Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danakil | Ethiopia | - | - | - | 1 country |
1995 | Haskins, J. From Afar to Zulu. New York: Walker Pub. (1995); pg. 191-7. | Table: Add'l African Cultures |
| Dani | Indonesia | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 179. | "Dani: Location: Indonesian province of Irian Jaya on island of New Guinea; Population: 100,000; Language: Dani; Religion: Native Dani "; "The Dani are a well-known tribal group from the province of Irian Jaya, Indonesia... " |
| Danish National Church | Denmark | 4,350,000 | 87.00% | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Rothstein, Mikael. "Patterns of Diffusion and Religious Globalization: An Empirical Survey of New Religious Movements " in Temenos 32 (1996), 195-220. (Viewed online, Temenos web site, 30 Jan. 1999); [Orig. source: "Jensen, Tim (ed.) 1994 Religionsguiden - en vejviser til flygtninges og indvandreres religioner og trossamfund i Danmark. Dansk Flygtningehjælp. Denmark. "] | "Denmark is a small country with a population of just over 5 million. The single most dominating religion is Lutheran Christianity. 87% of the population are members of the Danish National Church... The number of Danish church members, however, should not be taken as a sign of high religious intensity. Although Christianity is gaining a new footing these days, many Danes are reluctant to identify themselves as Christians or indeed religious. " |
| Dar al Islam | USA | - | - | 21 units |
- | 1965 | Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck & Jane Idleman Smith. Mission to America: Five Islamic Sectarian Communities in North America; Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida (1993); pg. 10. | "Darul Islam, at one time the largest African-American Sunni organization, thrived in the 1960s and developed more than twenty mosques. By the early 1980s the membership had come under the influence of Sheikh Jaylani, a Sufi of Pakistani origin. A large number of the group defected, and the rest have become Feqara (those who accept poverty) under the leadership of Yahya Abdul Karim. " |
| Dar al Islam | world | - | - | - | 70 countries |
1994 | Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.. Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, Ltd. (1994); pg. 177. | "A total of 70 of the world's 184 countries are considered part of the Dar al Islam, or house of Islam. It is a religion practiced in the jungles of Africa, the sands of the Sahara, the oil fields of the Middle East, the mountains of Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Islam is also making its impact felt in traditionally Christian parts of the world. In England today there are now more Muslims than Methodists. There are even more Muslims than there are evangelical Christians. " |
| Dargin | Russia: Dagestan | 365,000 | - | - | - | 1989 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 294-295. | Table with 2 columns: "Ethnic Group " [not religious groups] & "Population "; Pg. 295: "Aside from the Mountain Jews and the Christian Cossacks, the peoples of Dagestan are almost exclusively Muslim. " |
| Dark Lily | United Kingdom | - | - | - | - | 1995 | Harvey, G. "Satanism in Britain Today " in Journal of Contemporary Religion. Vol. 10, No. 3, October 1995; pg. 284. | "...there are Satanists in Britain. There are six groups who between them have less than 100 members... Temple of Set, numerically the largest group... I also discuss the Church of Satan, the Order of the Nine Angles and Dark Lily. " |
| Darqawiyya | Africa - North | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally published as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 723. | "During the twentieth century... there are isolated manifestations of the traditional [Sufi] forms of authority and teaching in some orders: Ahmad al-'Alawi of the North African Darqawiyya, for instance, has influenced many Europeans, including the British orientalist M. Lings... " |
| Darqawiyya | world | - | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* web site: "Naqshbandi.net "; web page: "A 30-Second Guide to Sufi Orders Found in North America " (viewed 10 Feb. 1999). [Orig. source: GNOSIS Magazine #30 (Winter 1994)] | "Shadhili-Darqawi (founder: Mulay-l-'Arabi Darqawi [1737-1823]). A branch of the Shadhiliyyah, the Darqawi Order was founded by a Moroccan mujadid who ignited great fervor in North Africa. Sheikh Fadhlalla Haeri is a representative of this order in the West. " |
