The structures and processes at work within a particular religion play an important role in shaping how and why a religion operates. An important part of this is also the organisation and structure of each religion. Such organisational characteristics are constantly being tested or re-shaped by the interplay that takes place between individuals, society, the beliefs of the religion, as well as its history and traditions.
A religious denomination is a subgroup within religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.
Major branches. Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups: the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism.