Religious Movements & Organizations, JAP-PHO
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
Japanese Orthodox Church
Japanese Orthodox Church, autonomous body of the Eastern Orthodox Church, in canonical relation with the patriarchate......
Jehovah’s Witness
Jehovah’s Witness, member of a Christian-based new religious movement that developed within the larger 19th-century......
Jerusalem, Council of
Council of Jerusalem, a conference of the Christian Apostles in Jerusalem about 50 ce that decreed that Gentile......
Jesuit
Jesuit, member of the Society of Jesus (S.J.), a Roman Catholic order of religious men founded by St. Ignatius......
Jesus Only
Jesus Only, movement of believers within Pentecostalism who hold that true baptism can only be “in the name of......
Jonestown
Jonestown, (November 18, 1978), location of the mass murder-suicide of members of the California-based Peoples......
Kaifeng Jew
Kaifeng Jew, member of a former religious community in Henan province, China, whose careful observance of Jewish......
Kakure Kirishitan
Kakure Kirishitan, (Japanese: “Hidden Christians”), descendants of the first Japanese converts to Christianity......
Kegon
Kegon, Buddhist philosophical tradition introduced into Japan from China during the Nara period (710–784). Although......
Khilafat movement
Khilafat movement, pan-Islamic force in India that arose in 1919 in an effort to salvage the Ottoman caliph as......
Khorram-dīnān
Khorram-dīnān, esoteric Islāmic religious sect whose leader Bābak led a rebellion in Azerbaijan (now divided between......
Kimbanguist Church
Kimbanguist Church, (“Church of Jesus Christ on Earth Through the Prophet Simon Kimbangu”), largest independent......
Kugu Sorta
Kugu Sorta, pacifist and theocratic movement among the Mari (or Cheremis), a Finno-Ugric tribal people living chiefly......
Lateran Council, Fifth
Fifth Lateran Council, (1512–17), the 18th ecumenical council, convoked by Pope Julius II and held in the Lateran......
Lateran Council, First
First Lateran Council, (1123), the ninth ecumenical council, held in the Lateran Palace in Rome during the reign......
Lateran Council, Fourth
Fourth Lateran Council, (1215), the 12th ecumenical council, generally considered the greatest council before Trent.......
Lateran Council, Second
Second Lateran Council, (1139), the 10th ecumenical council, convoked by Pope Innocent II. The council was convened......
Lateran Council, Third
Third Lateran Council, (1179), the 11th ecumenical council, convoked by Pope Alexander III. The council was attended......
Lateran Treaty
Lateran Treaty, treaty (effective June 7, 1929, to June 3, 1985) between Italy and the Vatican. It was signed by......
Latter Rain revival
Latter Rain revival, early name for the Pentecostal movement within U.S. Protestantism; it began in the late 19th......
Legio Maria
Legio Maria, Christian new religious movement and African independent church (AIC). Legio Maria was founded in......
Little Brothers of Jesus and Little Sisters of Jesus
Little Brothers of Jesus and Little Sisters of Jesus, Roman Catholic religious congregations inspired by the example......
Liturgical Movement
Liturgical Movement, a 19th- and 20th-century effort in Christian churches to restore the active and intelligent......
Local Church, the
the Local Church, international Evangelical Christian group founded in China in the 1930s and based on the belief......
Lutheran Church in Württemberg
Lutheran Church in Württemberg, independent Lutheran church established in the duchy of Württemberg in 1534 during......
Lutheran Church of Oldenburg
Lutheran Church of Oldenburg, independent Lutheran church in Oldenburg, Ger. Pastors who had accepted the Lutheran......
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, conservative Lutheran church in the United States, organized in Chicago in 1847......
Lyon, councils of
councils of Lyon, 13th and 14th ecumenical councils of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV fled......
Mahavihara
Mahavihara, Buddhist monastery founded in the late 3rd century bce in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Ceylon......
Mahdiyyah, al-
al-Mahdiyyah, religious movement in the Sudan (1881–98), established by Muḥammad Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī......