| Daudi Bohras | India | - | - | - | - | 1992 | Ovendale, Ritchie. The Longman Companion to The Middle East since 1914. London & New York: Longman (1992); pg. 223. | "Tayyibi Ismailis (the Bohras): Arising out of the disputed Assassins succession in the 12th century, the believe in the concealment of the two year-old al-Tayyib, and that there has been no revealed Imam since 1130. They give authority to the chief missionary, the Dai a-Dua. After persecution in Yemen his seat was moved to Bombay. Following a disputed succession the group divided between the Daudi Bohras who live mainly in India, and the Sulaymani Bohras who live in Najran in Saudi Arabia. " |
| Daughters of the New Moon | USA | - | - | - | - | 1991 | Jade. To Know: A Guide to Women's Magic and Spirituality. Oak Park, IL: Delphi Press (1991); pg. 75. | "Daughters of the New Moon, P.O. Box 65, Con.Sta. 6, 1525 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203. Denver-area women meeting on the new moon, sharing knowledge and skills, bonding together, defining their femalenes through the religious impulse; not a coven, or Wiccan. " |
| Davis County Co-operative | world | 1,500 | - | - | - | 1998 | "Secrets in the Desert " in Newsweek (Aug. 10, 1998); pg. 37. | "Davis County Co-operative... The clan, which calls itself the Davis County Collective, has 1,500 members. " [also called 'Davis County Collective'?] |
| Davis County Co-operative | world | 1,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Summer 1998); pg. 21. | "The Kingston group's inner circle is made up of about 1000 persons... " [also called 'Davis County Collective'?] |
| Davis County Co-operative | world | 500 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Associated Press. "Utah polygamists estimated at 25,000 " in Deseret News, Saturday, 24 April 1999. (Viewed online 26 April 1999.) | "The following are brief descriptions of the state's prominent polygamist groups, based on information from [Lt. Mike] King & other sources:... Latter-day Church of Christ: The Kingston cooperative is formally led by Merlin Kingston, an elderly patriarch, but Ortell Paul Kingston is believed to function as the church's spiritual & economic leader. The cooperative owns more than 24 companies, but the holdings are difficult to trace. It is considered the most affluent & most secretive group. Authorities believe the group has between 300 & 500 members, although some members say it has 1,000 to 1,500. The cooperative is headquartered in South Salt Lake City, but has holdings in Nevada, Idaho & possibly Arizona & Mexico. " |
| Davis County Co-operative | world | 1,500 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Associated Press. "Utah polygamists estimated at 25,000 " in Deseret News, Saturday, 24 April 1999. (Viewed online 26 April 1999.) | "Latter-day Church of Christ:.. Authorities believe the group has between 300 & 500 members, although some members say it has 1,000 to 1,500. " |
| Dawn Horse Community | California | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 320. | "It was perhaps inevitable that Hindu missionary activity would produce an indigenous American Hinduism. Theosophy may have been the precursor of recent movements lead by... Bubba Free John (b. Franklin Jones, 1939), who founded the Dawn Horse Community in California and freely borrows from the teachings of the Hindu masters. " |
| Dayak | Indonesia: Borneo | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 711. | "Ma'anyan Dayak: Although the term 'soul' is often used to translate such concepts as k'la of the Sgaw Karen of Burma, the amirue of the Ma'anyan Dayak of Borneo... " |
| Defenders of the Faith | Puerto Rico | 6,000 | - | 68 units |
- | 1968 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 281. | "In 1968 there were... 68 churches and 6,000 members in Puerto Rico. " |
| Defenders of the Faith | USA | 2,000 | - | 14 units |
- | 1968 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 281. | "In 1968 there were 14 churches and approx. 2,000 members in the U.S., and 68 churches and 6,000 members in Puerto Rico. " |
| Defenders of the Faith | world | 8,000 | - | 82 units |
2 countries |
1968 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.) The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); Chapter: Pentecostal Family; section: Spanish-Speaking Pentecostals; pg. 280-281. | "Defenders of the Faith... was formed in 1925 by an interdenominational group of pastors and laymen headed by Dr. Gerald B. Winrod, an independent Baptist preacher... Its main program consists of publishing a magazine, The Defender, and numerous pamphlets and tracts... American congregations are located primarily in the New York City and Chicago metropolitan areas. Membership: Not reported. In 1968 there were 14 churches and approx. 2,000 members in the U.S., and 68 churches and 6,000 members in Puerto Rico. " |
