A Look at the Seventh-day Adventist Church:: Unique or Only “Different?”

Abstract

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a worldwide Christian denomination with a rich heritage. Thus, the Adventist Church considers itself to be set apart from the world with a unique mission; members also follow distinctive lifestyle practices. But are Seventh-day Adventists really a unique denomination or are they just a different flavor of mainstream Protestantism? Using data from the FACT 2020 survey and comparing the Adventist sample (N = 313) with the entire interfaith sample (N = 15,278), researchers compared different aspects of church life, including vitality and church growth, local church leadership, engagement in spiritual practices, and engagement in relational spiritual activities. While the data from the FACT 2020 survey present unique strengths of Adventist congregations, weaknesses were also revealed, as compared with the interfaith sample.