Mahāsaṅghika
Mahāsaṅghika, (from Sanskrit mahāsaṅgha, “great order of monks”), early Buddhist school in India that, in its views......
Malabarese Catholic Church
Malabarese Catholic Church, a Chaldean rite church in Keralam, southern India, that united with Rome after the......
Malankarese Catholic Church
Malankarese Catholic Church, an Antiochene-rite member of the Eastern Catholic church, composed of former members......
Malāmatīyah
Malāmatīyah, a Ṣūfī (Muslim mystic) group that flourished in Sāmānid Iran during the 8th century. The name Malāmatīyah......
Manson Family
Manson Family, cult and criminal organization active in California, U.S., in the late 1960s, led by Charles Manson.......
Marcionite
Marcionite, any member of a gnostic sect that flourished in the 2nd century ce. The name derives from Marcion of......
Marianist
Marianist, a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic church founded by William Joseph Chaminade at Bordeaux,......
Marist Brother
Marist Brother, a Roman Catholic congregation of teaching brothers founded near Lyon, Fr., on Jan. 2, 1817, by......
Marist Father
Marist Father, a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded in 1816 in the diocese of Belley, Fr., by Jean-Claude......
Maronite church
Maronite church, one of the largest Eastern rite churches, prominent especially in modern Lebanon. The church is......
Marprelate Controversy
Marprelate Controversy, brief but well-known pamphlet war (1588–89) carried on by English Puritans using secret......
Mary Immaculate, Oblates of
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, (O.M.I.), one of the largest missionary congregations of the Roman Catholic Church,......
Massachusetts Association of Universal Restorationists
Massachusetts Association of Universal Restorationists (MAUR), in American religious history, a short-lived Universalist......
Maurist
Maurist, member of a former congregation of French Benedictine monks founded in 1618 and devoted to strict observance......
Mawlawīyah
Mawlawīyah, fraternity of Sufis (Muslim mystics) founded in Konya (Qonya), Anatolia, by the Persian Sufi poet Rūmī......
Mechitarist
Mechitarist, member of the Congregation of Benedictine Armenian Antonine Monks, a Roman Catholic congregation of......
Melchite
Melchite, any of the Christians of Syria and Egypt who accepted the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon (451) affirming......
Mennonite
Mennonite, member of a Protestant church that arose out of the Anabaptists, a radical reform movement of the 16th-century......
Mercedarian
Mercedarian, member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. Peter Nolasco in Spain in 1218 for the purpose......
Mercy, Sisters of
Sisters of Mercy, (R.S.M.), Roman Catholic religious congregation founded in Dublin in 1831 by Catherine Elizabeth......
Metropolitan Community Churches
Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), worldwide Protestant denomination founded in 1968 and focusing its outreach......
Minim
Minim, an order of friars founded in 1435 by St. Francis of Paola in Calabria, Italy. Members consider humility......
Missionaries of Charity
Missionaries of Charity, Roman Catholic congregation of religious women dedicated to the poor, particularly to......
Modernism
Modernism, in Roman Catholic Church history, a movement in the last decade of the 19th century and first decade......
Moorish Science Temple of America
Moorish Science Temple of America, U.S. religious movement founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1913 by Timothy Drew......
Moral Majority
Moral Majority, American political organization that was founded in 1979 by Jerry Falwell, a religious leader and......
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a modern, nondenominational revivalistic movement founded by American churchman Frank......
Moravian church
Moravian church, Protestant church founded in the 18th century but tracing its origin to the Unitas Fratrum (“Unity......
Murjiʾah
Murjiʾah, one of the earliest Islamic sects to believe in the postponement (irjāʾ) of judgment on committers of......
Musar
Musar, a religious movement among Orthodox Jews of Lithuania during the 19th century that emphasized personal piety......
Natha
Natha, religious movement of India whose members strive for immortality by transforming the human body into an......
National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals, fellowship of Evangelical Protestant groups in the United States, founded......
National Baptist Convention of the United States of America, Inc.