| Deima | Cote d'Ivoire | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. "Religion " in The Future Now: Predicting the 21st Century. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1998); pg. 64. | "The Catholic Church has had to disown some waywrd offshoots, like... Deima in the Ivory Coast, which repudiates the Bible and is led by a female 'pope'. " |
| Deism | United Kingdom: England | - | - | - | - | 1750 | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "DEISM: a PHILOSOPHY which regards GOD as the intelligent creator of an independent and law-abiding world but denies that He providentially guides it or intervenes in any way with its course or destiny. REASON is the sole instrument through which God's EXISTENCE and NATURE can be deduced from the orderly workings of the UNIVERSE. Deism flourished in England in the eighteenth century and strongly influenced the rise of BIBLICAL CRITICISM and MODERNISM in the nineteenth century. " |
| Deism | USA | 6,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 15-17. | Table 1-2: Self-Described Adherence of U.S. Adult Population 1990. Phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by Graduate School of City U. of New York. [Entry in table simply says "Deity ", with no further explanation. Presumably, this refers to those who identified their religious preference as Deism, as there is no known religion in the U.S. called "Deity ". |
| Deism | world | - | - | - | - | 1700 | Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); pg. 386. | "Deists: Those who believe in God, or at least a divine principle, but follow few if any of the other tenets and practices of Christianity (compare with Theists, who believe in a personal God). Developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, Deism envisions a kind of clock-maker God who set the universe in motion but then let it run on its own, calling into question the Jewish and Christian notion of God's intervention in history. A number of prominent early Americans, including Ben Franklin, were Deists, along with French Englightenment figures Voltaire and Rousseau. " |
| Deism | world | - | - | - | - | 1730 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 213. | "Deism. The Enlightenment endeavor to purify Christianity; rid religion of all that was not rational, natural, and moral, and develop a natural religion. An international movement, Deism reflected local religious, philosophical, and social expressions of the Enlightenment. In England, it was critically concerned with the origins of religion, but positive in moral and religious affirmation; in France it was anti-Catholic, shading into skepticism, atheism, and materialism; in Germany it was championed alongside nationalist metaphysics and historical criticism; in America it embraced a revolutionary creed... Though indebted to various European cultural developments, Deism was particularly an early eighteenth century English affair. Important literary productions included John Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)... and Matthew Tindal's Christianity as Old as Creation (1730). " |
| Dejiao | China | 40,000 | - | 25 units |
- | 1950 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "After 1940, Dejiao spread throughout the Chaozhou area, growing into twenty-five organizations with over 10,000 families as members. New organizations can still arise based on divine messages to that effect. " |
| Dejiao | Hong Kong | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1947 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The Spread of Dejiao to Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Malay Region. In 1946 a Dejiao member named Zhang Deze visited Hong Kong... The next year a group of Dejiao members crossed to Hong Kong from Chaozhou and founded the first branch, the Zi Yuan Ge. " |
| Dejiao | Malaysia | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1952 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The first Dejiao organization in the Malay region, the Zi Xin Ge, was established in 1952. " |
| Dejiao | Malaysia | - | - | 31 units |
- | 1981 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "In 1954 new Dejiao groups sprung up one after the other in the Malay regions of Malacca, Johore, Penang, and Perak. Eight more groups were born in the 1960s, and by 1981 there were at least thirty Dejiao organizations in the Malay region. " |
| Dejiao | Thailand | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1950 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "Thailand was the second country to which Dejiao was transmitted... Lin Xiuwu... After World War II he visited Shantou on business, where he became a believer in Dejiao. After returning to Thailand he gathered together a number of friends and organized the Zi Chen Ge branch of Dejiao. " |
