ABSTRACT
An outsider looking at Christianity for the first time might well be bewildered by its many varieties. e Roman Catholic priest, in fine vestments, presides over the Mass, follows a very formal set liturgy, in which he (never she) pronounces that a communion wafer and a cup of wine have truly become the body and blood of Christ. At a Quaker meeting, the assembled people sit for an hour in complete silence, occasionally interrupted by an attendee who feels moved by the Spirit to give a brief message to the gathering. e Salvation Army come to worship at a ‘corps’ or a ‘citadel’ in quasi-military uniform, and have brass bands, which play regularly to the public. At a Pentecostalist meeting, there are no professional clergy, and worship leaders do not wear special religious attire; most of the worship is spontaneous, with Bible readings, testimonies, a sermon, and prayer that builds up in intensity, often culminating in members ‘speaking in tongues’. Meanwhile, in the Church of Scotland, the minister (who is definitely not to be called a priest) dons black robes, ascends a pulpit, from which he or she conducts a service that includes prayers, Bible readings and a sermon, interspersed with hymns. What, if anything, do these different forms of religion have in common? Indeed, should we really consider them to be one single religion at all, rather than several?
