Running Head: A DIFFERENT BRANCH

A Branch of Religion:
Christian Presbyterian Differs From Standards
Bryce M. Goble
University of Kentucky

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Abstract

Christian Presbyterian is a branch of Christianity that has some differences from the main
branch of Christianity. They hold Sunday services, have youth groups, adult youth
groups, and Sunday schools for children. They also have mission trips or community
service you can do with the church. Presbyterians have the difference of having a
contemporary service and then later having a traditional service on Sundays. The mission
trips to help spread the words they want can be either local, international or somewhere in
the United States. Presbyterians do not follow main rules as the other religions do and
have a more relaxed feeling. They do have baptism and conformation; Presbyterians
wont force you to do these, but they highly encourage that you do. Other Christianity
branches have stereotypes or views on the Presbyterian branch since they do not follow
the main rules as the others do in their churches and religion.

Key Words: Christian, Presbyterian, religion, Christianity, church

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A Branch of Religion:

Christian Presbyterian Differs From Standards

People have their opinions on religions and most of everyone is a part of a religion.
Some people have negative views on religions and some people consider them very important in
their lives. People tend to not like things when they are different and with the Presbyterian
branch of Christianity they tend to branch away from the normal conservative ways of usual
Christianity services and rules. Whether it is with their services they have at church every
Sunday morning or with the way they dress at their church services. There are many different
ways that you will see in the Presbyterian branch that makes you think how it differs from
normal services at other Christian churches or any other religions ways of doing things. With
their rules and customs the Presbyterian branch of Christianity has a way of doing their church
services in a more of a laid-back tone and not as formal as other branches of religion.
In one-way you will see how Presbyterians are more laid back is in their Sunday services;
they can be either traditional like other churches or they can be more contemporary. Laura
explains how her Presbyterian church in Mason, Ohio does their Sunday services:
We have two services, we have one at 9:30 and thats the traditional one where you wear
like dressy clothes, business causal. Thats more serious. Then we have one at 11, which
is called the Contemporary service where we have a band so it is more upbeat music and
in my opinion it goes by faster because Im a teenager. I like that.
(L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014)
Making their services appealing to all ages brings teenagers wanting to come to them and it also
can appeal to the adults wanting to come to the traditional ones as well. At the contemporary
services they will have a band to play music or maybe even refreshments to make people feel

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more comfortable to talk to others and welcomed to come again if they are guests at the
Presbyterian church. Bailey shares how her church likes to get to know everyone that walks
through their doors of in Champagne, Illinois:
Whenever we get there, there is donuts and coffee that you can get so you can socialize
with people. And then whenever we get into the service we sing about three to five songs
and then our service comes on like our speaker of the day and he gives the service and the
message and then we sing a little more (B. Reifsteck, personal communication,
September 25, 2014)
The church services are where you can get your sins out or get your relief with god and having
him help you through with all that you need. You can get to know everyone through the church
services and get to know God better that way or you can go on a mission trips and community
service to get an even closer, deeper connection.
Going on a mission trip in the Presbyterian branch of Christianity to another country,
continent, or even another state can bring you closer to people in your church and bring you
closer to God from helping others become closer with him as well. Laura talks about some of her
experiences she has had with mission trips and what they do at her church:
We spread the word of God, but not by saying this is Jesus Christ and this is who he is.
Where we go in the community they have already heard of him, but we are expressing it
in love. By what I did in New York City is play with kids and saying this is all for Jesus
Christ love and he loves you. Its reaching out in the community in a different level.
(L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014)
The mission trips may be one of the things that the Presbyterian branch has in common with the
other branches of Christianity. All the branches of Christianity are trying to show people out in