| Dejiao | Thailand | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1951 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The second branch, the Zi Xuan Ge, was established by a man named Chen Degong, but later these two branches merged to form the Xuan Chen Shantang in 1953 " |
| Dejiao | Thailand | - | - | 40 units |
- | 1988 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The Dejiao organizations of Shi Jue Shantang and Xuan Chen Shantang were, among ethnic Chinese in Thailand, second in importance only to the Bao De Shantang (no relation to Dejiao). In addition to the above-mentioned organizations, there are about forty Dejiao groups in Thailand, with most of the members being Chinese originally from Chaozhou. " |
| Dejiao | world | 3 | - | - | 1 country |
1939 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "Dejiao arose in the Chaozhou area of Guangdong (Canton) Province in southern China in 1939, the year of the outbreak of World War II.... three men named Yang Ruide, Ma Desan, and Wang Dezao... sought an oracle from the gods... Two Taoist deities, Liu Chungfang and Yang Yunsong, responded..., saying that the three men should establish Dejiao to save the world. " |
| Dejiao | world | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1947 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The Spread of Dejiao to Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Malay Region. In 1946 a Dejiao member named Zhang Deze visited Hong Kong... The next year a group of Dejiao members crossed to Hong Kong from Chaozhou and founded the first branch... Thailand was the second country to which Dejiao was transmitted " |
| Dejiao | world | - | - | - | 3 countries |
1950 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The Spread of Dejiao to Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Malay Region... [1947] Dejiao members crossed to Hong Kong from Chaozhou and founded the first branch [there]... Thailand was the second country to which Dejiao was transmitted... Lin Xiuwu... After World War II he visited Shantou on business, where he became a believer in Dejiao. After returning to Thailand he gathered together a number of friends and organized the Zi Chen Ge branch of Dejiao. " |
| Dejiao | world | - | - | - | 4 countries |
1952 | *LINK* Yoshihara, Kazuo. "Dejiao: A Chinese Religion in Southeast Asia " in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1988 15/2-3. (Viewed on JJRS web site, 30 Jan. 1999) | "The Spread of Dejiao to Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Malay Region... [1947] Dejiao members crossed to Hong Kong from Chaozhou and founded the first branch [there]... Thailand was the second country to which Dejiao was transmitted... Lin Xiuwu... After World War II he visited Shantou on business, where he became a believer in Dejiao. After returning to Thailand he gathered together a number of friends and organized the Zi Chen Ge branch of Dejiao... The first Dejiao organization in the Malay region, the Zi Xin Ge, was established in 1952. " |
| Delaware | New York | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1995 | Legay, Gilbert. Atlas of Indians of North America. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's (1995); pg. 18. | "Today, two areas in Oklahoma contain small Delaware communities... and there is one community in upsate New York, near the Six Nations reservations. " |
| Delaware | North America - Eastern Woodlands | 8,000 | - | - | - | 1600 | Terrell, John Upton. American Indian Almanac. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1974); pg. 200. | Table: "Eastern Woodlands: Earliest Population Estimates " (mainly relying on James Mooney, John R. Swanson, & A. L. Kroeber) |
| Delaware | Oklahoma | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1995 | Legay, Gilbert. Atlas of Indians of North America. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's (1995); pg. 18. | "Today, two areas in Oklahoma contain small Delaware communities (Bartlesville/Copan and Anadarko) and there is one community in upsate New York... " |
| Delaware | USA | 9,321 | - | - | - | 1990 | Utter, Jack. American Indians: Answers to Today's Questions. Lake Ann, MI: National Woodlands Publishing Co. (1993); pg. 38. | Table: "Largest American Indian Tribes (as identified in the 1990 Census, through self-reporting) " |
