What Are the Arguments Made Economic Race Culture That Shaped the Denominations?

Theology

The Social Sources of Denominations

Richard Niebuhr's primary argument in his work "The Social Sources of Denominationalism" is that denominations within the church are hallmarks of religion within the United States. Churches naturally separate based on a variety of factors, and will continue to until the end of time. Many things account for these differentiations or thought or denominations including culture, economics race and national origin. Niebuhr believed that the majority of these separations occurred for non-religious or worldly-based reasons. Niebuhr held an almost harsh view of religion, stating that "Denominationalism thus represents the moral failure of Christianity," and he refers to such denominationalism specifically as "the moral failure of Christianity."

He believed that non-religious distinctions were primarily responsible for creating schisms and different factions or denominations of the church, not purely spiritual endeavors. Denominations, or different sects within the church, occur primarily because of social class distinctions.

According to Niebuhr, secularization is the process whereby religion accommodates the world. Secularization may be defined as the process by which religious denominations or organizations "become more worldly and offer a less vivid and less active conception of the supernatural." Religion accommodates the world by dividing based on the perceived differentiations and natural schisms that exist among different social and economic classes, races and cultures within the world. When one group becomes dissatisfied with another, or with the masses, they typically will break from the church and form their own denomination. As this is not necessarily a spiritual motive, denominationalism may be referred to as secular in nature.

Niebuhr in his work strongly suggests that religious organizations form or originate through schism. From a cultural and race related perspective, Niebuhr also argues that immigrant denominations are formed when different cultures and races come together and decide not to conform to the most prevalent religious practices and groups already established within the U.S. Many times immigrant churches will form their own denomination or sect because they are more comfortable among people like themselves with similar backgrounds and social stature. The branching out of immigrants into their own churches often results in new denominations and increased differentiation. The primary basis for this differentiation is race and cultural related. Economics also come into play, as certain social classes or groups of immigrants will typically fall into one economic category or another.

In his work Niebuhr calls attention to denominational barriers as a shameful and sad fact of life. He points out the marked hostility that existed between members of different denominations during the time in which he wrote the book. The denominational identity that people associated with, according to Niebuhr, in part defined the person and their life. According to Niebuhr, "The denominations, churches, sects, are sociological groups whose principle of differentiation is to be sought in their conformity to the order of social classes and castes."

Niebuhr emphasized that denominations were in fact "emblems" of the victory of the world over the church, because the distinctions between churches were made based on no-religious factors. If churches were primarily spiritual in nature, far less distinction and denominations are likely to exist. These distinctions that formed still reign powerful within the church today, though there is far less hostility visible in some practices today, as religious belief has become somewhat less prevalent in the lives of many people in the modern era.

According to Niebuhr, different sects or denominations appeal to different people based largely on their upbringing and class. A church will always exist for a person whether they are upper, middle or lower class citizens. Certain citizens will simply feel more comfortable in one setting vs. another. When a group of people becomes uncomfortable with the beliefs of their church, they break apart and form yet another denomination.