Catholicism and Methodism - Major Christian Denominations

Authors Avatar
Religion is an important aspect of a person’s life. It provides them with a community and reasoning in life. Religion is universal; all people can believe and belong to a religion. Religion can inspire people to do great things; it can lead people to peace; it can lead people to war; it can lead people to lead people.But most importantly, it fills people with hope, whether it is hope in the after-life, belief in a higher power, the goodness of mankind, or the quest for unity. People follow different religions for different reasons. One of the most followed religions in the world is Christianity. Two denominations of Christianity include Catholicism, one of the major denominations of Christianity, and Methodism, one of the growing denominations of Protestantism, a branch of Christianity.The two religions are rather similar, but they also have many differences, which give a distinct difference to each other. These will be explored in the rest of this report.Methodism originated in 1739 in England as a result of the teachings of John Wesley. He, his brother Charles, and other fellow students at Oxford University formed a group devoted to study, prayer, and helping the poor. They were coined “Methodists” by other students because of the method and structure they used in their religious affairs.Both Charles and John Wesley were ordained ministers for the Church of England, but they were banned from preaching in public due to their overly evangelistic methods. They broke away from the Church to preach in homes, fields, barn houses or anywhere else they could find followers.After disbanding from the Church of England, they didn’t initially start a new Church,
Join now!
but rather initialised faith-restoration groups called “United Societies” as a branch of the Anglican Church. By 1774, however, Methodism spread and became it’s own religion.As the years went by, Methodism became the largest Protestant denomination in America. The largest denomination of Methodism today is the United Methodist Church, which is a unique blend of New Testament Christianity, the Protestant Reformation, and the influence of John Wesley and his Methodist Church. As Methodism grew, it became attractive to people wanting to find a friendly religion. The Church’s religious community includes some of the largest political figures in America, including George W. ...

This is a preview of the whole essay