| Delaware | USA | 9,321 | - | - | - | 1990 | *LINK* web site: "American West "; web page: "Indian Tribes - Population Rankings " (viewed 13 Feb. 1999) | Table: "Native American Tribes: Population Rankings of the 30 largest tribes in the U.S. according to the 1990 census report (U.S. Department of Commerce) "; NOTE: These are tribal affiliation figures, not religious preference figures. |
| Delaware | USA | - | - | 3 units |
- | 1995 | Legay, Gilbert. Atlas of Indians of North America. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's (1995); pg. 18. | "Today, two areas in Oklahoma contain small Delaware communities (Bartlesville/Copan and Anadarko) and there is one community in upsate New York, near the Six Nations reservations. " |
| Delaware | world | 8,000 | - | - | - | 1600 | Terrell, John Upton. American Indian Almanac. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1974); pg. 200. | Table: "Eastern Woodlands: Earliest Population Estimates " (mainly relying on James Mooney, John R. Swanson, & A. L. Kroeber) |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | Florida | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | New Jersey | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | New York | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | Pennsylvania | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | USA | - | - | 7 units |
1 country |
1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.) The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); Chapter: Pentecostal Family; section: Black Trinitarian Pentecostals; pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Centers | Washington, D.C. | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 274. | "Newark, NJ [H.Q.]... The initial Deliverance Evangelistic Centers was forme din Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s by Arturo Skinner (d. 1975)... Membership: There are centers in Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Asbury Park and Newark, New Jersey. " |
| Deliverance Evangelistic Church | world | 83,000 | - | 32 units |
- | 1993 | Krantz, Les & Jim McCormick. The Peoplepedia: The Ultimate Reference on the American People, Henry Holt and Company: New York (1996); pg. 183. | "Founded in 1960 in a house in Philadelphia, the Deliverance Evangelistic Church hd 83,000 members in 1993 in 32 congregations in scattered major cities along the East Coast. " |
| Demin | French Polynesia | 28,500 | 15.00% | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organisation web site; web page: "Maohi " (Viewed 16 Aug. 1999). | "The Maohi, the indigenous people of French Polynesia, form 70% of the region's 190,000 inhabitants. The second largest population group is the Demin, comprising 15% of the population. " |
| Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | world | 3,000 | - | - | - | 1986 | Tarr, David R. & Bryan R. Daves (editors). The Middle East (6th Ed.); Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. (1986); pg. 14-15. | [A faction of the PLO, thus a political org. more than a faith group.] "DFLP... formed in 1968 and led by Nayef Hawatmeh... offshoot of PFLP... Estimated strength: 3,000. " |
| denominations | Japan | - | - | - | - | 1998 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998); pg. 284. | "There are today an estimated 56 main divisions, and 170 subdivisions, in Japanese Buddhism. " |
| denominations | Pennsylvania: Lancaster County | - | - | 700 units |
- | 1989 | Kraybill, Donald B. The Riddle of the Amish Culture. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press (1989); pg. 13. | "The complexity of religious expression in the Lancaster environs is matched by few other areas of the United States. The county, home of some seventy-six religious groups [distinct denominations/religious bodies] ranging from Buddhists to Unitarians, has over 700 churches. At least thirty-seven of the seventy-six denominations are dubbed 'plain'... " |
| denominations | Ukraine | - | - | - | - | 1997 | Clay, Rebecca. Ukraine: A New Independence (series: Exploring Cultures of the World). New York: Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish (1997); pg. 29. | "Most Ukrainians belong to one of several Christian religious groups. There are also smaller numbers of people who follow Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. In all, more than sixty variations of different religious faiths are practiced in Ukraine. " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 202. | "In the U.S. alone 255 Protestant sects are recognized. But most American Protestants are in a half-dozen denominational families; 173 of the Protestant churches reporting membership figures contain less than 2 percent of the 59 million Protestant total. " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1982 | Melton, J. Gordon & Robert