Local Church Vs. Denomination
The word denomination is sometimes used as a synonym of local church. Sometimes, however, denomination is used to mean the whole tradition to which the local church belongs. So, for example, some writers refer to the United Methodist Church as a denomination, while others refer to Methodism as a denomination. For this reason, many scholars in the disciplines of Theology and Religious Studies prefer to speak in the following manner: a religion is a broad movement, sharing a common world view and some doctrinal and philosophical positions, a tradition is a movement within a religion, a church body a physical manifestation of a tradition and a congregation a local gathering of believers who belong to the church body.
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Famous quotes containing the words local and/or church:
“His farm was “grounds,” and not a farm at all;
His house among the local sheds and shanties
Rose like a factor’s at a trading station.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“If I should go out of church whenever I hear a false statement I could never stay there five minutes. But why come out? The street is as false as the church, and when I get to my house, or to my manners, or to my speech, I have not got away from the lie.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)