Religion is a part of man and his culture. We cannot understand the totality of man if we do not understand his religion. The church structure is the visible expression of man's religion. The purpose of this study is to describe the distribution of churches in Warren County, Kentucky, and to examine the factors that contribute to this areal pattern. In an attempt to further clarify this human-religious expression the following points will be considered: (1) the reasons for denominational change through time; (2) the association of church location and population with corresponding rural -urban shifts; and (3) the style of church architecture as a response to local community need. A familiar pattern of settlement in the United States is the rural to urban migration of population that has been in effect since the beginning of the twentieth century. This migration has brought a change in the rural landscape. The further one goes from an urban center the less dense the population. Homes have been deserted and left to fall down; villages contain vacant stores and buildings. One would expect a corresponding pattern within the rural churches. However, there has not been a reduction of rural churches, while at the same time there has been a dynamic growth in the urban center. The reasons for this phenomena will be examined and discussed.

During the period 1884-1925 Ethiopian-type schisms from mission churches occurred for a number of reasons. Generalisations of these reasons have been made by numerous authors. By generalising the causes of schism the particular reasons why each independent church 1 eader 1 eft the mission church are ignored. The thesis shows how each schism was due to unique circumstances in the mission church as well as to factors, for example, the personal feelings of the independent church leader. In each case there was a point of no return when the founder of the independent church no longer felt he could accept the status quo. There were two government commissions that investigated the independent or "separatist" churches during these years - the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-1905 and the 1925 South African Native Affairs Commission which investigated the "Separatist Churches". The testimony of the white government officials and missionaries and the black church leaders has been compared with the findings in the reports. Four case studies are investigated to show how general causes of schism may occur for a number of years until a reason, peculiar to the particular independent church, manifests itself and leads to the formation of an independent church. The case studies are the Ethiopian Church and related independent groups, the independent churches which joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896 with the Ethiopian Church but later left to form their own churches, for example the Order of Ethiopia, schisms from the Presbyterian Church during the 1890' s and the Independent Methodist Church. / Christian, Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th (Church History)

During the period 1884-1925 Ethiopian-type schisms from mission churches occurred for a number of reasons. Generalisations of these reasons have been made by numerous authors. By generalising the causes of schism the particular reasons why each independent church 1 eader 1 eft the mission church are ignored. The thesis shows how each schism was due to unique circumstances in the mission church as well as to factors, for example, the personal feelings of the independent church leader. In each case there was a point of no return when the founder of the independent church no longer felt he could accept the status quo. There were two government commissions that investigated the independent or "separatist" churches during these years - the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-1905 and the 1925 South African Native Affairs Commission which investigated the "Separatist Churches". The testimony of the white government officials and missionaries and the black church leaders has been compared with the findings in the reports. Four case studies are investigated to show how general causes of schism may occur for a number of years until a reason, peculiar to the particular independent church, manifests itself and leads to the formation of an independent church. The case studies are the Ethiopian Church and related independent groups, the independent churches which joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896 with the Ethiopian Church but later left to form their own churches, for example the Order of Ethiopia, schisms from the Presbyterian Church during the 1890' s and the Independent Methodist Church. / Christian, Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th (Church History)