Customer Reviews

Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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."

We ordered this for my 80+ year old stepdad, and he has found it very informative. He keeps buying extra copies as he gives them away to friends interested in spiritual matters and/or the intellectually curious. One of the things I liked about the book were the brief sketches of different churches' beliefs. The author(s) has/have been fair or even glowing about different denominations, which is a very nice change from the negative reports we find in most of life. As I haven't read all the book, I don't know if they have any 'bad reviews' or warnings about some groups. My only complaint would be that some of the thumbnail sketches were just that, too little infomation. That could be all that was known, or that they couldn't find any or enough good things to say, so erred on the side of caution. Thank you for offering this book (and other items, and for your speedy service). Ms Coburn (L. Coburn-Browning)

Extremely helpful when researching various group's beliefs. Unbiased, and fair to the individual Christian denominations that number in the hundreds here in America. So many churches. So many groups you may never have heard of. For example; when a certain minister in my church gave testimony that he once served in the Church of the Living God denomination as a pastor, a group formerly unheard of to me, I used this handbook for research into that group's background. I love studying the different beliefs that are a part of this nation's freedom to practice them, according to the dictates of our hearts.

This is THE current standard work on Christian denominations and belongs on any pastor's or inquiring layperson's bookshelf. Now in its 12th edition, it is up to date and fresh while giving access to the historical and theological roots of our many denomination.

I had access to older editions of this book in our public library, and finally found one in a used bookstore. I was thrilled to find out it had been updated. I was disappointed to a degree, however. The older editions had many small bodies listed in it, which are nowhere to be found in this edition. I really enjoyed reading about some of these churches (I remember one was down to a single church). On the other hand, I think it is a plus that more coverage is now being given to non-Christian groups as these have grown in recent years in this country.

I still give it five stars, I just wish they had left some of the smaller groups in the book.

I have two earlier editions and am looking forward to the upcoming 13th edition. It has been an excellent resource and I'm sure the latest edition will once again deliver the best concise introductory information for the large variety of denominations in the United States. I believe every minister of every denominational church or independent congregation should have this in their library. Inevitably someone will ask a minister about some other church or religious group. This resource can serve as an excellent starting place for an informed response.

This reference tool is an informative and necessary part of any clergy person's library. It provides useful detail regarding the stats, beliefs and infrastructure of the denominations and sects of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It manages to do all this without being either too concise or too wordy.

The Handbook of Denominations is an excellent source of information on most religious bodies in the United States. It is detailed an unbiased, giving facts, rather than opinions. It doesn't dwell on the negative, but focuses on the real. So, it can be recommended as a source of information on most religions on the US. At the same time, it doesn't skip over or whitewash facts. So, I'd recommend it for anyone doing research on mainstream or non-mainstream religions such as Christian Science, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, or less well known religions such as Christadelphians, it has some great information, without creating judgments.