Church of Divine Science
| Church of Divine Science | |
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| Book plate from the First Church of Divine Science | |
| Classification | Divine Science |
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| Orientation | New Thought |
| Associations | Affiliated New Thought Network, International New Thought Alliance |
| Origin | 1888 San Francisco, California |
| Official website | Official Website |
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Movement
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The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was founded originally 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.
The church's founders were Malinda Cramer and Nona L. Brooks,[2] with Fannie Brooks James, Alethea Brooks Small and Kate Bingham also playing decisive roles.[3] Both Phineas Parkhurst Quimby[4] and Emma Curtis Hopkins, noted New Thought leader of the day, were a direct influence. Nona Brooks was introduced to Hopkins' teachings through a student of Hopkins in Pueblo, Colorado.[5] After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the death of Malinda Cramer the headquarters moved to Denver.
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[edit] 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.[6] Like other New Thought churches, Divine Science considers healing very important, and emulates the work of Jesus Christ, who in the New Testament cures many people. The Denver Church's founder, Nona Brooks, stated, "The whole of Divine Science is the practice of the Presence of God. Truth comes through the Bible, Affirmative prayer, contemplation and meditation and the practice of the presence of God here and now."[7]
[edit] Churches and outreach
After its foundation in 1888, by 1918 there were Divine Science churches in Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Boston, Portland, Spokane, Saint Louis and New York. By 1925 churches had opened in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Topeka, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Illinois, and Iowa.[8] Today, Divine Science has churches in Denver (the founding church), Washington D.C., Greater St. Louis (three churches), Roanoke, Virginia (two churches), San Antonio, Texas, Pueblo, Colorado, South San Jose Hills, California, and other locations.[9]
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]
[edit] Influences
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.[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sattler, p98
- ^ Albanese (2007, p.316); Haley (1995, p.326)
- ^ Wessinger et al. (2006, p.758).
- ^ Hazen (2000, p.113)
- ^ History of Divine Science, Divine Science Federation
- ^ Divine Science Church of Denver.
- ^ College of Divine Science website, accessed August 2008.
- ^ a b Sattler, p. 102.
- ^ Divine Science Links 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 Widom p.47
[edit] References
- Albanese, Catherine L. (2007). A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300110890. 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 Timothy Miller (ed.). America's Alternative Religions. SUNY series in religious studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 325–330. ISBN 0791423972. OCLC 30476551.
- Hazen, Craig James (2000). The Village Enlightenment in America: Popular Religion and Science in the Nineteenth Century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252025121. OCLC 41156302.
- Sattler, Beryl (1999). Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875–1920. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520217659. OCLC 39654723.
- Wessinger, Catherine; Dell deChant and William Michael Ashcraft (2006). "Theosophy, New Thought and New Age Movements". In Rosemary Skinner Keller and Rosemary Radford Ruether (eds.), Marie Cantlon (associate ed.). Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, vol. 2. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 753–767. ISBN 9780253346872. OCLC 61711172.
[edit] Further reading
- Bainbridge, William Sims (November 2004). "Religion and science". Futures (Amsterdam and London: Elsevier Science) 36 (9): 1009–1023. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2004.02.003. ISSN 0016-3287. OCLC 198488307.
- Hanegraaff, Wouter (1996). New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Studies in the history of religions, vol. 72. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers. ISBN 9004106960. OCLC 35229227.
- Holmes, Ernest (1991). Living the Science of Mind. Marina del Rey, CA: DeVorss & Co. ISBN 087516627X. 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. ISBN 0791423972. OCLC 30476551.
- Stark, Rodney; and William Sims Bainbridge (December 1980). "Secularization and Cult Formation in the Jazz Age". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (Washington, DC: Society for the Scientific Study of Religion) 20 (4): 360–373. doi:10.2307/1386184. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 1386184. OCLC 1783125.
[edit] External links
[edit] Divine Science organizations
- Divine Science Federation International
- Divine Science Writings Index
- Divine Science Ministers' Association
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