AIFF 2013: Iranian Film Makers Talk about Their Future

Plot 1
She's won a fellowship to leave Iran to study in Berlin.  Her fiance is happy for her.  She's planning her trip when she's raped.  And nothing is the same.

 Plot 2

Film makers' movie gets accepted in film festival in Anchorage, Alaska.  They travel to the festival and meet a lot of people including a blogger who covers the festival.  "Everything is Fine Here" wins honorable mention in the feature category.  They meet with blogger after the festival to talk about their film and their future plans.  

How often do you get to talk with Iranians?  I wanted to know more.  I talked with Pourya Azarbayjani and Mona Sartoveh for about 90 minutes partly in English, but also with the help of a local Farsi speaker. 

Finally I asked them to just talk on camera, without being interrupted with interpretation.  We'd get the interpretation later.

A couple of weeks or so ago, I met with the interpreter and we discussed her interpretation and played around with different words to express what they had said.  And we decided not to try to add subtitles to the video, but rather put the English translation below the video in the post.

So, watch the short video and see how much you can pick up from the body language and tone of voice.  Then read the translation below.





The translation:

Steve:  Ok, you have come to the US and you plan to stay for the moment, you have a sister in Boston, So what do you expect to do for the next three years?

Pourya:  We have decided for now to stay here for a couple of reasons.  The first is to learn how to speak English well, because we can reach more people if we can tell our stories in English than we could in Farsi.  And it is easier to tell these stories in English because there are so many people here who have come from all around the world. We believe we have come to the right place, because of all the people who have come here with the American dream to build their lives and because they have so many different backgrounds and cultures, there are so many different stories to tell.  And I believe that here it’s possible to tell these stories. 

We decided in the next three years to make a film, a very good film, Mona and I together. And we’re hoping that first we can raise the money, and second, we can learn how to reach the American audience, and then the rest of the world. 
Mona, do you agree?

Mona:  I agree with you completely.  I hope we’ll succeed.  I’m sure we will. 

Pourya:  The most important thing is this.  As two Iranians, we love all the people from around the world from any nation, religion, and race.  We believe it’s time that borders and religions should not separate human beings.  We, before anything else, are human.

Exxon Valdez Case Study on Environmental Accounting

There are a couple of opportunities at UAA this week to hear Dr. Mark Brown from the University of Florida.

 TUESDAY, MARCH 4
7 p.m. Rasmuson Hall, Room 101

 

Energy & the Economy: Reflections on Sustainability
Using systems principles, the economy from a biophysical perspective is a hierarchical interconnected system of resource and monetary flows, driven by available energy and resources. The ability of the environment to support human society is limited, and we need to reconsider the ways we use, measure, and economically value the material resources we consume. We must understand the limits of sustainability as a solution to our energy needs, and develop guidelines for a “prosperous way down”.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5

Noon,
Eugene Short Hall 214

“Emergy” Values of the Marine Ecosystem:
Environmental Accounting for Recovery of Ecosystem Values after Disasters, Using the Exxon Valdez as a Case Study

“Emergy” is an environmental accounting methodology that evaluates goods and services based on the environmental and economic work needed to make them, not human preferences or utility. The Exxon Valdez oil spill will be used to demonstrate this methodology, and assess and discuss the costs of several mitigation strategies to avoid spills in the future.

DR. MARK BROWN is a professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences and director of the Center for Environmental Policy at the University of Florida. His research is focused on the interface of humanity and the environment including systems ecology, ecological engineering, ecological economics, and environmental policy. For six years Dr. Brown was a consulting ecologist to The Cousteau Society, working with research teams to develop solutions to a wide array of resource management problems that affect marine resources throughout the world.

From Kiev to Crimea is about the same as from New York to ?

The Russians have moved into the Crimean Peninsula, but I'm guessing only about two or three Americans out of a thousand could point to Crimea on a map.  So here's a post to raise those numbers.

First, here's a map of Europe with Ukraine in the black box.

Basic map from Infoplease

The black square is enlarged below, with the Crimean Peninsula highlighted in the black box. 

Just to get a sense of things, Kiev is about 430* air miles from Sevastapol.  Here are some other cities that are about the same distance apart.

