Religious Movements & Organizations, CRE-JAN
Religious life is shaped not only by belief, but by the communities and movements that carry it forward. Explore the groups, institutions, and reform efforts that have organized faith in action.
Religious Movements & Organizations Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Crescentii Family
Crescentii Family, a Roman family that played an important part in the history of Rome and the papacy from the......
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, denomination organized in 1810 by a group of Presbyterians on the Kentucky–Tennessee......
Cyprus, Church of
Church of Cyprus, one of the oldest autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, churches of the Eastern Orthodox......
Czechoslovak Hussite Church
Czechoslovak Hussite Church, church established in Czechoslovakia in 1920 by a group of dissident Roman Catholic......
Darqāwā
Darqāwā, brotherhood of Ṣūfīs (Muslim mystics) founded at the end of the 18th century by Mawlāy al-ʿArbī ad-Darqāwī......
Death of God movement
Death of God movement, radical Christian theological school, mainly Protestant, that arose in the United States......
Dge-lugs-pa
Dge-lugs-pa, since the 17th century, the predominant Buddhist order in Tibet and the sect of the Dalai and Paṇchen......
Diamper, Synod of
Synod of Diamper, council that formally united the ancient Thomas Christians of the Malabar Coast of southwestern......
Digambara
Digambara, one of the two principal sects of the Indian religion Jainism, whose male ascetics shun all property......
Disciples of Christ
Disciples of Christ, group of Protestant churches that originated in the religious revival movements of the American......
Divine Word Missionary
Divine Word Missionary, a Roman Catholic religious organization, composed of priests and brothers, founded in 1875......
Dominican
Dominican, member of the Order of Friars Preachers, also called the Order of Preachers (O.P.), one of the four......
Donation of Constantine
Donation of Constantine, the best-known and most important forgery of the Middle Ages, the document purporting......
Donation of Pippin
Donation of Pippin, traditional name of the oral or written promise made by the Carolingian king Pippin III to......
Druze
Druze, small Middle Eastern religious sect characterized by an eclectic system of doctrines and by a cohesion and......
Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church, South African denomination that traces its beginnings to the Reformed tradition of the first......
Dutch Reformed Church in Africa
Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, denomination formed in 1859 by the all-white Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa......
Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa
Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa, denomination established in 1881 by three congregations that separated......
Dönme
Dönme, (Turkish: “Convert”), Jewish sect founded in Salonika (now Thessaloníki, Greece) in the late 17th century,......
East-West Schism
East-West Schism, event that precipitated the final separation between the Eastern Christian churches (led by the......
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Baptist church located in Atlanta, noteworthy as the church where Martin Luther King,......
Ebionite
Ebionite, member of an early ascetic sect of Jewish Christians. The Ebionites were one of several such sects that......
Eight Saints, War of the
War of the Eight Saints, (1375–78), conflict between Pope Gregory XI and an Italian coalition headed by Florence,......
Elkesaite
Elkesaite, member of a Jewish sect that arose in the vicinity of Trans-Jordanic Palestine around 100 ad. The sect......
Elvira, Council of
Council of Elvira, the first known council of the Christian church in Spain, held early in the 4th century at Elvira,......
Encratite
Encratite, member of an ascetic Christian sect led by Tatian, a 2nd-century Syrian rhetorician. The name derived......
Ephesus, First Council of
First Council of Ephesus, (190), Christian council held in Asia Minor by the early church in an attempt to establish......
Ephesus, Second Council of
Second Council of Ephesus, (431), the third ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in Ephesus to clarify......
Ephesus, Third Council of
Third Council of Ephesus, (449), a controversial Christian council in Ephesus convened by the Eastern Roman emperor......
Ephrata Community
Ephrata Community, U.S. Protestant monastic settlement, an offshoot of the Germantown Dunkers, founded in 1732......
Essene
Essene, member of a religious sect or brotherhood that flourished in Palestine from about the 2nd century bc to......
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia. Headquarters are in Addis......
Eutychian
Eutychian, a follower of the 4th–5th-century monk Eutyches, who advocated a type of monophysitism, a belief that......
Evangelical and Reformed Church
Evangelical and Reformed Church, Protestant church in the United States, organized in 1934 by uniting the Reformed......
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, denomination organized in 1918 by uniting the Lutheran and Reformed churches......
Evangelical Free Church of America
Evangelical Free Church of America, fellowship of independent Christian churches in the United States that was......
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran church in North America. The Evangelical Lutheran......
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, the established, state-supported church in Denmark. Lutheranism was established......
Evangelical United Brethren Church
Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB), Protestant church formed in 1946 by the merger of the Evangelical Church......
Falun Gong
Falun Gong, controversial Chinese spiritual movement founded by Li Hongzhi in 1992. The movement’s sudden prominence......
Familist
Familist, religious sect of Dutch origin, followers of Hendrik Niclaes, a 16th-century Dutch merchant. Niclaes’......
Family International, The
The Family International, millenarian Christian communal group that grew out of the ministry of David Berg (1919–94)......
Family, The
The Family, international religious movement that ministers to political and economic elites. It is based on visions......
Ferrara-Florence, Council of
Council of Ferrara-Florence, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church (1438–45) in which the Latin and Greek......
Fifth Monarchy Men
Fifth Monarchy Men, an extreme Puritan sect that came into prominence in England during the Commonwealth and Protectorate.......
Finland, Church of
Church of Finland, national church of Finland, which changed from the Roman Catholic to the Lutheran faith during......
Franciscan
Franciscan, any member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the early 13th century by St. Francis of......
Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland, church organized in 1843 by dissenting members of the Church of Scotland. The disruption......
