Lutheran Church

The Lutheran Church has 8 million members in the U.S. It is based on the writings of Martin Luther (1483-1586), who broke with the Roman Catholic Church, and led the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. That document contained an attack on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by church officials. The first Lutheran congregation in North America was founded in 1638 in Wilmington, Delaware. The first North American regional synod was founded in 1748 by Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg. Faith is based on the Bible. Salvation comes through faith alone. Services include the Lord's Supper (communion). Lutherans are mostly conservative in religious and social ethics; infants are baptized, the church is organized in synods. The two largest synods in the United States are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Methodist Church

Methodism has 13.5 million members in the U.S. It was founded by the Reverend John Wesley, who began evangelistic preaching with the Church of England in 1738. A separate Wesleyan Methodist Church was established in 1791. The Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in the United States in 1784. The name derives from the founders' desire to study religion "by rule and method," and follow the Bible interpreted by tradition and reason. Worship varies by denomination within Methodism (the United Methodist Church is the largest congregation). The church is perfectionist in social dealings. Methodists have Communion and they perform baptism of infants and adults.

Pentecostal churches

The churches grew out of the "holiness movement" that developed among Methodists and Protestants in the first decade of the twentieth century. There are some 3.5 million followers today in the U.S. Pentecostals believe in baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, faith healing, and the second coming of Jesus. Of the various Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God is the largest. A perfectionist attitude toward secular affairs is common. Services feature enthusiastic sermons and hymns, and Pentecostals practice adult baptism and communion.

Presbyterian Church

Presbyterianism in the U.S. grew out of the Calvinist Churches of Switzerland and France. John Knox founded the first Presbyterian Church in Scotland in 1557. The first presbytery in North America was established by Irish missionary, Francis Makemie, in 1706. For 3.2 million members of the Presbyterian Church, faith is in the Bible. Sacraments are infant baptism and communion. The church is organized as a system of courts in which clergy and lay members (presbyters) participate at local, regional, and national levels. Services are simple, with emphasis on the sermon.

Seventh Day Adventist Church

Grew out of the teachings of William Miller in the 1840s. Formally founded in North America in 1863. For 734,527 adherents, the Bible is the only creed. They emphasize the second coming of Jesus. Members abstain from alcoholic beverages and tobacco. They dedicate their infants to God in the same way that Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to God. They reserve baptism until people can choose for themselves whether they accept Christ's atonement on the cross for their sins, and want to follow Him as their Savior.

United Church of Christ

Formed in 1957 by the union of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches. Belief in the Bible is guided by the Statement of Faith (written in 1959). The church is organized by congregations, which are represented at a general synod that sets policy. Services are simple, with emphasis on the sermon. They practice infant baptism, and communion.

Other Christian-based Communities

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)

Founded by Joseph Smith, in upstate New York in 1830, then in Ohio in 1831. After two more attempts to establish a permanent home for the church (the second one resulting in Smith's death at the hands of a mob), the Mormons trekked to Utah under the leadership of Brigham Young, and established headquarters in what was to become Salt Lake City in 1847. For its 9.5 million members, faith is based on the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price, all of which are considered scripture as well as the Holy Bible. Stress is placed on revelation through the connection of spiritual and physical worlds and through proselytizing. Members abstain from alcohol and tobacco, and believe in community and self-reliance. Public services are conservative. Mormons have baptism, the laying on of hands, and communion. They have a temple for certain secret ceremonies, including baptism for the dead. Mormons religiously pursue genealogy, in the belief that the departed souls of relatives can be saved, retroactively, by living family members of the Church.

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Founded by George Fox in England in the seventeenth century, who preached a doctrine of Inner Light, and severely criticized organized churches. The Friends, who have 125,000 members in North America, believe in reliance on the Inner Light-the voice of God's Holy Spirit experienced within each person. Meetings are characterized by quiet meditation without ritual or sermon. Quakers are active in peace, education, and social welfare movements. They refuse to bear arms or take oaths. By the early 20 century, the Quaker movement was divided into 4 groups: Hicksites: a liberal wing concentrated in the eastern US, who emphasized social reform; Gurneyites: more progressive, Bible-centered Quakers who followed Joseph John Gurney, and retained pastors; Wilburites: mostly rural traditionalists, more devoted to individual spiritual inspiration, who retained the traditional Quaker speech and dress, and followed John Wilbur; Orthodox: the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting-a Christocentric group.

Unitarian Universalist Association

The denomination's 171,000 members take their origin from the merger of the Universal Church of America (organized in 1779), and the American Unitarian Association (founded in 1823). They profess no creed. They have strong social, ethical concerns, and emphasize the search for religious truth through freedom of belief. They accept theists, humanists, and agnostics in religious fellowship. They are making efforts to create a worldwide interfaith religious community. Many members come from other denominations and religions.

Rosicrucianism

Rosicrucianism is a modern movement begun in 1868 by R. W. Little that claims ties to an older Society of the Rose and Cross that was founded in Germany in 1413 by Christian Rosencreuz. The number of its followers is uncertain. The Rosicrucian Brotherhood was established in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, by Reuben Swinburne Clymer in 1902. The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crusis (AMORC) was founded in San Jose, California, in 1915 by H. Spencer Lewis. Both sects could be classified as either fraternal or religious organizations, although they claim to empower members with cosmic forces by unveiling secret wisdom regarding the laws of nature.