Well, you and others can keep disputing for all you want. But at least the numbers given you were from someone who did the research. We all know that research findings on just about any subject can be questioned. But even if we drop a few thousand, there is no disputing that the number of such “Protestant” denominations is in the thousands. And let’s not forget that the (33,820) number of denominations provided is from a count made 10 years ago.
You asked for a source, one was given you, and now you quibble.
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Since adding a religion doctorate from Columbia University to his technical background, he has spent 40 years systematizing information on world religions, a calling he discovered while assigned as an Anglican missionary in Africa. Now 73, Barrett recently culminated his oddly remarkable career with publication of the second edition of his global accounting of faiths and the faithful — trends, details and his best estimated count of believers of all religions in each of 238 nations and territories.
Never has there been such a thorough reference as the two large volumes, running 1,699 pages, of the World Christian Encyclopedia, published by Oxford University Press. Barrett has doggedly visited most of the lands in person, collecting raw material, including national census figures and United Nations data, and recruiting the 444 specialists who feed him material. Among them: Vatican missions librarian Willi Henkel and editor J. Gordon Melton of the Encyclopedia of American Religions. Barrett’s encyclopedia sought to count each human being in each religion and religious subcategory in each country as of 1900, 1970, 1990, 1995 and 2000, with projections to 2025.
The 2001 edition, successor to his 1982 first edition, which took a decade to compile, identifies 10,000 distinct religions, of which 150 have 1 million or more followers.
Within Christianity, he counts 33,820 denominations.
Barrett also calculates religious populations for the Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, standard estimates that are used in turn by the World Almanac and innumerable journalists. Such numbers are always debatable, but they’re the best available. “We don’t really have any rivals,” Barrett says. “That’s the problem.”
Title: World Christian Encyclopedia : a comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world
Authors: David B. Barrett, George T. Kurian, Todd M. Johnson.
Edition: 2nd ed.
Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.
Description: 2 v. : ill., col. maps ; 32 cm.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents:
v. 1. The world by countries : religionists, churches, ministries
v. 2. The world by segments : religions, peoples, languages, cities, topics.
I asked for a source because so many people just repeat what they hear without checking. I will assume you did not just do a quick google search and that you have actually read and digested both Barnett’s interpretations and the ones who disagree. Am I right in that assumption?
Are you then saying that research makes truth? and more research makes something more true? Are you saying that Svendsen did no research at all in his showing how Barnett is wrong? Again, by this reasoning, you agree with Obama and all his kind in their intrepretation of constitional law because they “did some research”.
Do you believe Al Gore also because he has done research?
You obviously did not read the rebuttals from your answer. It isn’t about dropping a few thousand.
How many Catholic denominations did the same person count?