Church of Divine Science
Church of Divine Science | |
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San Francisco, California | |
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The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Spiritual Science'. Two months later Cramer changed the name of her school to the 'Home College of Divine Science'."[1] during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States.
After the
Beliefs
Divine Science defines itself as "an organized teaching pertaining to God and the manifestation of God in Creation." It holds that its foundation truth is "that limitless Being, God, is Good, is equally present everywhere, and is the All of everything." It defines God as "pure Spirit, absolute, changeless, eternal, manifesting in and as all Creation, yet also transcending Creation" and that evil is therefore neither necessary nor permanent and has no reality within itself, but has existence only so long as human beings support it by believing in it.
History
Beginning
The church's official founders were Malinda Cramer and
Churches and outreach
After its foundation in 1888, by 1918 there were Divine Science churches in Denver,
According to published data, there were 7,000 members in 1935 and 7,107 in 1953, but subsequent figures are not available.[10] In recent years, Divine Science, with few site-based churches, has expanded its presence through cyber-ministries and e-mail ministries. Northwoods Resources in Wisconsin provides many materials online. In addition, "Symphony of Love" in Santa Fe issues a weekly e-mail lesson free of charge, and has an international outreach. Symphony of Love is a group member of the Divine Science Federation, the denominational headquarters, and the INTA: International New Thought Alliance. In addition, there is a Web-based ministry in New York State focusing on the teachings and legacy of Emmet Fox, a Divine Science minister who preached at the First Church of Divine Science in New York City. His became the largest church audience in the U.S. during the Depression,[8] and held weekly services for 5,500 at the New York Hippodrome until 1938,[11] and after that at Carnegie Hall.[12]
Influences
New Thought |
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Divinity |
Beliefs |
Activities |
Glossary |
Many New Thought leaders have been associated with Divine Science, including Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore founders of Unity Church, and Ernest Holmes and Fenwicke Holmes, both of whom were ordained Divine Science ministers who would go on to found Religious Science in 1927.[13]
See also
Notes
- ^ Sattler, p. 98
- ^ Divine Science Church of Denver. Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ College of Divine Science website Archived 2008-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 2008.
- ^ Albanese (2007, p. 316); Haley (1995, p. 326)
- ^ Wessinger et al. (2006, p. 758).
- ^ Hazen (2000, p. 113)
- ^ History of Divine Science Archived 2008-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Divine Science Federation
- ^ a b Sattler, p. 102.
- ^ Divine Science Links Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Links to affiliated Divine Science churches, schools, and study groups throughout the world
- ^ [1] National Council of Churches Historic Archive.
- ^ "New Thought". Time magazine. November 7, 1938.
- ^ Gale Publishing Group (1999)
- ^ Glenn R. Mosley (2006) Templeton Foundation Press, New Thought, Ancient Wisdom p. 47
References
- Albanese, Catherine L. (2007). OCLC 68221008.
- Gale Publishing Group, "Emmet Fox" in Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008., accessed June 2008.
- Haley, Gail (1995). "New Thought and the Harmonial Family". In OCLC 30476551.
- Hazen, Craig James (2000). The Village Enlightenment in America: Popular Religion and Science in the Nineteenth Century. Urbana: OCLC 41156302.
- Sattler, Beryl (1999). Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875–1920. Berkeley: OCLC 39654723.
- Wessinger, Catherine; Dell deChant; William Michael Ashcraft (2006). "Theosophy, New Thought and New Age Movements". In Rosemary Skinner Keller; Rosemary Radford Ruether (eds.). Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, vol. 2. Marie Cantlon (associate ed.). Bloomington: OCLC 61711172.
Further reading
- Bainbridge, William Sims (November 2004). "Religion and science". OCLC 198488307.
- OCLC 35229227.
- Holmes, Ernest (1991). Living the Science of Mind. Marina del Rey, CA: DeVorss & Co. OCLC 23177601.
- Lucas, Phillip (1995). "The Association for Research and Enlightenment: Saved by the New Age". In Timothy Miller (ed.). America's Alternative Religions. SUNY series in religious studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 353–362. OCLC 30476551.
- Stark, Rodney; William Sims Bainbridge (December 1980). "Secularization and Cult Formation in the Jazz Age". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 20 (4): 360–373. OCLC 1783125.