Free Methodist Church of North America
Free Methodist Church of North America, Holiness church in the Arminian-Wesleyan tradition that emphasizes the......
Friends of God
Friends of God, medieval Christian fellowship that originated during the early part of the 14th century in Basel,......
Friends, Society of
Society of Friends, Christian group that arose in mid-17th-century England, dedicated to living in accordance with......
Fukko Shintō
Fukko Shintō, school of Japanese religion prominent in the 18th century that attempted to uncover the pure meaning......
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), breakaway Mormon fundamentalist group that arose......
Gabar
Gabar, any member of the small Zoroastrian minority in Iran. The name Gabar was formerly applied derogatorily to......
General Council of Congregational Christian Churches
General Council of Congregational Christian Churches, Protestant church in the United States, organized in 1931......
Georgian Orthodox church
Georgian Orthodox church, autocephalous (independent) church of the Orthodox communion in Georgia. The church is......
German Christian
German Christian, any of the Protestants who attempted to subordinate church policy to the political initiatives......
Ghost Dance
Ghost Dance, either of two distinct religious movements in the late 19th century that represented an attempt by......
God (Anderson, Indiana), Church of
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), Protestant Christian fellowship that considers itself a “reformation movement”......
God and Saints of Christ, Church of
Church of God and Saints of Christ, religious sect founded in 1896 by Prophet William S. Crowdy. He passed his......
God in Christ, Inc., Church of
Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC), predominantly African American Pentecostal church that originated in the......
God, Church of
Church of God, any of several Pentecostal churches that developed in the U.S. South from the late 19th- and early......
Gomarist
Gomarist, follower of the Dutch Calvinist theologian Franciscus Gomarus (1563–1641), who upheld the theological......
Good Shepherd Sister
Good Shepherd Sister, member of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, a Roman Catholic......
Grandchamp and Taizé communities
Grandchamp and Taizé communities, two associated Protestant religious communities founded in the mid-20th century......
Great Awakening
Great Awakening, religious revival in the British American colonies mainly between about 1720 and the 1740s. It......
Greece, Church of
Church of Greece, the established church of Greece, and one of the most important autocephalous, or ecclesiastically......
Greek Catholic church
Greek Catholic church, an Eastern Catholic church of the Byzantine rite, in communion with Rome since the mid-19th......
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, Eastern Orthodox patriarchate,......
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox......
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, Eastern Orthodox patriarchate,......
Guarantees, Law of
Law of Guarantees, (May 13, 1871), attempt by the Italian government to settle the question of its relationship......
Gustavus Adolphus Union
Gustavus Adolphus Union, worldwide organization for the spreading of the Christian faith. It was founded by the......
Half-Way Covenant
Half-Way Covenant, religious-political solution adopted by 17th-century New England Congregationalists, also called......
Hampton Court Conference
Hampton Court Conference, meeting held at Hampton Court Palace, near London, in January 1604, in response to the......
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna, popular name of a semimonastic Vaishnava Hindu organization founded in the United States in 1966......
Harris movement
Harris movement, largest mass movement toward Christianity in West Africa, named for the prophet William Wadé Harris......
Hasidean
Hasidean, member of a pre-Christian Jewish sect of uncertain origin, noted for uncompromising observance of Judaic......
Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate, new religious movement founded in the United States in the 1970s that combined eschatological ideas......
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, esoteric and occult initiatory society that operated from 1888 until the early......
Hoa Hao
Hoa Hao, Vietnamese Buddhist religious movement that was formed in 1939 by the Buddhist reformer Huynh Phu So.......
Holiness movement
Holiness movement, Christian religious movement that arose in the 19th century among Protestant churches in the......
Holy Ghost Father
Holy Ghost Father, a Roman Catholic society of men founded in 1703 at Paris by Claude-François Poullart des Places.......
Holy League
Holy League, either of two European leagues sponsored by the papacy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries,......
Hospitallers
Hospitallers, a religious military order that was founded at Jerusalem in the 11th century and that, headquartered......
Hussite
Hussite, any of the followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, who was condemned by the Council of Constance......
Hutterite
Hutterite, member of the Hutterian Brethren, a branch of the Anabaptist movement, originally from Austria and South......
Hāshimīyah
Hāshimīyah, Islamic religiopolitical sect of the 8th–9th century ad, instrumental in the ʿAbbāsid overthrow of......
I AM movement
I AM movement, theosophical movement founded in Chicago in the early 1930s by Guy W. Ballard (1878–1939), a mining......
Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ
Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, (Arabic: Brethren of Purity), a secret Arab confraternity, founded at Basra, Iraq, that produced......
Indian Shaker Church
Indian Shaker Church, Christianized religious movement among Northwest American Indians. It is not connected with......
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG), Pentecostal denomination established by Aimee Semple McPherson,......
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC), Protestant denomination organized in Falcon, North Carolina,......
Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy, conflict during the late 11th and the early 12th century involving the monarchies of what......
Iona Community
Iona Community, ecumenical group of Christian clergy and laypersons within the Church of Scotland that was founded......
Ireland, Church of
Church of Ireland, independent Anglican church within both Ireland and Northern Ireland. It traces its episcopal......
Ise Shintō
Ise Shintō, school of Shintō established by priests of the Watarai family who served at the Outer Shrine of the......
Ismāʿīliyyah
Ismāʿīliyyah, sect of Shiʿah Islam that was most active as a religiopolitical movement in the 9th–13th century......
Italo-Albanian Church
Italo-Albanian Church, an Eastern-rite member of the Roman Catholic communion, comprising the descendants of ancient......
Jansenism
Jansenism, in Roman Catholic history, a controversial religious movement in the 17th and 18th centuries that arose......