L. Moore. The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. New York: The Pilgrim Press (1984 [3rd printing; 1st printing 1982]); pg. 7. | "More than 800 Christian denominations currently dot the scene, and by no means are they unlisted 600 merely small, insignificant schisms. They include, for example, the million-and-a-half-member Baptist Bible Fellowship and other large separatist fundamentalist organizations. This is only the beginning. More than 600 unconventional alternative religious bodies also compete for members... " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1982 | Popenoe, David. Sociology (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1983); pg. 444. | "At the present time, there are 209 organized religious denominations in the U.S. [Information Please Almanac, 1982]. " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1988 | Wuthnow, Robert. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (1988); pg. 108. | "To give some perspective on this number, the 800 nationally incorporated special purpose groups in American religion compare with some 1,200 denominations, if the very broadest definition of denomination is used; or with some 200 denominations, if a more standard figure is used; or with fewer than 100 denominations, if only those having substantial memberships are counted. " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Kephart, William M. & William W. Zellner. Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Life-Styles (5th Ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press (1994); pg. 234. | "Of the nearly 1,200 different religions in the United States, none has had a more turbulent history than that of the Mormons. It would not be much exaggeration, in this respect, to say that the Mormons are in a class by themselves. Born in controversy and vilified throughout most of the nineteenth century, they have nevertheless succeeded in establishing a socioreligious organization of unbelievable vitality. " |
| denominations | USA | - | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Gibson, David (RNS). "Is the New Christianity No Longer About 'We' and All About 'Me'? " in Salt Lake Tribune (15 Jan 2000). | "In her 1995 book, Re-Discovering the Sacred, author Phyllis Tickle counted up some 2,500 distinct forms of Christianity in America. " |
| denominations | world | - | - | - | - | 1982 | Melton, J. Gordon & Robert L. Moore. The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. New York: The Pilgrim Press (1984 - 3rd printing; 1st printing - 1982); pg. 7. | "...increased fragmentation of the Christian church in the U.S. One can get a hint of this fragmentation by consulting... Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, which gives statistics for more than 200 American church bodies. For every church listed there, 3 others exist. More than 800 Christian denominations currently dot the scene, and by no means are they unlisted 600 merely small, insignificant schisms. They include, for example, the million-and-a-half-member Baptist Bible Fellowship and other large separatist fundamentalist organizations. " |
| denominations | world | - | - | - | - | 1996 | Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); pg. 268. | "And so the identity of the Christ in whom Christians have faith is crucial, and the hundreds of Christian sects worldwide--more than any of the other major religions, including over 200 denominations in the U.S. alone--are some indication of the vast diaspora of understandings of Jesus and his teachings. To begin to comprehend the many faces of Christianity... " |
| Derong | China | 4,500 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 182. | "Derong: Location: China (Derong River Valley); Population: About 4,500; Language: Derong; Religion: Polytheism "; "The Derong believe in a spiritual world. They ascribe spirits to animals, plants, and many other objects... The Derong offer sacrifice to the Mountain God at regular intervals each year... The Harvest God is also revered... " |
| Dervish | Middle East | - | - | - | - | 1992 | Ovendale, Ritchie. The Longman Companion to The Middle East since 1914. London & New York: Longman (1992); pg. 216. | "Dervish Orders: A form of Muslim mysticism, Sufism, the aim of which is to approach God through gnosticism... and attain spiritual absorption in the divinity. The general practice is to reach ecstacy through the repetition of a religious formula or God's name. Some branches like the Whirling Dervishers (Mevlevis) in Konya, Turkey, achieve this through dancing. At times influential in Egypt, Sudan and Turkey, the Dervish Orders have never enjoyed much influence in the Arab countries of the Fertile Crescent. " |
