a religion”?

If a religion is defined from the perspective of its adherents, a religion might be defined in terms of the following characteristics

Uniqueness: A group of adherents who profess what they deem to be a unique set of beliefs
   
Loyalty: A group of adherents who give their primary religious loyalty to that religion
   
Autonomy: A group of adherents who independently manage their own affairs without reliance on other religions
   
Coherence: A group of adherents who use their own culture, traditions, forms of organization in their religious practice

Continuity: A group of adherents who acknowledge a common historical lineage 


INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS) DEFINITION OF A CHURCH

Because of First Amendment religious freedom concerns, Congress has never passed any statute anywhere which defines what a church is beyond saying that it is a "a church or convention or association of churches."

The IRS has established criteria which, in its view, define a church for tax exempt status purposes:

1. A distinct legal existence

2. A recognized creed and form of worship

3. A definite and distinct ecclesiastical government

4. A formal code of doctrine and discipline

5. A distinct religious history

6. A membership not associated with any other church or denomination

7. An organization of ordained ministers

8. Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies

9. A literature of its own

10. Established places of worship

11. Regular congregations

12. Regular religious services

13. Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young

14. Schools for the preparation of its ministers.

Not all of the 14 criteria must be met by every individual church


GLOBAL STATUS OF MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS
(RANKED BY MEMBERSHIP SIZE)


Religionists                      WORLD                              UNITED STATES
                                         (2000)                    (1970)             (2000)             (2025)

Christians                  1,999,564,000        191,182,000    235,741,000    266,348,500   

Muslims                    1,888,243,000               800,000        4,131,910        5,290,000   

Hindus                          811,336,000               100,000        1,031,677        1,500,000

Buddhists                      359,982,000              200,000        2,449,570        5,000,000

Ethnoreligionists           228,367,000                 0,000            434,851           500,000

Sikhs                                23,258,000                 1,000            233,820           310,000

Jews                                 14,434,000          6,700,000         5,621,339        6,100,000

Confucianists                     6,299,000                    ***               ***                 ***

Babi and Baha'i                 7,106,000             138,000            753,423        1,150,000

Jains                                   4,218,000                    000                6,959               7,000

Shinto                                  2,762,000                    000              56,220             70,000

Zoroastrians                        2,544,000                    000              52,721             84,000

Nonreligionists                918,249,000        10,070,000       25,077,844      40,000,000

Agnostics                         768,159,000                ***                  ***                   ***
(Nonreligious)

    Aetheists                      150,090,000              200,000        1,149,486        1,600,000
(Anti-religionists)


Most religions have  some type of associational unit. Sometimes there are more elaborated levels of organization
Religions use different titles for their associational units

Mosque (Islam)

Congregation or Church (Protestant)

Parish (Catholic)

Ward (Latter-day Saints)

Synagogue or Temple (Jewish)

Coven or Circle (Wiccan)

Local Assemblies (Baha’i)

Gurdwara (Sikh)

 

 

DIVISIONS WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

Religion (Christianity)

Branch (Protestantism)

A subdivision of a religion

Denominational Family (Presbyterianism)

An alliance of denominations that at an earlier point in history were a single movement or religious body

Denomination or Body (Presbyterian Church, USA)

An administrative organization that represents (by serving or orchestrating) participating congregations

Congregation (Oakview Presbyterian Church)

An associational unit of adherents who gather as stipulated by doctrines and rituals


Source: www.Adherents.com

 


 

CHRISTIANITY

 

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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TERMS
 

Weber

Emphasis is on internal structure of organization

Church is an inclusive group in which membership is open and commitment and conformity is limited

Sect is an exclusive group in which membership is adult and voluntary and commitment to doctrine and practices is extensive

Troeltsch

Shifts emphasis to relationship to society

Church accepts the secular order and compromises Christian values

 More open, accepting expression of faith
 Membership primarily through birth
 Emphasis on religious education rather than conversion
 Membership is inclusive and may concide with national boundaries
 Acceptance is formalized and not closely guarded
 Salvation is granted through grace and transmitted by the church
 Deviation does not normally produce expulsion
 Professionally trained leadership
 Social structure of church mirrors that of secular world
 Doctrine not limited to original revelation but vary by historical era
Sect rejects secular order and maintains a prophetic ministry
Fundamentalist theology
Primarily adult, voluntary membership
Membership primarily through conversion
Membership is exclusive and antagonistic toward outsiders
Conversion experience required for membership
Salvation is achieved through personal perfection or moral worthiness
Violation of moral precepts can lead to expulsion
Priesthood of all believers with spirituality as basis for status
Social structure of sect stands in opposition to that of secular world
Regeneration of original faith


Niebuhr

Identifies the social conditions associated with each type of group and adds concept of denomination

