Denominations: A Cultural History of Anglo-American Christianity - Bebbington, David W.

Why are there all these different Christian churches?

Many studies have appeared over the past two centuries on the proliferation of denominations in the Anglophone world. David Bebbington builds on this trajectory and offers a distinctive approach to the question of Christian diversity. Denominations differs from other writings in the field because of its approach. Instead of a straightforward survey of the state of the contemporary church, Bebbington presents a historical analysis of how the various families of churches have come to be as they are. He also stresses how the delivery of the Christian message has been molded by the contexts of the various Anglo-American ecclesiastical bodies. As times have changed, so have churches. Because it offers a twenty-first-century perspective, Denominations considers several religious organizations not discussed in earlier works: while some denominations have vanished in recent decades, still more have arisen. Bebbington emphasizes the cultural situation of the denominations, in both the remote and the recent past, in order to highlight the distinguishing ethos of each.