In academic discussions of

organized religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...

, the term form is sometimes used to describe prescriptions or norms on religious practice.

Christian forms

Forms in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

are mostly familiarly dictates of

church authority The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Chur ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

(e.g. church

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

, liturgy,

doctrine Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doctrina, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given ...

). However, the term is used by some authors to refer to a broader category that includes other patterns of religious practice. Most notably, Christian scholar

D. G. Hart Darryl G. Hart is a religious and social historian. Hart is Distinguished Associate Professor of History at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. He previously served as dean of academic affairs at Westminster Seminary California from 2000 ...

uses this term to compare and contrast the practices of

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s and what he calls "

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but si ...

Protestants" (for example

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Euro ...

and most

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

s). He argues that the confessionals follow forms that are dictated by church authority or tradition, and calls these forms ''churchly forms''. On the other hand, noting the resistance to such central authority and tradition among evangelicals, he labels the forms of these denominations ''parachurchly forms'', as they are often dictated by

parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indi ...

s and other influences beyond the direct control of any particular church. There is little debate over whether confessional Protestants use forms. However, whether similar devices are used by evangelicals is hotly contested. Much of the opposition comes from within evangelicalism itself, due to the antiritualistic tendencies of many denominations. Other scholars of religion have however noted the tendency toward certain accepted patterns in religious practice.

Robert Oden Robert Allen Oden Jr. (; born September 11, 1946) was the president of Kenyon College from 1995 to 2002, and president of Carleton College from 2002 to 2010. He was also a significant professor in the early years of The Teaching Company, contribu ...

notes that this is true of nearly all religions, not just Christianity, and that it is true even of those movements that claim to be antiritualistic. If then we accept the broader usage of the word "form", there are a number of other forms besides the ones noted above. These include the products of what has, perhaps cynically, been called "Christian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

ship", such as

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...

(and non-denominational

praise song Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

s), Christian

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

s, and non-denominational

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...

and

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

resources.

References

* Hart, D. G. ''The Lost Soul of American Protestantism''. Rowman & Littlefield. 2002. Practical theology