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the world and trying to teach them the ways of God and spread the word of him. Even though
other branches of Christianity look down upon the Presbyterian branch they can all come
together on spreading the word of God and making a positive image.
The main branches of Christianity have some views about the Presbyterian branch with
how the Presbyterians do things and how they are not the same as the main branches of
Christianity. Others see the Presbyterian branch as not being serious and they cant take them
seriously because they are more laid back and contemporary than the traditional ways of the
main branch. Considering I go to a Presbyterian church its kind of different because
Presbyterian are kind of looked down upon because we do things differently from regular
Christian churches because we are more laid back. (L.E. Burns, personal communication,
September 24, 2014) It is not as if the other Christian branches are giving negative views to the
Presbyterians and being rude to them; its that they do not see them as the same as them as
important and dont understand the non traditional ways the Presbyterians have. There is
nothing negative about it typical Christians dont like it. We have our own set of rules I guess.
We go off on our own. (L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014)
Presbyterians do things a little bit more
differently than the main branches of
Christianity, but how do they do things
differently than other religions that arent
Christianity?
Every religion is different than each
others in some type of way and with
Presbyterians they do things differently than

Figure 1. A baptism of a baby in a Presbyterian church

in Denver, CO. Baptism in Wellshires Chapel.
[Photograph] (Year created was not given) Retrieved
October 12, 2014, from:
http://wpcdenver.org/ceremonies/baptisms/

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other religions and things differently from their own main branch of Christianity also. The
Presbyterians have some differences with Catholics whether it is just how Christians call it
Sunday service and Catholics call it Sunday mass. They also have holidays celebrated differently
as well. No we can participate in lent, but its not a serious kind of thing. We arent forced to
doing it. People do it just cause. (L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014)
They both have baptisms (See Figure 1) and confirmations; in both religions these are very
important. They are very important to both the Presbyterians and Catholics because it shows that
you are trying to commit yourself to God and trying to follow him through your life as you grow
older. The church wants you to commit so that they
know you want to be a part of them and you working
towards it all. Presbyterians are a little more laid
back on what you can wear to church and how they
do not have communion given out at church at every
Sunday service like Catholics do. Then once a month
we have a thing called communion where we
have bread pasted out and drink grape juice.
Thats the first Sunday of every month. (L.E.

Figure 2. A confirmation class at a Presbyterian church in

Denver, CO. [Photograph] Confirmation class. (Year
created was not given) Retrieved October 12, 2014, from:
http://wpcdenver.org/ministries/youth-groups-andprograms/

Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014) Also the Presbyterians do not do first
communion, but Catholics do when you are in about 3rd or 4th grade.
All religions try to reach out to all age groups and try to get them to go to church more
often. The Presbyterians make sure to have ways to get all age groups involved in the religion in
some way whether that is through a Sunday school, youth group, confirmation classes (See
Figure 2), or groups for kids going off to college and even adult youth groups. These are

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important to the Presbyterian Church because they keep you involved with the church besides
going to the Sunday service. Having other groups in the church can make it reach out to all types
of ages and all types of people; they want everyone to come and be a part of something in the
church that will help you become closer to God. They want everyone to try to stay connected to
God in some way so they try their best to reach out to all the ages that they can. Laura explains
how she was involved in her Presbyterian church and how she feels about being a part of your
church:
It just varies on how much you participate and are willing to in the church. Like I was
very involved and I got out of it what I put in. So the more you put in it the more you will
get out of it. (L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014)
Getting involved in a church is always going to depend on how much you try to put effort into
getting into the things that are going on. An article says that when you are going to youth groups
you get a deeper connection with your church, god, and the others around you. (Trigger, 2010).
In a service at church you can feel connected, but with the youth groups you have small groups
that give you the deep connection between each other. The Presbyterian churches dont want to
see the younger generations not having the religion in their lives because it is becoming
increasingly irrelevant to them. (Trigger, 2010) That is why the Presbyterians are trying to
appeal to the younger generations with the many activities and groups they have for them. They
are trying to keep them to stay and get involved even as they get older into their adulthood.
Marriage is a common thing that you see commenced in churches and with Presbyterians
they are more open to different kinds of couples getting married than most other religions are. An
article says Presbyterians may be a little more liberal because some Presbyterian churches are
now having same sex marriages (J.B, 2014). Even though other religions and countries around

