Common denominators for common denominations?

December 31, 2006 12:57 AM

I'd like to read about the beliefs and lifestyles of denominations in the US that teach about Christ. Basically, their beliefs, history, and organization in the US, focusing on who they are today and how they got there.

I realize this might be beyond the scope of the internet, so book recommendations are probably ideal. Preferably showing them in an even-handed and fair, if not even favorable, light. In fact, extra points if it's written from a believer of that denomination's perspective (but not necessary). Nothing that would blatantly mischaracterize them from their standpoint.

Some sort of sample subjects: what they teach and why they teach it; their feelings about church organization, local or nationally or worldwide; feelings about personal lifestyle; what they read, watch, or listen to that's more targeted at them than the US in general; how they relate to other people or churches; fundamental beliefs; etc., etc., that kind of thing. Pretty vague, I know. Whatever's important to them, or characterizes them well.

(Just for the record, I'm not trying to be all US-centric on you all-- I live in the US, and I'm trying to learn more in depth about what people I meet every day believe. Religion worldwide will come next, when I have a better handle on something more accessible, haha.)

Some that particularly come to mind are Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Lutheranism, Mormonism, Baptists, and Methodism. But you know, take it and run with it.

posted by freddymungo to Religion & Philosophy (14 answers total)

try wikipedia
posted by rhizome at 1:50 AM on December 31, 2006

Well, on the web you might try exploring belief.net. Or, for a zestier read, there's always The Apologetics Index.
posted by maryh at 2:44 AM on December 31, 2006

Oh dear. Now that I've skimmed the Apologetics Index after lo, so many years, they appear to be way nuttier than I remember. I'd go with rhizome's suggestion of Wikipedia.
posted by maryh at 3:09 AM on December 31, 2006

You might try Streng's Ways of Being Religious. It does not outline the information exactly as your asking, by organization, but it does give a good overview of what different beliefs have in common.

In this book, there is a chart on the inside cover. It outlines the premise of the book, which is that religious beliefs can be divided into 8 ways of being religious:
- Personal Experience of the Holy
- Creation of Community Through Myth and Ritual
- Daily Living That Expresses the Cosmic Law
- Spiritual Freedom Through Discipline (Mysticism)
- Achieving an Integrated Self Through Creative Interaction
- Social and Economic Justice as an Ultimate Concern
- The New Life Through Technocracy
- Creating the Full Life Through Sensuous Experience

Each of these 8 make up a section. Within each section are selected readings (from religious texts and commentary) for:
- Advocacy
- Interpretation
- Critique

What I liked about this book is it is extremely even-handed. By dividing belief systems into these categories, it allowed me to see the common elements within different beliefs. For example:
- The Advocacy section of the Rebirth Through Personal Encounter with the Holy has an exerpt from a Buddhist, St. Theresa, and the gospel song Amazing Grace.
- The Advocacy section of Living Harmoniously Through Conformity to the Cosmic Law has excerpts from Hsun Tzu, Psalm 19, Suras 107 of the Qur'an, and a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted by Houstonian at 3:45 AM on December 31, 2006

For my taste, beliefnet is always a bit too strident and tends to present everything American Evangelical in a positive light. I'm a big fan of religioustolerance.org for a more even-handed, historical presentation.

Their site mandate:
"* To promote religious tolerance and freedom;
* to objectively describe religious faiths in all their diversity; and
* to objectively describe controversial topics from all points of view."
posted by hydropsyche at 3:59 AM on December 31, 2006

For Lutheranism - try this reading list (though this book looks like it might be what you are after)
posted by milkrate at 4:23 AM on December 31, 2006

The Handbook of Denominations us a standard reference work.

You might try The Church Across the Street, a textbook used by the theologically liberal Unitarian-Universalist denomination to teach about other faiths in the U.S.


A Religious History of the American People, has great reviews, and while I haven't read it, glancing through it on Amazon, looks like it might be a great choice, though with a historical approach, which you may conside a plus or a minus.
posted by Jahaza at 7:06 AM on December 31, 2006

Not reading, but if you're interested in learning, try setting up meetings with missionaries or church leaders for conversations. If you make it very clear that you're not interested in converting, just in learning, they'll treat you accordingly. I did this many years ago for a high school project on Mormonism -- the missionaries were very sweet to me, took me to a church (not temple) service, and called once afterward to ask how the paper was going and if I had any more questions. No attempts to make me do anything I wasn't comfortable with. This way, you'll get a first-hand account by people who really know what they're talking about, and a chance to push further with more questions that books may not answer.
posted by olinerd at 7:35 AM on December 31, 2006

There are some great suggestions above but I'll add Extraordinary Groups (a college text you can pick up cheap used) which covers very evenhandedly some fringe groups like Amish, Oneida, Gypsies, Unitarian Universalists/religious atheists, Christian Science, The Hasidim, Father Divine, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses... the stuff on Mormons was a really interesting - prior to that I didn't know much about the LDS history or their special underwear.
posted by wfrgms at 7:56 AM on December 31, 2006

I have recently come across The Swedenborgian Church (also called The New Church) which takes a very positive perspective on Christianity. A lot of unconditional love from God and acceptance.
posted by nekton at 8:15 AM on December 31, 2006

For Episcopalianism: Those Episkopols by Dennis Maynard (WorldCat, Amazon).
posted by jumble at 4:47 PM on December 31, 2006

Haven't used it myself, but How To Be Perfect Stranger might help you. It's focused on what to expect when you visit different churches, but looks like it also includes information about their beliefs. Someone gave it an award for best reference book of the year.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:34 PM on December 31, 2006

Two possibly helpful links, which I have bookmarked but not much explored:
The Religious Movements Page at UVa, profiling dozens of religions.
The demoninations section of the Religion Online website contains a number of articles that appear to be on target.
posted by ibmcginty at 12:35 PM on January 3, 2007

This article is excellent.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 8:10 PM on February 2, 2007