Tag: church
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Types of Religious Organisation: The Denomination
H.R. Niebuhr (1929) was the first sociologist to distinguish between a church and a denomination. His distinction was based on a study of religion in the U.S.A. Denominations share some, but not all of the features of churches. Examples of denominations include the Methodists, the Pentecostals and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to Neibuhr, denominations have…
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Types of Religious Organisation: The Church
Ernst Troeltsch (1931) used the term ‘church’ to refer to a large, hierarchically organised religious institutions with an inclusive, universal membership, typically with close links to the state. According to Troeltsch* Churches have about 5 characteristics: Churches tend to have very large memberships, and inclusive memberships. Churches tend to claim a monopoly on the truth.…
