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Автор: J.Gordon Melton
Издательство: Thomson Gale
Год издания: 2003
isbn: 0787663840
Количество страниц: 1443
Язык: english
Формат: PDF
Размер: 6.18 Мб
Каталожный номер: 44013
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For both historical and sentimental reasons, we continue to carry in this new edition the Preface to the first edition originally published twenty years ago. It serves as a reminder of my perception of what I define as “primary religious groups” (replacing the older term denominations), as well as what are the main long-term building blocks of the religious community in a free society. Various kinds of movements, trends, fads, and religious phenomena emerge on the forefront, and for the moment, seem to be “what’s happening” religiously. They remain decade after decade (in some cases century after century) and while the number of denominations grows as the population grows, the denominations persist in providing the stable substructure for religious expression.
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