Religious Movements & Organizations, THE-ŌBA
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
The Way International
The Way International, Christian evangelical group founded in 1942 as Vesper Chimes, a radio ministry broadcast......
Therapeutae
Therapeutae, Jewish sect of ascetics closely resembling the Essenes, believed to have settled on the shores of......
Tiantai
Tiantai, rationalist school of Buddhist thought that takes its name from the mountain in southeastern China where......
Tijāniyyah
Tijāniyyah, an especially proselytizing order (tariqa) of Islamic mystics (Sufis) widespread in northern and western......
Toledo, councils of
councils of Toledo, 18 councils of the Roman Catholic church in Spain, held in Toledo from about 400 to 702. At......
Trappist
Trappist, member of the reformed branch of Roman Catholic Cistercians founded by Armand-Jean Le Bouthillier de......
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, one of the confessional writings of Lutheranism, prepared in 1537......
Trent, Council of
Council of Trent, 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held in three parts from 1545 to 1563.......
Trinitarian
Trinitarian, member of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives (O.SS.T.), a Roman Catholic......
Twelver Shiʿah
Twelver Shiʿah, the largest of the three Shiʿi groups extant today. The Twelvers believe that, at the death of......
Udasi
Udasi, monastic followers of Srichand (1494–1612?), the elder son of Nanak (1469–1539), the first Guru and the......
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, largest of the Eastern Catholic (also known as Eastern rite or Greek Catholic)......
Unification Church
Unification Church, religious movement founded in Pusan, South Korea, by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon in 1954. Known......
Unitas Fratrum
Unitas Fratrum, (Latin: “Unity of Brethren”), Protestant religious group inspired by Hussite spiritual ideals in......
United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada, church established June 10, 1925, in Toronto, Ont., by the union of the Congregational,......
United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ, Protestant denomination in the United States, formed by the union of the Evangelical and......
United Evangelical Lutheran Church
United Evangelical Lutheran Church, church organized in 1896 in Minneapolis, Minn., as the United Danish Evangelical......
United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany
United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, union of 10 Lutheran territorial churches in Germany, organized......
United Free Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland, Presbyterian church formed in 1900 as the result of the union between the Free......
United House of Prayer for All People
United House of Prayer for All People, Pentecostal Holiness church in the United States. It was founded by Bishop......
United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church, in the United States, a mainline Protestant church formed in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by......
United Pentecostal Church International
United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), Protestant denomination, the largest Jesus Only Pentecostal group.......
United Presbyterian Church
United Presbyterian Church, denomination that flourished in Scotland from 1847 to 1900. It was formed through the......
Unity
Unity, new religious movement founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1889 by Charles Fillmore (1854–1948), a real-estate......
Ursuline
Ursuline, Roman Catholic religious order of women founded at Brescia, Italy, in 1535, by St. Angela Merici. The......
Utraquist
Utraquist, any of the spiritual descendants of Jan Hus who believed that the laity, like the clergy, should receive......
Vadakalai
Vadakalai, one of two Hindu subsects of the Shrivaishnava, the other being the Tenkalai. Though the two groups......
Vatican Apostolic Library
Vatican Apostolic Library, official library of the Vatican, located inside the Vatican Palace. It is especially......
Vatican Council, First
First Vatican Council, (1869–70), 20th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked by Pope Pius IX......
Vatican Council, Second
Second Vatican Council, (1962–65), 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, announced by Pope John......
Vienne, Council of
Council of Vienne, 15th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church (1311–12), convoked by Pope Clement V at......
Vincentian
Vincentian, member of a Roman Catholic society of priests and brothers founded at Paris in 1625 by St. Vincent......
Vishnusvamin
Vishnusvamin, in Hinduism, a Vaishnavite sampradaya (spiritual tradition tracing its lineage to a mythic or divine......
Visitandine
Visitandine, a Roman Catholic order of nuns founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal at......
Wahhabi
Wahhabi, any adherent of the Islamic reform movement founded by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb in the 18th century......
Waldenses
Waldenses, members of a Christian movement that originated in 12th-century France, the devotees of which sought......
Wales, Church in
Church in Wales, independent Anglican church in Wales that changed from the Roman Catholic faith during the Protestant......
Wesleyan Church
Wesleyan Church, U.S. Protestant church, organized in 1968 by the merger of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America......
Western Schism
Western Schism, in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the period from 1378 to 1417, when there were two,......
Westphalia, Peace of
Peace of Westphalia, European settlements of 1648, which brought to an end the Eighty Years’ War between Spain......
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, conservative Lutheran church in the United States, formed in 1892 as a federation......
World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), international fellowship of organizations that hold biblically conservative interpretations......
Worldwide Church of God
Worldwide Church of God, Adventist church founded in 1933 as the Radio Church of God by Herbert W. Armstrong (1892–1986),......
Worms, Concordat of
Concordat of Worms, compromise arranged in 1122 between Pope Calixtus II (1119–24) and the Holy Roman emperor Henry......
Xi’an monument
Xi’an monument, inscribed stone monument that records the early missionary activity of Nestorian Christians in......
Yazīdī
Yazīdī, member of a Kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northern......
Yoido Full Gospel Church
Yoido Full Gospel Church, South Korean Pentecostal megachurch long famed for its status as the most-attended church......
Yoshida Shintō
Yoshida Shintō, school of Shintō that upheld Shintō as a basic faith while teaching its unity with Buddhism and......
Young Christian Workers
Young Christian Workers, Roman Catholic movement begun in Belgium in 1912 by Father (later Cardinal) Joseph Cardijn;......
Zaydiyyah
Zaydiyyah, sect of Shiʿi Muslims owing allegiance to Zayd ibn ʿAlī, grandson of al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī. Zayd was a......
Zen
Zen, important school of East Asian Buddhism that constitutes the mainstream monastic form of Mahayana Buddhism......
Zionist church
Zionist church, any of several prophet-healing groups in southern Africa; they correspond to the independent churches......
Zoe
Zoe, in Eastern Orthodoxy, a semimonastic Greek association patterned on Western religious orders. Founded in 1907......
Ōbaku
Ōbaku, one of the three Zen sects in Japan, founded in 1654 by the Chinese priest Yin-yüan (Japanese Ingen); it......