how do you choose a denomination

[thymetoseasontheclock]

Hi, is there a simple website or pdf resource out there that breaks down all of the branches and denominations of Christianity? there are so many branches like Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Presbyterianism, Orthodox, Anglicanism, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, etc its like Ahhhh 🙀 or do you just start attending any local church you like and see where it leads you?

@Sorciere1
This seems backwards to me. What if you go to the nice friendly church and they believe in the real presence and you do not. Or they believe sola fide and you discover you do not.
It seems to me it's better to look into such things and go to a like-minded church. Then you can find a friendly one in that denomination

Or maybe we could focus on Church unity? And respectfully let Christ do the leading and let people's individual understanding of this grow at their own pace without attempting to shout them down in arguments which achieve very little.

"12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one -whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. " (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NIV)

But then you could ask yourself, "why did the Catholic church break down"? There must be reasons.

Might be worth branching out and looking at various religions. Whilst you are in the research part of your religious education

I don't actually agree that Catholicism is the original church. Catholicism morphed over the centuries into something quite different from the new testament church, hence Martin Luther and his stance.

Acts and the letters in the new testament give a better idea. Look at some of the principles in there and see if you can find somewhere that is trying to be like that. That's the original church.

@Fink interesting video

We’ve had this discussion at home quite a bit and I also with friends who converted to Catholicism due to it being the „true church“. My husband is from a Lutheran background, mine Catholic. The kids are catholic.
I‘m now a Muslim.
I do think you need to go by both feeling and intellect (as pointed out by PPs). Faith is not just about belief it is about intellectually parsing information and rigorously meeting that with your own moral foundations. If there is a lack of alignment then this cannot hold true. Otherwise, as adeptly pointed out, it becomes the intellectual equivalent of believing in fairies.
Do your internal work and research on the tenets of faiths and the road will become clearer to you. I think.

@MaggieBsBoat you must have interesting discussions in your house!!

I agree with this.

Also, OP, I encourage you to get to know the Lord first, then allow Him to lead you into a local assembly of Christians. If you are in relationship with Him, by faith through grace, then you are already part of His Body, the Church.

I was a Christian for about a year, being taught daily by Him in my living room before the issue of baptism arose for me, which was the way He brought me into a local gathering of Christians aka “church”.

For the oldest church/denomination you're forgetting the Orthodox churches of the East, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem....just as old as Rome. Remember the Roman Catholic Church inherited the Roman Empire's structure which had the
emperor on top.
It also inherited a lot from Roman paganism. Namely 'pontiff' comes from the college of pontiffs who were pagans and Vatican means to tell fortunes as the Vatican is built on the site of the phrygianium where the Galli,fortune-telling eunuch priests to Cybele lived.
https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/144727
This isn't to knock Catholicism, but rather to illustrate that a lot of history is remade, rebranded and forgotten.

Can you ask around people you know who go to church and see what kind of service theirs holds? Maybe pick a few in your area, look at their websites/Facebook pages and try a service to see if you like it. It's what I'm thinking of doing and I'll probably start with the United Reformed Church.
(I am a bit unsettled at the moment, I have been C of E since I was a baby but I have felt out of sorts with the modern day church. The main reason being Welby, so I hope things might change now he's been found out and got the sack.)

Just FYI - A Church Near You is a good website, but only lists Church of England churches, not other denominations.

All the christian denominations vary in slight ways - Baptists don't believe in infant baptism, for example, whereas CofE will baptise babies / children. All of these differences have their roots way back (usually) and often over differing views of scripture / theology - the whole 'actual body and blood / real presence / symbol of remembrance' views of communion being another example.

Many people are in a denomination because that's what they were brought up with and are used to, and to them, what that denomination does is 'normal'. I was brought up baptist (charismatic) and now attend a CofE (robes and liturgy). I never imagined I'd end up in a CofE church, but here we are, and it's right for me at the moment. I can imagine trying to pick a denomination as an adult would be all sorts of tricky! I'd suggest going to some different churches and seeing what you think, and thinking about what your worldview is and how that might fit. Woud you mind a woman priest or not? What about their views on gay marriage? Or divorce / sex before marriage?

It's also worth thinking about how you experience things. Catholic and anglo-catholic CofE churches often have incense, bells, choral music and icons around the church, so that you can use all your senses in experiencing the service and God, as well as your mind (listening to the sermon / liturgy).
Other denominations like the Presbyterians will have much starker buildings with no 'decoration' and place much more emphasis on encountering God through scripture. It all depends on what you like or are open to.

@Wendolino It's what I'm thinking of doing and I'll probably start with the United Reformed Church.
(I am a bit unsettled at the moment, I have been C of E since I was a baby but I have felt out of sorts with the modern day church. The main reason being Welby, so I hope things might change now he's been found out and got the sack.)

Unfortunately the Archibishop of York, Stephen Cottrell is being asked to resign for similar issues:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7qpdl4jdyo
The wonderful Bishop of Newcastle Helan-Ann Hartely has been outspoken about safeguarding but she is alone, only supported by priests.
Safeguarding young innocent children from abuse should be a priority...

@Sorciere1 yes it's been fairly widely publicised. It's disgraceful.

If you want to serve the God of Heaven choose a church which Stands on biblical doctrine (which teaches what is taught in the bible), as many of the churches are Antichrist in their teachings and are misleading the multitude

So you're deciding which churches are Christian?

Most people I know are in their denomination because of family history. Are your family part of any? Were you baptised into a church or did you attend a church school? For some people an old connection, no matter how old or weak, means that their return to the church feels like coming home.