Although Protestants

The end of 20th Century saw denominationalism crop up in the church which was eroding the traditions upon which the Christian faith was based. Although Protestants started a good thing, in the end it spurned out of control as many sought to have a denomination that could give them an identity and a sense of purpose in the carrying out the mission of Christianity.

Denominationalism has been hailed as an evil thought but ironically it is replacing the religious practices. In the old times, it was associated with ethnic, racial or even class division but with modern times it has evolved to stratification through secularization and education.

Sociological analysis is playing a part in disseminating this information because of the way the American society has become polarized especially when it comes to religion (Christianity).

Many people have moved from the main stream churches and have found identities in the modern charismatic churches that do not so much revolve around traditions but are embracing modern ideologies and secularization. In the old times, people used to stick to one denomination (church) for a lifetime but now things have changed with people switching churches at least once in lifetime.

The aspect of denominationalism is a new aspect to me which I thought was a normal thing but its interesting to know that it was based on ethnic or even racial differences in the early days of Christianity. In the advent of modernization, it has evolved to be discrimination based on education, and doctrinal bases and going world wide.

Many people join churches without knowing what or why the churches are founded just to get a religious identity. Religion is something that is aimed at bringing and uniting people together and denominationalism may be doing that but the underlying reasons are wrong.

The cropping of this practice rose as a result of difficult in maintaining the religious traditions mainly due to the liberal nature of people wanting to embrace their own identities and also the conservatives loosing their moral authority towards the 21st century.

The important message that this article is putting through is that the divisions in Christianity should not be there in the first place because they contradict the tenets of Christianity. It is a noble idea but bringing people together does not involve segregation of others in order to give a sense of identity to a few people.

Conclusion

Denominationalism has been portrayed more negative than positive which I do not agree because as the article points out, it gives a sense of identity to different people and there is no way all people can fit in one denomination but that does not call for establishment of many denominations.

People do not subscribe to the same doctrinal values and therefore whichever denomination they are comfortable in, it is their right to go there. The idea of denominationalism has been portrayed as a division in the Christianity faith which may be true but I do not agree with it.

There is no such thing as the standard way of doing things but somehow things have to be done and as long as they are not contravening the law and are morally right, then they ought to be followed. According to me this is the basis of denominationalism where it is based on the way we perform different religious practices and rites like singing, praying and preaching.

This article has merely aroused curiosity about denominationalism and it has not dug in deep to bring tangible evidence of what it has caused in the society and what can be done about it. The article has done it as an overview and therefore it should address the issue in depth and how modern Christians can cope with it in embracing their faith and keeping their identity intact.

Reference

Nancy, T. (2000). New Life for Denominationalism. Retrieved  June 2, 2009 from,

            <http://hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/ammerman_article3.html>