This page groups denominations by how they are governed. Wikipedia notes that "the Catholic Church, led by the Bishop of Rome and the bishops worldwide in communion with him, is a communion of 24 Churches sui iuris." Browsing by polity lets a visitor compare a centrally governed denomination against one built from independent congregations.
Facts
Origins
Whose Classification This IsThe division into shrine, sect and state Shinto is a creation of Meiji and later government policy rather than a distinction internal to the tradition, and the state form was dismantled by the Allied occupation at the end of 1945. 2 Overview
What Defines This GroupingThe forms of Shinto, divided by organisation and by history rather than by doctrine: the shrine network and its rites, the sect movements given separate legal recognition in the modern period, and household and local practice. 2 Learn More
The forms of Shinto
This small group gathers the forms of Shinto, the indigenous tradition of Japan centred on the kami. Shinto has existed less as a doctrinal church than as a body of shrine worship, and its recognised divisions are largely organisational and historical.
The browser will find such categories as Shrine Shinto, the mainstream centred on the network of shrines, and Sect Shinto, the organised movements recognised in the modern period. The entries describe each, noting the distinct case of the State Shinto of the imperial period.
Polity
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Shinto: A History
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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