Home›Abrahamic (Monotheistic)›DenominationsBrowse ByDenominationsThis page groups religions by how many internal denominations or branches they have split into over time. Wikipedia notes that Protestantism alone, having separated from the Catholic Church in the Reformation, "is split into thousands of denominations." Browsing this way lets a visitor see which traditions have stayed largely unified and which have fragmented into many distinct bodies.FactsLearn MoreDenominationsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedTraditions that trace their descent from the covenant with Abraham and hold that there is one transcendent God who acts in history and addresses humanity through prophets and revealed scripture. What each of them holds Abraham to be differs sharply. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard family grouping. The label marks a shared ancestry, a shared cast of figures and a shared moral vocabulary; it does not mark a shared theology, and the traditions divide over who the final prophet or messiah is. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedReligions 1Learn MoreThe Abrahamic monotheisms This group gathers the Abrahamic religions, the monotheistic traditions that trace their spiritual descent to the patriarch Abraham and share a common Near Eastern root, a linear view of history, and belief in one transcendent God who reveals a moral law through prophets and scripture. The browser will find Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the three great Abrahamic faiths, together with related traditions that share this heritage. The entries describe each religion's scriptures, beliefs and history in its own terms, noting both the deep family resemblance and the real theological differences that divide them.DenominationsFilter Results115 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll30,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,500,000 (2)2,000,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)8,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll30,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,500,000 (2)1,700,000 (1)2,500,000 (1)6,000,000 (1)53,871,526 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (31)Independent Survey (15)National Census (15)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (19)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (4)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Government Disclosure (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (4)Regulator Filing (2)The Body's Own Published Statistics (5)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (1)Revised Julian (New Calendar) (1)Church FamilyAllAdventist (1)African Initiated Church (1)Anabaptist (2)Anglican (5)Baptist (2)Church of the East (1)Congregationalist (1)Eastern Orthodox (7)Evangelical (3)Latter Day Saint (3)Lutheran (2)Methodist (5)Oriental Orthodox (4)Pentecostal (2)Reformed (4)Restorationist (2)Unitarian Universalist (1)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (1)1204 (1)1527 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1600 (1)1612 (1)1712 (1)1815 (1)1850 (1)1879 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1974 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (3)927 (1)1054 (2)1500 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (1)1609 (1)1693 (1)1772 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1811 (1)1833 (1)1844 (1)1857 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1879 (1)1881 (1)1883 (1)1889 (1)1895 (1)1906 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA founding prophet's teaching and healing ministry held central to the church's identity (1)An inner (batin) meaning of scripture and law alongside the outward (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (2)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (3)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (14)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (1)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)Recognises a post-prophetic messianic figure (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (7)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (2)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (2)Strict dyophysite: two distinct natures held in two qnome (concrete hypostases), not Chalcedon's two natures in one hypostasis (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (14)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (18)Documented Accused CountAll5 (1)6 (1)390 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (5)A single central governing body over the whole movement (4)An imam or caliph elected by the community or its electors (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (1)Authority through a shaykh and an initiatic chain (1)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (2)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (6)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (5)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (4)Episcopal: governed by bishops (8)No central authority (7)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Priestly office passing by descent (2)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (11)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (2)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (4)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (9)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (2)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (11)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (1)Church Slavonic (2)Classical Arabic (3)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (1)Classical Syriac (1)Coptic (1)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (5)The vernacular (40)Membership Figure As OfAll1856-07-05 (1)1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (1)1914-01-01 (1)1922-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (2)1924-01-01 (1)1936-01-01 (1)1957-06-25 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1960-01-01 (1)1964-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1972-01-01 (1)1979-01-01 (1)1986-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1990-01-01 (2)1991-05-25 (1)1992-01-01 (2)1996-01-01 (1)1998-01-01 (2)1999-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (2)2008-01-01 (2)2008-09-01 (1)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (7)2011-01-01 (4)2013-01-01 (3)2013-07-01 (1)2014-01-01 (3)2015-01-01 (3)2016-01-01 (3)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (2)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (2)2019-01-01 (1)2020-01-01 (6)2021-01-01 (2)2021-03-21 (1)2021-09-07 (1)2022-01-01 (9)2022-05-03 (1)2023-01-01 (2)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (8)2024-03-01 (1)2024-06-01 (1)2024-12-31 (2)2025-01-01 (5)2025-08-04 (1)2026-02-01 (1)2026-08-14 (2)2026-08-16 (2)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (1)Celibacy required of the ordained (1)Conferred by election (1)Married clergy permitted (12)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (1)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (3)Open to women and men (22)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (1)Restricted to men (19)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (9)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)431 (1)451 (1)927 (1)1204 (1)1527 (2)1559 (2)1560 (1)1571 (2)1600 (2)1612 (1)1648 (1)1712 (1)1745 (1)1772 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1832 (1)1844 (1)1850 (1)1860 (2)1867 (2)1870 (1)1879 (1)1881 (1)1889 (1)1897 (1)1906 (1)1907 (2)1908 (1)1913 (1)1914 (1)1934 (1)1961 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll30 (1)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)431 (1)800 (1)864 (1)1200 (1)1300 (1)1525 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (1)1560 (1)1571 (1)1609 (1)1620 (1)1693 (1)1734 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (1)1801 (2)1802 (1)1825 (1)1844 (1)1845 (1)1850 (1)1857 (1)1860 (2)1863 (1)1866 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1887 (1)1889 (1)1895 (1)1897 (1)1907 (1)1914 (1)1920 (1)1934 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (3)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be a lifelong, monogamous, indissoluble union; remarriage after divorce is not sanctioned while a spouse lives (1)Marriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (6)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Position on PredestinationAllDouble Predestination (1)Election Affirmed Reprobation Unstated (1)Single Predestination (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (6)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (6)Same-sex sexual relationships are held contrary to teaching; LGBT individuals are welcomed as members but not ordained, and same-sex unions are not blessed (16)Same-sex unions may be blessed, but ordination is not extended to partnered LGBT clergy (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (3)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (3)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (3)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDeclared Not Established (1)Disestablished (6)Established (3)No Establishment (26)Privileged Never Established (6)Varies by Province (6)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1992-06-01 (1)2000-01-01 (1)2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (4)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)Standing as a Comparative CategoryAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (1)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate (1)Historic Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Historic Episcopate Received Not Required (1)Ministry by Lawful Call (1)Status TodayAllAccess restricted by its custodians or by law (1)Dissolved; the community wound itself up (2)In active religious use (1)Living tradition, practised today (54)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll2008 (1)2010 (1)2016 (1)2023 (2)2024 (7)2025 (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchDenominations1 entryAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchDenominations1 entryAhmadiyyaDenominations1 entryAladuraDenominations1 entryAlawitesDenominations1 entryAlevismDenominations1 entryAmerican Baptist Churches USADenominations1 entryAmerican Unitarian AssociationDenominations1 entryAmishDenominations1 entryAnabaptismDenominations1 entryAnglican CommunionDenominations1 entryAnglicanismDenominations1 entryArmenian Apostolic ChurchDenominations1 entryAssemblies of GodDenominations1 entryAssyrian Church of the EastDenominations1 entryBaptistDenominations1 entryBeta IsraelDenominations1 entryBreslov HasidismDenominations1 entryBulgarian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entryCalvinism (Reformed)Denominations1 entryChabad-LubavitchDenominations1 entryChristian and Missionary AllianceDenominations1 entryChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchDenominations1 entryChristian Reformed Church in North AmericaDenominations1 entryChristian ScienceDenominations1 entryChurch of Christ (Temple Lot)Denominations1 entryChurch of CyprusDenominations1 entryChurch of EnglandDenominations1 entryChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Denominations1 entryChurch of God in ChristDenominations1 entryChurch of GreeceDenominations1 entryChurch of IrelandDenominations1 entryThe Church of Jesus Christ (Strangite)Denominations1 entryChurch of ScotlandDenominations1 entryChurch of SwedenDenominations1 entryChurch of the NazareneDenominations1 entryChurches of ChristDenominations1 entryCommunity of ChristDenominations1 entryCongregationalistsDenominations1 entryConservative JudaismDenominations1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyDenominations1 entryDisciples of ChristDenominations1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchDenominations1 entryEastern OrthodoxyDenominations1 entryEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleDenominations1 entryThe Episcopal ChurchDenominations1 entryEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchDenominations1 entryEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchDenominations1 entryEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaDenominations1 entryEvangelicalismDenominations1 entryFree Methodist ChurchDenominations1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entryGlobal Methodist ChurchDenominations1 entryGrace Communion InternationalDenominations1 entryGreek Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entryHaredi JudaismDenominations1 entryHasidic JudaismDenominations1 entryHistorically Black Protestant TraditionDenominations1 entryHumanistic JudaismDenominations1 entryIbadismDenominations1 entryIsmailismDenominations1 entryJehovah's WitnessesDenominations1 entryKaraite JudaismDenominations1 entryKharijitesDenominations1 entryKimbanguist ChurchDenominations1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Denominations2 entriesLutheran Church, Missouri SynodDenominations1 entryLutheranismDenominations1 entryMainline ProtestantismDenominations1 entryMaronite ChurchDenominations1 entryMennonitesDenominations1 entryMethodismDenominations1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismDenominations1 entryMoravian ChurchDenominations1 entryNation of IslamDenominations1 entryNational Baptist Convention of AmericaDenominations1 entryNational Baptist Convention USA IncorporatedDenominations1 entryNondenominational ChristianityDenominations1 entryOld BelieversDenominations1 entryOneida CommunityDenominations1 entryOneness PentecostalismDenominations1 entryOriental OrthodoxyDenominations1 entryOrthodox JudaismDenominations1 entryPentecostalismDenominations1 entryPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Denominations1 entryPresbyterianismDenominations1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionDenominations1 entryProtestantismDenominations1 entryQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)Denominations1 entryQuranismDenominations1 entryReconstructionist JudaismDenominations1 entryReform JudaismDenominations1 entryRoman CatholicismDenominations1 entryRomanian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entryRussian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entrySaint Thomas ChristiansDenominations1 entrySalafismDenominations1 entryThe Salvation ArmyDenominations1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entrySeventh-day AdventismDenominations1 entryShakersDenominations1 entryShia (Twelver)Denominations1 entrySkoptsyDenominations1 entrySouthern Baptist ConventionDenominations1 entrySufismDenominations1 entrySunniDenominations1 entryUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchDenominations1 entryUkrainian Orthodox ChurchDenominations1 entryUnited Church of ChristDenominations1 entryThe United Methodist ChurchDenominations1 entryUniversalist Church of AmericaDenominations1 entryWahhabismDenominations1 entryWesleyan ChurchDenominations1 entryZaidiyyahDenominations1 entryZion Christian ChurchDenominations1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. AbrahamView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.