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the world are not finding that right, but the Presbyterian churches are not the typical rule
followers. They will let you marry within their church without very strict other guidelines; some
other religions will make you take classes at their church before marrying in their church. Laura
explains how her church is on marrying there: There are no strict guidelines when it comes to
marrying, but to marry within our church the other person has to have a church background or
belong to a church. (L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014). They are
different than other religions and churches in marriage and in divorce also. With some religions
they do not want you to marry someone who has been married once before you, but with
Presbyterians they are not that strict with those rules. Laura says how he church is more
understanding with divorce among their church members: Divorce happens so we dont take it
as a big deal. We are not going to shun you. It is not a big deal if it happens. (L.E. Burns,
personal communication, September 24, 2014). The Christian Presbyterians show in how the feel
about marriage that they are not the rule followers like the other branches of Christianity and the
other religions that are out there. They try to do their own thing and still try to help others in that
way.
Music is a big part of the Presbyterian Church and the music they play at the Sunday
services can make put an impact on whether it makes the service contemporary or if it is more
traditional. The contemporary service music attracts the youth more because of how much
livelier the music is to them. Laura explains her views on it at her church: Then we have one at
11, which is called the Contemporary service where we have a band so it is more upbeat music
and in my opinion it goes by faster because I am a teenager (L.E. Burns, personal
communication, September 24, 2014). Music can help spread the message that the church is
trying to convey and it can help bring each person in the service together as one when they all

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sing about the same thing. They can bring peace as Laura says when they sing their hymn: A
hymn. It is just a song where we worship. He will release us by saying go out into this world and
spread peace. (L.E. Burns, personal communication, September 24, 2014). The music can be
diverse that they play during services and it can be played in different ways also. There could be
a choir, or everyone in the church service can sing, or it could be just a band. The youth groups
that the Presbyterian churches hold are another to bring the Christian music to youth and have
them play the music, sing, and listen to the music with everyone around them also. They can play
music that will help relate to the younger generation and want to get them involved with the
ways of the church. They are adding something to their branch of Christianity and trying to make
it so each person can relate to what is going on in the church.
The Presbyterian branch of Christianity being different from other religions does not
mean that they are bad or any less important than the other religions that are out there. It means
that that they just have a set of rules and customs that fit them. Most cultures have their own
rules and different ways of doing things than other cultures. That is what makes them different;
that is what makes each culture distinct from the others out there. With any religion you are
going to find differences between them, but it is about coming together to not make those
differences the main viewpoints. As you could see that the Presbyterian has some similarities
with other religions that have can have a positive impact on others. With the Presbyterians being
more laid back and non formal they can not be taken seriously by the other Christian branches
and even some other religions besides Christianity. Even with negativity that can be around
them sometimes that does not affect how they are with how they still try to be who they are as
the different branch of Christianity. They do not try to conform back to the other Christian
branches; they are a different culture. They still try to spread the word of God and try to make

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things comfortable and fit for others that are a part of their church and that arent. Laura explains
that all her Presbyterian church wants is: We do not care what background they come from as
long as they are finding God in a way it doesnt really matter to us. (L.E. Burns, personal
communication, September 24, 2014).

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References

J. L., R. K., & A. D. (2001) Relationships Among Giving, Church Attendance, and
Religious Belief: The Case of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion. 40(4), 765-775.
Divisive divestment [Editorial]. (2014) ]. Christian Century, 131(15), 3-3.
S.T. (2010). Celebrating the Youth Trienniumand a call to look ahead. Network News,
30(3), 24-24
B.H., (2014). Celebrating baby and infant baptisms in Denver, Colorado. Retrieved from
http://wpcdenver.org/ceremonies/baptisms/
B.H., (2014). Confirmation for teenagers going into high school. Retrieved from
http://wpcdenver.org/ministries/youth-groups-and-programs/