religious denomination
Organized belief community
A religious denomination is a distinct branch or organized subset within a larger faith tradition, sharing common beliefs, governance, and practices that distinguish it from other groups under the same religious umbrella.
Christianity has hundreds of denominations—Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian—each with its own doctrines and structures.
The term applies across religions: different Jewish denominations approach dietary laws differently.
Denomination implies recognized institutional identity rather than informal difference.
- churchPlace of Christian worship
- house of worshipReligious service venue
- sectBreakaway religious faction
- splinter groupBreakaway subset of organization
- faithTrust without proof
congregation · parish · faith community · creed · church doctrine · Baptist · Catholic · Methodist · Lutheran · Presbyterian · Mormon · Pentecostal · Protestant · evangelical · worship · doctrine · holy scripture · believer
religious denominationspiritual but not religious
Personal faith, no denomination
nondenominational · unchurched · private devotion · spirituality · mysticism
religious denominationecumenism
Movement toward religious unity
nonsectarianism · perennial philosophy · syncretism · universal church
religious denominationsecularism
Separation of faith, state
secular humanism · irreligion · materialism · agnosticism · atheism
religious, religion, religions, religiously, religiosity, irreligious, denomination, denominations, denominational