Paris to Munich New York to Detroit Mumbai to Bhopal St. Louis to Ann Arbor Hanoi to Chiengmai Seattle to Calgary*

I understand that Russia's action is a big deal.  But it's also, apparently, a common event in this region.  From Wikipedia:

Crimea, or the Crimean Peninsula, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, currently under the jurisdiction of Ukraine, has a history of over 2000 years. The territory has been conquered and controlled many times throughout this history. The Cimmerians, Greeks, Scythians, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars, the state of Kievan Rus', Byzantine Greeks, Kipchaks, Ottoman Turks, Golden Horde Tatars and the Mongols all controlled Crimea in its early history. In the 13th century, it was partly controlled by the Venetians and by the Genovese; they were followed by the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in the 15th to 18th centuries, the Russian Empire in the 18th to 20th centuries, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and later the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. In 1991 it became part of independent Ukraine, as the Autonomous Republic Crimea.

And while there will be calls for the US President to take decisive action, it makes sense to look at the geography of the Crimean Peninsula first.  It's almost inside Russia. It's as close as Mexico to the US.  You know how the US would respond to a military incursion by Russia or China in Mexico.  Russians will respond the same way.  Realistically, there's not a lot we can do militarily that wouldn't cause far more harm than doing nothing.  (But then Iraq and Afghanistan are distant memories for many.)  Our response will have to be patient and more nuanced than missiles and bombs.  First we should look at maps and maybe read some history.  Diplomacy and economics will be far more effective weapons in the long term. 

We tend to remember a place first by our own involvement in it.  If Americans know anything about the region, it's from Yalta and from the Crimean War, whose lasting legacies through the English to the US, include  Florence Nightingale,  and the Charge of the Light Brigade, a terrible debacle for the British.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854


Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred! - See more at: http://www.nationalcenter.org/ChargeoftheLightBrigade.html#sthash.cuFNI4jM.dpuf

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

From the National Center.

*I got most of these from Time and Date's distance tables which are air miles.

Working Hard To Get Back To Normal - Viddler Shuts Down Free Accounts

Blog videos need to be hosted somewhere on a server. (So do photos - but Blogspot automatically puts them on Picassa.)  When I put up my first video - about ten seconds of a street scene in Amritsar, India - I put it on YouTube.  But YouTube was the big player and I as I looked around for other video server platforms, I found Viddler.  It let me put up bigger files, they looked better, I could insert comments.  There were lots of advantages.

So I opened an account and began loading up my video on Viddler.  Over time, YouTube got bought by Google (who also owns Blogspot), but I stayed loyal to Viddler.  A while ago - maybe a year, maybe a little longer - someone at Viddler sent me an email saying they were shutting down their free video hosting service and I could by a professional membership.  I wrote back I'd been an early supporter and that I have a lot of hits on my blog and people get to see Viddler's name on my videos.  I also talked about how hard it would be to download all the videos, upload them onto YouTube, and then re-embed them into my posts.  I suggested grandfathering in people like me.  They said fine and dropped their plan.

But I got nervous and began uploading most of my video onto you YouTube.  And a couple of weeks ago I got the email I assumed would eventually come:  They're dropping the free video hosting and I have until March 11 to download my videos before they close the account.  Or I can pay $300 a year to keep being hosted by them.  Is that a lot for the video hosting?  I don't know.  I tend to be an anti-consumer.  I think too many people are willing to shell out whatever their cable or phone company tells them.  They just have to have the latest goodies.  Even when the company is making huge profits.  Even when it means the consumer goes further into debt each year.  And that $300 a year is forever if I want to keep the videos showing up on my blog.

So I'm spending a lot of time now downloading my videos from Viddler.  (I do have them on external hard drives, but this way I'm getting them in chronological order with dates that will make it easier to figure out which posts they are in.  And then I'll have to upload them to YouTube.  And then I'll have to re-embed them into the posts they're in.

So, I get to do all this work - there are 535 videos on Viddler - and it will take from blogging time, and I'm sure it will take me longer than the deadline to get them all back into the posts they are in.


Here's a screenshot of my Viddler account.  This is eight of the 535 videos.  I have to hit edit, then manage, the click on the file.  In some cases there's a different file format and I have to play with that and change the name from Viddler's identification (numerical) to what I named the video. 


I figure about 8-10 hours to download, then the time to get them up on YouTube and embedded back here.   If it were just a one time $300 charge, it would be worth it.  But a continuing charge forever?  No.

Working hard just to stay where I am.

And I suspect a lot of stuff people are storing free on 'the cloud' somewhere, is going to get a fee one day.  And you're going to have to make a similar decision about whether to pay or find another way.  And there's no guarantee that YouTube won't do the same thing one day.  And slowly, but surely, the easy access we've had to be our own publishers, is going to disappear.  

[UPDATE March 11, 2014.  It was more than 10 hours, but it's mostly done.  Here's a new post on what I've done and replacing the old Viddler videos with YouTube videos.]

Why I Live Here - Walking Over To Catch iditarod

After a Citizens' Climate Lobby meeting this morning at UAA, I walked over to Goose Lake to catch a bit of the Iditarod's ceremonial start.  There were a lot of long tongues hanging out. 

#19 Allen Moore's dogs

I brought my 'good' camera for this, but I wasn't prepared for how hard shooting the moving dogs would be.  The camera let me pull out a few reasonably focused shots. 

#22 Robert Sorlie

#20  Scott Janssen's dogs

#25 Norman Schroeder coming over the Northern Lights bridge at Goose Lake

Names are based on the ADN list of mushers and their numbers which I'd link to, but I can't find online.

Smarts and Humor Versus Dumb Power

[Warning:  It's early Saturday morning, so I'm not quite as even-handed here as I normally attempt to be.]

Sometimes there's a letter to the editor that perfectly captures what's going on.  I admit I wasn't there and didn't see the exchange.  But Rep. Stoltz is the same guy who held up funding for school lunches because, well, it's hard to know why.

I really don't have a clue about what makes Rep. Stoltz do what he does.  I have to be careful not to generalize.  I did watch him once at a Legislative Council meeting (see item 12) take up ten minutes to say, basically, I know nothing about Facebook and I'm opposed to letting legislative computers access it.  Ten minutes to talk against something he said he knew nothing about!

My guess is that he likes being someone important.  Likes seeing his name in the paper.  Likes being able to wield power over others.

I can't remember the last time I posted a letter to the editor, but here's one that deserves to be read widely:

Lisa Demer provided excellent coverage of Tuesday’s House Finance Committee hearing on SB 49, a bill to limit state funded abortions. However, Demer omitted the final remarks made by Rep. Bill Stoltze when he flogged Rep. Les Gara one last time for the manner in which Gara framed his questions. Co-chair Stoltze suggested Gara watch the game show “Jeopardy” for guidance in forming questions.
How would that sound? Gara: “For a hundred points, Commissioner Streur, can you tell me (through our game show host, Stoltze) how many times the state of Alaska intends to run afoul of the Alaska courts in attempts to limit abortion? For 200 additional points, what will the litigation cost the state?”
Stoltze marginalized the female representatives of his own party when they asked thoughtful questions. Perhaps he should take his own advice. “For 300 points, Commissioner Streur, can you tell me how many times Rep. Holmes has to ask the same question (about the need to redefine medical necessity) before you answer her?”
Let’s put the buzzer away and have a conversation.
— Vicki Turner Malone
Bethel

Thanks Vicki.  And Rep. Stolze, I'd love to sit down with you one day and have you explain to me your idea of the role of government in modern society and how you further that notion.  

I can't help wondering whether Stoltze really reflects the thinking of people in Chugiak or are they mostly just unaware of what he says and does and they're turned off of politics altogether?  BTW, he now has a Facebook page.

His website lists his record of service. 

Bill Stoltze

• Lifelong Alaskan
• Co-Chair, Finance Committee: 2008 – present
• Vice-Chair, Finance Committee: 2005 – 2008
• Member, Finance Committee: 2003 – present
• Member, Legislative Council Joint Committee: 2005 – present
• Vice-President, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks, Baseball Boosters
• Board Member, Special Olympics
• Charter Member, Chugiak Lions Club
• Life Member, Chugiak Senior Center, Inc.

Notice, it's just a list of positions.  There's nothing about what he actually accomplished in any of those positions.  Service implies you make the world a better place by doing what you do.  I'd like Stoltze to convince me that it's true in his case.  What little I've actually seen or heard about suggests otherwise. 

Tents, Trailers, and Vans

Making movies (and other entertainment) is big in LA.  Here's what I saw riding to, along, and from the beach Wednesday and Thursday. 

The Cirque du Soleil tents are up just north of the Santa Monica pier right along the bike trail.  And yes, I did some photoshopping because the grey sky was just too boring.  And the whole picture was a bit faded.  

Here is the tent for the ISFA (Independent Spirit Film Awards) which will happen Saturday, March 1.  This tent is on the bike trail about a quarter mile south of the Santa Monica pier.  And you can see on this picture why I played with the sky in the first picture. 

And at Rose Avenue hosted these trailers  for a commercial they were filming on the sand.  Those are bags of ice melting in the lower right. 

And less than a mile up Rose inland (this picture was taken the next day) there was another film crew at Superba restaurant. 

 

And this less commodified form of art was parked on Rose too.

We Arrive Home To 44˚F [UPDATE - Yosemite]

Wednesday I biked to the beach before the darkening clouds let loose.  But instead of rain, I got sun again.  But the rain did come during the night.  With sun again in the morning along a last beach ride before we took off for the airport.  Here are some photos from the flight.

This is a group of waves coming into a beach in the Malibu area.




[UPDATE: I checked and this is Malibu Lagoon State Beach.   It's the pier that nails it.]

I was struck by this massive wall of rock guarding this canyon in what I assume are the Sierra Nevada mountains in California.

UPDATE Feb. 28:  I was hoping we'd fly over Yosemite, but didn't see Half-Dome which usually gives it away.  But as I looked at this picture again, there appears to be a waterfall in the upper right hand corner.  So I went back to the original which I had cropped to highlight the rocks in the lower left.  When I looked at the original, I saw I'd cropped out Half-Dome in the upper right.  So, here is the picture recropped (there's a lot in the lower left that wasn't necessary.)

So that means, yesterday, Alaska Airlines gave me a tour from Malibu, past Yosemite National Park, Mt. Hood National Forest, to Mr. Rainier National Park.  I probably saw Sequoia National Park too, but that's something you need to be on the ground to appreciate.  It's why I like the window seat.]

I assumed this was a cloud shrouded Mt. Hood and then the pilot said we'd just past Portland.

A little further north, with the peak poking through the clouds.  You can see the camera was having trouble figuring out what to focus on, but I like the abstract look of it.

And Mt. Ranier, just after sunset. 

The next flight, to Anchorage, was dark.  But our new plane had electrical outlets at each seat.  And when the pilot said it was 44˚F (7˚C), I didn't even look for my jacket when we went out to find our ride home. I've been inviting our Chicago friends to come visit and warm up all winter.  I just checked - it's 30˚ colder there now. 

LA was expecting a big storm Friday.  Wednesday night's rain was the first since the summer. 

Reps. Gara and Kawasaki Introduce Constitutional Amendment To Create Less Partisan Redistricting Board

I get media emails every day and sometimes I pursue them, but most of this stuff goes to all the media and I don't need to cover it.

But today I got one on a Constitutional amendment to change Alaska's Redistricting Board to make it less partisan.  Since I've been paying some attention to Alaska's Redistricting Board, I did look into this one.

Two Democrats - Reps. Les Gara and Scott Kawazaki - introduced this House Joint Resolution (HJR).  I looked through it quickly.  Here's what I saw.

Highlights:

• Increases the Board from five members to seven.  
• Six would be members of the two top political parties chosen by the parties.  (Currently the governor chooses two, the presiding officers of the state senate and house each  choose one, and the supreme court chief justice chooses one.)
• Seventh member would be chosen by the Board by Dec. 1 of the census year.  If they can't agree, Supreme Court chief justice chooses.
• Seventh member must not be a member of any party for the last ten years.
• Board members can't run for the legislature until after next decennial census and new redistricting board plan is in place. (Currently can't run until second election after new plan approved.)

What seems to be lost in the new proposal (language that's cut out and I don't see replaced elsewhere) is:

• Designated time for having the six political members appointed.
• New members have to be state residents for at least a year.
• New members can't be public employees or officials.
• Requirement that members chosen without regard to political affiliation (this changes and it wasn't followed anyway.)

This is the first attempt that I know of to change the redistricting board since the current plan was approved in December 2013.  At this point, I assume the Republicans think they'll still be the dominant party in Alaska by 2020 when the next redistricting takes place.  If that is the case, they would prefer the current system which gives them control over four out of five of the board members.  And by then the Supreme Court Chief justice could be on their side too. And since the Republicans have a strong hold on both legislative houses now, I don't expect any attempts to move too quickly on this.  But much can change in six years.    

This wouldn't be a "non-partisan" board, but it would be a more balanced board. 

Below is a copy of the new submitted HJR (which doesn't have a number yet).

022614 HJR Redistricting by Steve

And here's a June 3, 2013 report from the Alaska Legislative Research Services titled "Nonpartisan Redistricting" which includes an attachment of an article by Gordon Harrison on the 2002 Redistricting process in Alaska and recommendations for changes.  This  came with the email announcing the constitutional amendment.

Alaska Legislative Research Service Report on Nonpartisan Redistricting June 3, 2013 by Steve

UPDATE: Brewer Vetoes Bill - "Substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

UPDATE 10:29 pm:  Gov. Brewer vetoed the bill.  She said:

"To the supporters of the legislation, I want you to know that I understand that long-held norms about marriage and family are being challenged as never before. Our society is undergoing many dramatic changes," she said. "However, I sincerely believe that Senate Bill 1062 has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve. It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine and no one would ever want.

"Religious liberty is a core American and Arizona value. So is non-discrimination."]  [Thanks JB for heads up in comments.]

 Beginning of Original Post:

"'Exercise of religion' means the PRACTICE OR OBSERVANCE OF RELIGION, INCLUDING THE ability to act or refusal to act in a manner substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

That comes from the definition section of Arizona SB 1062 that's just passed the Arizona legislature and is awaiting Gov. Jan Brewer's signature as I write this. 

"Substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."  

That sounds incredibly broad to me.            

Arizona channel 15 offers  a little more info on the bill.

Here are some questions this raises for me. 

1.  How does one test whether a behavior is motivated by a religious belief or by some other personal feeling?  

Is the person motivated by a strong religious belief or is it merely a personal dislike?  There are so many problematic behaviors listed in holy books of various religions, that one is likely to find a way to interpret the religious text to support something you find repugnant.  In the 1800's abolitionists and slave owners both used the bible to support their positions.


I've just finished reading Tom Kizzia's Pilgrim's Wilderness about the huge family that settled in at Kennecott Mine in Wrangle-St. Elias National Park.  Papa Pilgrim quoted the scriptures to justify beating his children and having sex with his daughter.   Ultimately, the court didn't agree with him, but his daughter was almost 30 years old before he was convicted and people had given Papa Pilgrim the benefit of the doubt on many things because the family was very religious.

How do we know this isn't simply someone using religion to justify their own personal prejudices?  


2.  But why should this stop with gays and lesbians?   

The law, as I understand it, is particularly aimed at allowing people to refuse to serve LGBT folks, in reaction to a photographer who lost a lawsuit after refusing to take wedding pictures of a gay couple. 


There are lots of religious prohibitions in various religious faiths that could potentially give someone an excuse to refuse service to someone.   How about signs like this outside shops?

How does anyone know that someone fits one of these categories?  Some may be obvious by appearance.  Others because of what they tell us or because it's community knowledge.  But others would likely be able to pass as ok. 


In fact, we could add another closely related question:

3.  How do we even know something is a religious belief?
 
What are the beliefs of Christianity? That isn't a facetious question. In the Vatican, among Cardinals of the Catholic church, there are debates about how to interpret and practice their faith.What about other Christian denominations?

I was told by one Babtist preacher that anyone could start a church.  The key factor was that he attracted a congregation that supported him.  If that's the case, then anyone can make up anything and call it a religion.  

To get a sense of the impossibility of all this, just look at Wikipedia's list of the largest Christian denominations (see bottom of post.)  Wikipedia says there are 33,000 different Protestant denominations!


4.  The shopkeeper isn't being asked to perform any forbidden activities, just to do business with people who may have performed an activity, which by their own religious convictions, is allowable, and which by law is allowable.  

People do business and socialize with adulterers and cheats and thieves all the time.  Sometimes they know it, often not.  And as long as they donate lots of money, religious institutions have no trouble embracing them and looking the other way.  Jesus Christ interacted with all folks.  I understand that evangelical faiths are supposed to be out among the unbelievers so they can bring them salvation.  Banning them from their businesses would seem to be against their faith.



These are some of the complications a law like this raises.  In the next post, I will talk about why this and the many anti-gay, anti-abortion, and other hot-button social legislation are all intended to polarize the population, waste of valuable political credibility and time, and distract from the real issues of the economic pillaging of the American middle class.


