Denominationalism
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Denominationalism is the division of one religion into separate groups, sects, schools of thought or denominations.
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Christianity can be divided into denominational families and individual denominations (or communions).
Denominational families include:
- Adventism
- Anglicanism
- Anabaptists
- Baptists
- Catholicism
- Congregationalism
- Lutheranism
- Methodism
- Eastern Orthodox
- Pentecostalism
- Presbyterianism
- Reformed churches (Calvinism)
These denominational families can be further divided into denominational sub-families and various individual denominations or communions. The distinction between a denomination and a denominational family is sometimes fuzzy.
Individual denominations or communions include:
- The Anglican Communion (Anglican family)
- The Southern Baptist Convention (Baptist family)
- The Reformed Church in America (Reformed family)
- The Roman Catholic Church (Catholic family)
Some Christians view denominationalism as a regrettable fact. The current trend as of 2005 is that the divisions are becoming less sharp, and there is an increasing cooperation between denominations. (See denomination for a distinction between denomination and association in religious governance.)
Theological denominationalism ultimately denies reality to any apparent doctrinal differences among the "denominations", reducing all differences to mere matters de nomina ("of names").
A denomination in this sense is created when part of a church no longer feel they can accept the leadership of that church as a spiritual leadership due to a different view of doctrine or what they see as immoral behaviour, but the schism does not in any way reflect either group leaving the Church as a theoretical whole.
This particular doctrine is, of course, unacceptable to those Christian groups that see themselves as being the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" as a whole. This includes Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and the Oriental Orthodoxy, each of which claims to be the subsistence of the exclusive "Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church". In these denominations, it is not possible to have a separation over doctrinal or leadership issues, and any such attempts automatically are a type of schism.
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