How We Coded Religious Traditions
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GREATER GRAND RAPIDS STUDY OF CONGREGATIONS • APPENDIX II Appendix II: How We Coded Religious Traditions Drawing on The Handbook of Denominations in the United States, Eleventh Edition as well as recent studies in religion,1 we coded all Christian denominations into five broad religious traditions. In the cases where a religious denomination’s place in this coding scheme was not immediately apparent, we carefully researched each denomination to ascertain the best category under which they fit. Nondenominational congregations were coded based on religious self-identities from the survey data. We would welcome any feedback from local religious leaders on how we coded their denomination or religious association. We differ from the classification scheme of many congregational studies in three main ways. First, because West Michigan has a relatively high number of Dutch Reformed congregations, we created a separate category for denominations that are historically associated with this tradition. In national studies, Dutch Reformed denominations would be coded into either the Mainline or Evangelical traditions. In this study they are coded into one “Dutch Reformed” tradition. Second, many national studies code all historically Black denominations into one “Black Protestant” category. In this study we classified historically Black denominations into two main traditions: Pentecostal and Evangelical. To code these denominations, we researched the history and/or theology of each historically Black denomination represented in our area to determine the most relevant religious tradition into which they fall. Third, we created a separate category for Pentecostal denominations and/or congregations. In many national studies, Pentecostal denominations are included within the Evangelical religious tradition. Because of the relatively large growth in the number of Pentecostal congregations in our local area, we grouped all Pentecostal congregations and denominations into one Pentecostal religious tradition. Dutch Reformed Christian Reformed Church in North America Free Reformed Churches of North America Heritage Reformed Congregations Netherlands Reformed Congregations in North America Protestant Reformed Churches in America Reformed Church in America United Reformed Churches in North America Evangelical American Baptist Association Asamblea Cristiana Nacional Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America Baptist Missionary Association of America Baptist – Other Calvary Chapel Christian and Missionary Alliance Christian Life Fellowship Ministries International 1 Dougherty, Kevin D., Byron R. Johnson, and Edward C. Polson. 2007. “Recovering the Lost: Remeasuring U.S. Religious Affiliation.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 46 (4): 483–99. Woodberry, Robert D., Jerry Z. Park, Lyman A. Kellstedt, Mark D. Regnerus, and Brian Steensland. 2012. “The Measure of American Religious Traditions: Theoretical and Measurement Considerations.” Social Forces 91 (1): 65–73. 78 GREATER GRAND RAPIDS STUDY OF CONGREGATIONS • APPENDIX II Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) Church of God General Conference Church of the Nazarene Converge Covenant Connections International Evangelical Covenant Church Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians Evangelical Free Church of America Evangelical Presbyterian Church Evangelical – Other Free Methodist Church General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC) Independent Baptist Churches Independent Fundamentalist Churches of America Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. Nondenominational Churches (Evangelical) Orthodox Presbyterian Church Plymouth Brethren Presbyterian Church in America Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America Salvation Army Seventh Day Baptist General Conference Seventh-day Adventist – Lake Region Conference Seventh-day Adventist Church Southern Baptist Convention Wesleyan Church Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Mainline African Methodist Episcopal Church African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church American Baptist Churches in the USA Anglican Catholic Church Christian Churches and Churches of Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Episcopal Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Friends (Quakers) Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. 79 GREATER GRAND RAPIDS STUDY OF CONGREGATIONS • APPENDIX II Presbyterian Church (USA) Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. United Church of Christ/Congregational United Methodist Church Pentecostal (or Charismatic) Alpha y Omega Inc Apostolic Church of God Apostolic Churches – Other Asamblea Apostólica de la fe en Cristo Jesús Asamblea de Iglesias Pentecostales de Jesucristo Assemblies of God Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) Church of God in Christ Church of God in Christ United Church of God Prophecy Church of God – Other Faith Christian Fellowship International Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches and Ministries, International Iglesia de Cristo Misionera Iglesia de Dios “Nueva Jerusalem” Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Iglesia Pentecostes Unida Internacional International Church of the Four Square Gospel Maranatha Christian Churches Ministerios Elim Movimiento Misionero Mundial Inc. Nondenominational Churches (Pentecostal) Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. Pentecostal Church of God Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith, Inc Pentecostal – Other Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) United Pentecostal Church International Worldwide Assemblies of Restoration Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Church Ukrainian Catholic 80 GREATER GRAND RAPIDS STUDY OF CONGREGATIONS • APPENDIX II Other Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Baha’i Faith Bible Students Buddhist Temples, Zen Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Community of Christ-Latter-day Saints Ethiopian Orthodox Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America Islamic Community of North American Bosniaks Jehovah’s Witness Judaism – Chabad Movement Judaism – Conservative (USCJ) Judaism – Reform (URJ) Muslim – Sunni Muslim – Unclassified Nation of Islam/Black Muslim National Spiritualist Association of Churches Russian Orthodox Church Self-Realization Fellowship Unitarian Universalist Association Unity School of Christianity and Association of Unity Churches 81.