National Baptist Convention of the United States of America, Inc., the larger of two associations of Black Baptist......
National Church of Iceland
National Church of Iceland, established, state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland. Christian missionaries......
Native American Church
Native American Church, most widespread indigenous religious movement among North American Indians and one of the......
Nazarene, Church of the
Church of the Nazarene, American Protestant denomination, the product of several mergers stemming from the 19th-century......
Nestorianism
Nestorianism, Christian sect that originated in Asia Minor and Syria stressing the independence of the divine and......
Netherlands Reformed Church
Netherlands Reformed Church, Protestant church in the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition, the successor of the established......
Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta, ultra-Orthodox Jewish fringe movement that is opposed to Zionism and the existence of the State......
New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church, church organized in Germany in 1863 as the Universal Catholic Church, by members of the Catholic......
New Church
New Church, church organized in the General Conference of the New Church, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem......
New Thought
New Thought, a mind-healing movement, based on religious and metaphysical presuppositions, that originated in the......
Nicaea, First Council of
First Council of Nicaea, (325), the first ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in ancient Nicaea......
Nicaea, Second Council of
Second Council of Nicaea, (787), the seventh ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in Nicaea (now......
Nigeria, Church of
Church of Nigeria, independent Anglican church in Nigeria, the largest province (member church) in the Anglican......
Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah
Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah, religio-political movement that arose between the 11th and the 13th century among the Ismāʿīliyyah,......
Nonconformist
Nonconformist, any English Protestant who does not conform to the doctrines or practices of the established Church......
North America, Anglican Church in
Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), Anglican church formed in 2009 in Bedford, Texas. Its founders were theological......
North India, Church of
Church of North India, united Protestant church formed on November 29, 1970, through the merger of six Christian......
Norway, Church of
Church of Norway, established, state-supported Lutheran church in Norway, which changed from the Roman Catholic......
Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands
Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, small independent Roman Catholic church in the Netherlands that dates from......
Oneida Community
Oneida Community, utopian religious community that developed out of a Society of Inquiry established by John Humphrey......
Orsini Family
Orsini Family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families.......
Orthodox Church in America
Orthodox Church in America, ecclesiastically independent, or autocephalous, church of the Eastern Orthodox communion,......
Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia
Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Eastern Orthodox......
Orthodox Church of Finland
Orthodox Church of Finland, Eastern Orthodox church, recognized as the second state church of Finland. Most of......
Orthodox Church of Poland
Orthodox Church of Poland, ecclesiastically independent member of the Eastern Orthodox communion, established in......
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Orthodox Church of Ukraine, autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Eastern Orthodox communion,......
Osservatore Romano, L’
L’Osservatore Romano, daily newspaper published in Vatican City, one of the most influential papers in Italy and......
Oxford movement
Oxford movement, 19th-century movement centred at the University of Oxford that sought a renewal of “catholic,”......
Pakistan, Church of
Church of Pakistan, united Protestant church founded in Pakistan in 1970, comprising former Anglican, Methodist,......
Pashupata
Pashupata, perhaps the earliest Hindu sect to worship the god Shiva as the supreme deity. It gave rise in turn......
Passionist
Passionist, a religious order of men in the Roman Catholic church, founded by Paolo Francesco Danei (now known......
Pastoureaux
Pastoureaux, (French: “Shepherds”), the participants in two popular outbreaks of mystico-political enthusiasm in......
Peace Mission
Peace Mission, predominantly Black 20th-century religious movement in the United States, founded and led by Father......
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), African American Protestant denomination, the first formal Pentecostal......
Pentecostal Church of God
Pentecostal Church of God (PCG), Pentecostal denomination that was organized in Chicago in 1919. It had 960 churches......
Peoples Temple
Peoples Temple, American new religious movement led by Jim Jones (1931–78) that came to international attention......
Philippine Independent Church
Philippine Independent Church, independent church organized in 1902 after the Philippine revolution of 1896–98......
Photian Schism
Photian Schism, a 9th-century-ce controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity that was precipitated by......