There are hundreds of different religious organizations found in the United States.  There are churches at one end of the spectrum and sects at the other.  But what are the differences:

• Church:  Is a type of religious organization that is well integrated into the larger society.  Church-like organizations usually persist for centuries and include generations of the same families.  Churches have well established rules and regulations and expect their leaders to be formally trained and ordained.  A church may operate with or apart from the state.  A state church is a church formally allied with the state, as illustrated by Islam in Morocco.  A denomination, by contrast, is a church, independent of the state, that accepts religious pluralism.  The United States, which has dozens of Christian denominations including Catholics, Baptists, Methodists and Lutherans, as well as various categories of Judaism, Islam and other traditions.  Members of a denomination hold to their own beliefs, but [Read more →]