Denominationalism illustrated and explained / Russell E. Richey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Richey, Russell E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian sects--United States.

Christian sects.

Methodist Church--United States--History.

Methodist Church.

Dissenters, Religious.

United States--Church history.

United States.

United States--Religion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 pages)

Place of Publication:

Eugene, Oregon : Cascade Books, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Evidence of mainstream denominational decline virtually throws itself in our faces--growing religious pluralism in North America; the decline over the last half century in the salience, prestige, power, and vitality of Protestant denominational leadership; slippage in mainline membership and corresponding growth, vigor, visibility, and political prowess of conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist bodies; patterns of congregational independence, including loosening of or removal of denominational identity, particularly in signage, and the related marginal loyalty of members; emergence of megachurches, with resources and the capacity to meet needs heretofore supplied by denominations (training, literature, expertise); growth within mainline denominations of caucuses and their alignment into broad progressive or conservative camps, often with connections to similar camps in other denominations; widespread suspicion of, indeed hostility towards, the centers and symbols of denominational identity--the regional and national headquarters; migration of individuals and families through various religious identities, sometimes out of classic Christianity altogether. Denominationalism looks doomed and is so proclaimed. It may be. However, viewing the sweep of Anglo-American history, this volume suggests how much denominations and denominationalism have changed, how resilient they have proved, how significant these structures of religious belonging have been in providing order and direction to American society, and how such enduring purposes find ever new structural/institutional expression.

Contents:

Introduction: "Denominations and denominationalism: past, present, and future"

Part 1. The British and dissenting origins of American denominationalism. "Catholic" Protestantism and American denominationalism

Toleration, denominationalism, and eighteenth-century dissent

Baptist denominationalism in eighteenth-century dissent

Denominations, British radicalism, and the changing rationale of dissent

Enlightenment denominations in transition: did the English Presbyterians become Unitarian?

From Puritanism to Unitarianism in England: a study in candour

Part 2. Perspectives on denominationalism. The denomination as institution

American denominationalism: a historical overview

Part 3. Case studies in American denominationalism. The social sources of denominationalism: Methodism

History as a bearer of denominational identity: Methodism as a case study

Culture wars and denominational loyalties: the Methodist version

Denominationalism in "reformed" perspective

Part 4. Denominationalism as enacted ecclesiology. Denominationalism: a theological problem?

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781621895817

1621895815