Form (religion)

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In academic discussions of organized religion, the term form is sometimes used to describe prescriptions or norms on religious practice.

Christian forms

Forms in Christianity are mostly familiarly dictates of church authority or tradition (e.g. church government, liturgy, doctrine). However, the term is used by some authors to refer to a broader category that includes other patterns of religious practice.

Most notably, Christian scholar D. G. Hart uses this term to compare and contrast the practices of evangelical Protestants and what he calls "confessional Protestants" (for example Anglicans and most Lutherans). He argues that the confessionals follow forms that are dictated by church authority or tradition, and calls these forms churchly forms. On the other hand, noting the resistance to such central authority and tradition among evangelicals, he labels the forms of these denominations parachurchly forms, as they are often dictated by parachurch organizations and other influences beyond the direct control of any particular church.

There is little debate over whether confessional Protestants use forms. However, whether similar devices are used by evangelicals is hotly contested. Much of the opposition comes from within evangelicalism itself, due to the antiritualistic tendencies of many denominations. Other scholars of religion have however noted the tendency toward certain accepted patterns in religious practice. Robert Oden notes that this is true of nearly all religions, not just Christianity, and that it is true even of those movements that claim to be antiritualistic.

If then we accept the broader usage of the word "form", there are a number of other forms besides the ones noted above. These include the products of what has, perhaps cynically, been called "Christian entrepreneurship", such as contemporary Christian music (and non-denominational praise songs), Christian T-shirts, and non-denominational book and video resources.

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Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Christ, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament in Christianity, and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest religion with about 2.4 billion followers.

Evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace, solely through faith in Jesus's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has long had a presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.

Religious denomination Identifiable religious subgroup with a common structure and doctrine

A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.

The Confessing Church was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi Protestant Reich Church.

Nondenominational Christianity consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Protestant denomination. Often founded by individual pastors, they have little affiliation with historic denominations, but typically adhere to evangelical Protestantism, and are a type of Protestantism.

A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organization, leadership and doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy, meaning the large majority, all self-describe as churches, whereas many Protestant denominations self-describe as congregations or fellowships. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, ecclesiology, eschatology, and papal primacy may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief.

Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that individual churches may not be able to specialize in by themselves. They often cross denominational, national, and international boundaries providing specialized services and training.

Fourth Great Awakening Christian awakening in the United States

The Fourth Great Awakening was a Christian awakening that some scholars — most notably economic historian Robert Fogel — say took place in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while others look at the era following World War II. The terminology is controversial, with many historians believing the religious changes that took place in the US during these years were not equivalent to those of the first three great awakenings. Thus, the idea of a Fourth Great Awakening itself has not been generally accepted.

Confessionalism, in a religious sense, is a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching. Confessionalists believe that differing interpretations or understandings, especially those in direct opposition to a held teaching, cannot be accommodated within a church communion.

Conservative Christianity or Christian conservative may refer to:

The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in the United States.

Protestant Eastern Christianity Christian denominations that developed outside of the Occident from the latter half of the nineteenth century and keeps some elements of Eastern Christianity

The term Protestant Eastern Christianity encompasses a range of heterogeneous Protestant Christian denominations that developed outside of the Occident from the latter half of the nineteenth century and keeps some or most of all elements of Eastern Christianity. Most of these denominations came into being when existing Protestant Churches adopted reformational variants of Orthodox Christian liturgy and worship; while others are the result of reformations of Orthodox Christian beliefs and practices, inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries. Some Protestant Eastern Churches are in communion with similar Western Protestant Churches. However, Protestant Eastern Christianity within itself, does not constitute a single communion. This is due to the diverse polities, practices, liturgies and orientations of the denominations which fall under this category.

Protestantism in Indonesia

Protestantism is one of the six approved religions in the country, the others being Islam, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It constitutes the bulk of Christianity in Indonesia, which is the second largest religion in the country after Islam. According to CIA statistic, in 2000 5.7% of the population of Indonesia were Protestant. A nationwide census of 2010 noted almost 7% (16,530,000) of the population considering themselves Protestant, largest in Southeast Asia.

Christianity in the United States Jesus Boys

Christianity is the most adhered to religion in the United States, with 65% of polled American adults identifying themselves as Christian in 2019. This is down from 85% in 1990, 81.6% in 2001, and 12% lower than the 78% reported for 2012. About 45% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, with approximately 167 million Christian adults, although other countries have higher percentages of Christians among their populations.

Christianity in Angola

Christianity in Angola has existed since 1491. Today 79% of Angolans practise some form of Christianity.

Protestantism Division within Christianity, originating with the 16th century Reformation, that now numbers 40% of all Christians

Protestantism is the second-largest form of Christianity with a total of 800 million to 1 billion adherents worldwide or about 37% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Catholic Church. Protestants reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They emphasize the priesthood of all believers, justification by faith alone rather than also by good works, and the highest authority of the Bible alone in faith and morals. The "five solae" summarise basic theological differences in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States with its combined denominations collectively accounting for about 43% of the country's population or 141 million people in 2019. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. America has the largest number of Protestants of any country in the world. Baptists account for about one third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the United States with one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve out of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, only one (Maryland) was Catholic.

Evangelicalism in the United States

In the United States, evangelicalism is an umbrella group of Protestant Christians who believe in the necessity of being born again, emphasize the importance of evangelism, and affirm traditional Protestant teachings on the authority and the historicity of the Bible. Nearly a quarter of the US population, evangelicals are diverse and drawn from a variety of denominational backgrounds, including Baptist, Mennonite, Methodist, Holiness, Pentecostal, Reformed and nondenominational churches.

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