Denomination Flashcards
Small inclusive organisations
Denominations are usually smaller than churches and bigger than sects.
Stark and Bainbridge defined denominations as a kind of ‘watered-down church’. The denomination of Methodists claims 400,000 and Jehovah’s Witnesses (sect) 10,500 members.
In Niebuhr’s view, all present-day denominations began as sects, as they would have broken away from a mainstream church in the past, eg Methodists breaking away from the Church of England. A sect will turn into a denomination when it starts to become more established and develops a hierarchy with professional clergy.
Denominations will tend to soften their early radical opposition to society as they become more established in society. As denominations become more ‘respectable’, Weber said they become ‘routinised’ as they start to take on many of the features of a church, such as having infant baptisms, as members want their children to be brought up in the religion. (unlike sects which only believe in adult baptisms)
Denominations accept wider society and are tolerant of other beliefs
Denominations are usually conservative organisations and are widely accepted as conventional, respectable, and mainstream. denominations are separate from the state, but, unlike sects, do not reject it or wider society denominations accept the culture of society, but they may have marginally different values from those of wider society. e.g. Methodists are discouraged from drinking and gambling, but drinking in moderation is tolerated and drinkers are not excluded from the denomination. They are not very demanding of their members and often require only a low level of commitment from members.
Denominations also tolerate other religions as they are not dogmatic and do not claim to offer the only correct belief system. They acknowledge that there are other ‘paths’ to salvation and they often co-operate with other religious organisations. They accept that in the modern world there is a vast range of beliefs that have to be accepted. Steve Bruce sees the lack of a claim to a monopoly of the truth as the defining feature of denominations.
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Critics say the term ‘denomination’ does not cover the wide differences in beliefs and practices that exist between within different denominations: eg there are many different types of Pentecostalist religions each with different practices, with some being exclusive organisations and claiming a ‘monopoly of the truth, like a church.