Primary distinction between church and sect is compromise

Church represents a deterioration of Christian ethics and sect as attempt to recapture strong ethical stance

Traces denominational differences to race, class, nationality, and region

Argues that sectarian form rarely lasts longer than a generation before moving toward denominationalism

Religious education programs supplants conversion
Religious knowledge supplants conversion experience
Members experience social mobility
Clergy receive professional training

CHURCH VERSUS SECT

1. Theology

    Particularistic, fundamentalist (regeneration of original faith)

    Universalistic, modernist (continuing revelation and adaptation)

2. Membership
    Adult, volitional through conversion, high commitment, exclusive, expulsion for deviance

    Birth, religious education, not closely guarded, low commitment, inclusive, no expulsion for deviance

3. Salvation
    Achieved by personal perfection or moral worthiness

    Granted through grace of God and transmitted through sacraments

4. Leadership
    De-emphasis on the role of clergy, priesthood of all believers, high level of lay participation, personal charisma and spirituality as basis of status

Highly trained professional clergy

5. Relationship to society

     Hostility, judgemental of outsiders

    Adjustment and compromise

     



Table 1
Satan and Heaven (Baylor Survey, 2005)

 

Satan “absolutely exists

Heaven “absolutely exists”

Unitarian

11%

17%

United Church of Christ

25%

36%

Episcopalian

41%

54%

Methodist

57%

74%

Presbyterian

60%

75%

Lutheran

60%

71%

All liberal Protestants*

52%

66%

 

 

 

Church of God in Christ

77%

79%

Pentecostal

91%

83%

Baptist

92%

94%

Assemblies of God

98%

100%

All Conservative Protestants*

88%

92%

 

 

 

Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

87%

98%

Roman Catholic

52%

69%

Jewish

8%

27%


*Including denominations not shown separately above
Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

Table 2
Denomination and Index of Religious & Mystical Experiences

 

Percent High

Percent Medium

Combined

Unitarian

0%

20%

20%

United Church of Christ

10%

10%

20%

Presbyterian

16%

19%

35%

Lutheran

17%

18%

35%

Episcopalian

24%

13%

37%

Methodist

24%

25%

49%

All Liberal Protestants

20 %

20 %

40 %

 

 

 

 

Baptist

37%

22%

59%

Pentecostal

70%

18%

88%

Assemblies of God

81%

5%

86%

All Conservative Protestants

44 %

20 %

64 %

 

 

 

 

Roman Catholic

20%

20%

40%

Latter-day Saints (Mormon) †

53%

33%

86%

Jewish

7%

2%

9%

Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

Table 3
Denomination and Church Attendance

 

Attend weekly

Unitarian

7%

United Church of Christ

27%

Lutheran

32%

Methodist

36%

Episcopalians

41%

Presbyterian

46%

All Liberal Protestants

36%

 

 

Pentecostal

48%

Baptist

53%

Assemblies of God

61%

All Conservative Protestants

54%

 

 

Roman Catholic

41%

Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

85%

Jewish

13%

Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

Table 4
Denomination and Witnessing

“How often in the last month did you participate in witnessing/sharing your faith with strangers?”

 

Once or more in past month

Pentecostal

70%

Assemblies of God

43%

Baptist

40%

All Conservative Protestants

44%

 

 

United Church of Christ

0%

Unitarian

3%

Lutheran

17%

Methodist

28%

Presbyterian

17%

All Liberal Protestants

19%

 

 

Roman Catholic

22%

Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

49%

Jewish

3%

Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 


Table 5
Denominations and Tension

 

High tension

Low tension

Assemblies of God

81%

0%

Pentecostal

75%

0%

Baptist

49%

6%

All Conservative Protestants

53%

8%

 

 

 

Episcopalian

0%

78%

United Church of Christ

0%

67%

Presbyterian

8%

59%

Lutheran

12%

37%

Methodist

18%

35%

All Liberal Protestants

13%

47%

 

 

 

Roman Catholic

37%

10%

Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

94%

3%

Jewish

0%.

83%

 

 

 

All Americans

35%

21%

Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark

 

Table 6
Tension and Friendship, Church Contributions & Witnessing

 

High tension

Low tension

Tension and Friendship

 

 

How many of your friends:

 

 

Attend your place of worship:
half or more of your friends

43%

18%

Do not attend religious services:
half or more of your friends

13%

30%

 

 

 

Tension and church contribution

 

 

Answered “Yes” to “Do you tithe?”

56%

20%

Average annual church contribution (rounded to the nearest $100)

$2,000

$1,100

Contributed $5,000 or more in 2006

18%

4%

 

 

 

Tension and Witnessing

 

 

Witnessed to friends in the past month

64%

34%

Witnessed to strangers in the past month

43%

19%

Source: What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark