Meeting House - Religious Meeting Houses

Religious Meeting Houses

Many non-conformist Christian denominations distinguish between a

  • Church, which is used to refer to a body of people who believe in Christ
  • Meeting house or chapel, which refers to the building where the church meets

Christian denominations which use the term "meeting house" to refer to the building in which they hold their worship include:

  • Congregational churches with their congregation-based system of church governance. They also use the term "mouth-houses" to emphasize their use as a place for discourse and discussion.
  • Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), see Friends meeting houses
  • Mennonite Church
  • Amish Church
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) uses the term "meetinghouse" for the building where congregations meet for weekly worship services, recreational events, and social gatherings. A meetinghouse differs from an LDS temple, which is reserved for special forms of worship.
  • Some Unitarian congregations, although some prefer the term "chapel" or "church".
  • The Unification Church
  • Christadelphians
  • Provisional Movement

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