The ''Handbook of Denominations in the United States'', also known as ''Abingdon's Handbook of Denominations'' or just the ''Handbook of Denominations'', originally by Frank S. Mead, editor of the ''

Christian Herald The ''Christian Herald'' was an American weekly newspaper reporting on topics relevant to Evangelical Christianity, with an emphasis on engaging with humanitarian causes at home and abroad. It was inspired by the London-based newspaper which cease ...

'', is a reference work on

religious denomination A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many varie ...

s, particularly but not exclusively

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

ones, based in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

or extensively represented there (i.e., the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

). The work is periodically updated to keep pace with changes in the groups chronicled and to document the formation of new groups. The first edition was published in 1951. Editors including Samuel S. Hill and Craig D. Atwood have taken over for Mead in later editions, Roger E. Olson took over as editor for the 14th edition in 2018. Published by

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

, the

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

-based

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

Publishing House, it is intended to be an authoritative guide to the history, polity, and

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

s of various religious groups. It has been called the "standard reference work for religious professionals" and "the gold standard for reference works about religious bodies in America." The book was ranked 323rd most stocked book by

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

in 2005.

References

External links

* * Books about Christianity Encyclopedias of religion {{Christian-book-stub