Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition [Hardcover]

Craig D Atwood (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2005

The 12th edition of the Handbook of Denominations attempts to portray some of the depth and breadth of the major religious traditions in the United States. The religious bodies are grouped in family categories of Abrahamic religions, arranged chronologically: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The information for each group within these families was provided by the religious organizations themselves and focuses on the doctrines, statistics, and histories of institutions. Such information is valuable for making sense of our culture and our neighbors, although much of the inner life of each denomination is not part of such a presentation. This handbook is a helpful resource for clergy, laity, journalists, and the curious who want to know more about the many facets of religious tradition in the United States today.

"For a one-volume text, I have found this work to be outstanding in its scope and depth of information! I have especially enjoyed observing the very interesting denominational changes reflected through the book's several updated editions. I began my study with your Seventh Edition in 1980." Rev. Paul Grustans, Bloomington, MN.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For a one-volume text, I have found this work to be outstanding in its scope and depth of information! I have especially enjoyed observing the very interesting denominational changes reflected through the book's several updated editions. I began my study with your Seventh Edition in 1980." Rev. Paul Grustans, Bloomington, MN. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press; 12 edition (October 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687057841
• ISBN-13: 978-0687057849
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Education & Reference > Catalogs & Directories > Directories

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Useful; Short Unbiased Summaries of Each, February 27, 2006

By 

Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition (Hardcover)

This book is an extremely valuable resource to quickly understand the basic beliefs of a denominations, especially those that set them apart from others. This book covers a vast number of denominations, obviously not complete but close to it. Each one typically has a statistic giving its popularity, followed by a short (typically no longer than 3 or 4 pages, but sometimes shorter) summary of the denominational history and distinctives.

Having used it to look at a few denominations with which I am familiar and many with which I am not, the authors appear to have painstakingly made the summaries as unbiased and fair as possible. Oftentimes, they quote directly from official denominational literature. I also appreciate the appendices which refer the researcher to further information on a particular denomination.

The large denominational categories covered, with many subcategories each are:

1. Adventist

2. Baptist

3. Brethren and Pietist Churches

4. Catholic Churches

5. Christian Church (Stone-Campbell Movement)

6. Congregational Churches

7. Episcopal/Anglican Churches

8. Friends (Quakers)

9. Fundamentalist/Bible Churches

10. Holines Churches

11. Islam

12. Judaism

13. Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

14. Lutherans

15. Mennonite Churches

16. Methodist Churches

17. Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches

18. Pentecostal Churches

19. Presbyterian Churches

20. Reformed Churches

21. Salvation Army

22. Spiritualist and Theosophical Bodies

There are many others that cannot be put under these broad categories that are too numerous to mention here. This book appears to have succeeded in what it set out to accomplish: give a concise but accurate depiction of various church sects throughout the United States.

While I do not even agree that many of those "denominations" included in this book should be called Christian, that does not disqualify this resource from being useful. In a very quick and summary-like manner, the authors provide a birds-eye view on the doctrines important to each denomination. I find myself turning often to this book to begin my research (not as definitive by any means) into various denominations as I encounter them.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Up to Date Survey of American Religious Groups, July 15, 2006

By 

Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition (Hardcover)

Our church pulled out of the United Church of Christ in 2001, and our denomination search committee needed a resource to get more information. We were very happy to find this book. At your finger tips are brief sketches of practically every major religious group in the United States. Some of the essays are very brief in nature, while others are pages long. Still, it is an excellent starting point, and for most people who just want the basic facts, it is all the information a person could want on the religious movements in the country. And one of the other things I like about the book is that as far as it it is possible, the authors take a very objective position. No trace of bias or sectarian coloring mars the book, as far as I can tell. There is no way of discerning which denominational perspective the authors write from, and that's the way I like it.

24 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Identity Crisis, But Still Helpful..., July 2, 2006

By 

Encompassed Runner (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition (Hardcover)

Islam, Judaism, Gnosticism and more are included along with Christianity within the ever-expanding scope of this classic reference book. Supposedly selection is limited to those groups within the "Abrahamic-monotheistic tradition," but that's arguable, since it includes for ex: Mormonism (multiple gods throughout universe), Nation of Islam (succession of gods thru time), Unitarian-Universalism (not required to believe in any particular religious belief), and pantheistic groups. Other inclusion/exclusion oddities: Native American Church--in; Voodoo and Santeria--out. Spiritualism--in; Hinduism and Urantia--out. Unification Church--in; Taoism--out. Nation of Islam--in; Scientology--out. There are also inconsistencies regarding where within the book groups are listed: Messianic Judaism is not listed in Christianity, but in Judaism, yet Church of God and Saints of Christ ("Black Jews") are under Christianity and not Judaism. Sufism is listed under Islam, but Nation of Islam is not. Including such incompatible religions under the title of "Handbook of Denominations" implies theological (as opposed to social) toleration and some underlying fundamental agreement, which perhaps risks contributing ever so subtly to the psychological preparation for acceptance of an ecumenical religion that sacrifices biblical truth for the sake of societal unity. Fortunately, the authors say "future editions of the Handbook may require a different title" (though they do not suggest the possibility of narrowing the book's scope). Other books have used titles that more accurately convey their contents--"Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult" or "Encyclopedia of American Religions," no problem.

The Handbook's strength remains its Christianity section, which makes sense of over 100 denominations by organizing them in families (31 alone in Baptist family) and goes beyond mere statistics (self-reported, by the way) to convey interrelationships in a historical narrative style. Even so, some groups get scanty treatment, for ex, Christian Identity groups are only hinted at by including minor groups like Branch Davidians, while others, like a certain nationwide TV ministry, are not even mentioned. Given both Identity's track record as a starting point for domestic terrorism and its increasing acuumlation of followers thru TV/internet, I wish the Handbook would mention prominent ID groups and their [...] serpent seed doctrine. One modern phenomenon this 12th edition has included, though, is "Community and New Paradigm Churches," saying that these "mega-churches" are "congregations that actually function as small denominations." Overall, despite concerns, the Handbook is now more up-do-date, and I strongly recommend it, but exhort discernment, as it not only displays subjectivity in terms of inclusion and self-reporting, but also in narrative description, for ex: Islam is "subject to unfair stereotyping," and "it seeks to build a just and peaceful society based on a rational moral code."