Wikipedia's List of Christian Denominations

[This list of just Christian groups, which doesn't include all the 30,000 different Protestant denominations, suggests that anyone could find anything in the bible and claim a religious belief to justify anything.  There's almost no provable difference between personal belief and religious belief.]

<sup>Largest denominations in the world
Catholicism - 1.2 billion

A map of Catholicism by population percentage.
Catholic Church - 1,166 million[1]
Latin Church - 1,149 million
Eastern Catholic Churches - 17 million
Alexandrian Rite
Ethiopian Catholic Church - 0.2 million[2]
Coptic Catholic Church - 0.2 million[2]
Antiochene Rite
Maronite Catholic Church - 3.1 million[2]
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church - 0.4 million[2]
Syriac Catholic Church - 0.1 million[2]
Armenian Rite
Armenian Catholic Church - 0.4 million[2]
Chaldean Rite
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church - 3.8 million[2]
Chaldean Catholic Church - 0.4 million[2]
Byzantine Rite
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - 4.3 million[2]
Melkite Greek Catholic Church - 1.3 million[2]
Romanian Catholic Church - 0.7 million[2]
Ruthenian Catholic Church - 0.5 million[2]
Hungarian Greek Catholic Church - 0.3 million[2]
Slovak Greek Catholic Church - 0.2 million[2]
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church - 0.1 million[2]
Belarusian Greek Catholic Church - 0.1 million[2]
Georgian Byzantine Catholic Church - 0.01 million[3]
Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Croatian Greek Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Macedonian Greek Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Russian Greek Catholic Church - 0.01 million[2]
Breakaway Catholic Churches - 25 million




This section's factual accuracy is disputed. (November 2012)
Philippine Independent Church - 6 million[4]
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association - 5 million[5]
Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church - 5 million[6]
Old Catholic Church - 0.6 million
Society of St. Pius X - 0.5 million
Polish National Catholic Church - 0.025 million
Protestantism - 600–800 million




. . . However, the 33,000 Protestant denominations in the world differ vastly to slightly theologically and do not form a single communion.
Historical Protestantism - 331 million
Baptist churches - 100 million[10]
Southern Baptist Convention - 16.3 million[11]
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. - 8.5 million[12]
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. - 3.1 million[12]
Nigerian Baptist Convention - 2.5 million[12]
Progressive National Baptist Convention - 2.5 million[12]
Baptist General Convention of Texas - 2.3 million[12]
Baptist Union of Uganda - 1.5 million[12]
American Baptist Churches USA - 1.4 million[12]
Brazilian Baptist Convention - 1.3 million[12]
Baptist Bible Fellowship International - 1.2 million[13]
Baptist Community of the Congo River - 1 million[12]
National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. - 1 million[13]
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America - 1 million
Myanmar Baptist Convention - 0.9 million[12]
Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches - 0.8 million[14]
Korea Baptist Convention - 0.8 million[12]
Baptist Convention of Kenya - 0.8 million[12]
Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India - 0.6 million[15]
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - 0.5 million[12]
Nagaland Baptist Church Council - 0.5 million[12]
Baptist Convention in Tanzania - 0.5 million[12]
Orissa Evangelical Baptist Crusade - 0.5 million[12]
Baptist General Association of Virginia - 0.5 million[12]
National Baptist Convention (Brazil) - 0.4 million[12]
Church of Christ in Congo–Baptist Community of Congo - 0.4 million[16]
Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches - 0.3[12]
American Baptist Association - 0.3 million[17]
Union of Baptist Churches in Rwanda - 0.3 million[12]
Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda - 0.3 million[12]
Garo Baptist Convention - 0.2 million[12]
Baptist Community of Western Congo - 0.2 million[12]
Baptist Missionary Association of America - 0.2 million[18]
Conservative Baptist Association of America - 0.2 million[19]
National Association of Free Will Baptists - 0.2 million[20]
Canadian Baptist Ministries - 0.2 million[12]
National Baptist Convention of Mexico - 0.2 million[12]
Manipur Baptist Convention - 0.2 million[12]
Convention of Baptist Churches of the Northern Circars - 0.2 million[12]
Baptist Community in Central Africa - 0.2 million[12]
Baptist Convention of Malawi - 0.2 million[12]
Lutheranism - 75 million[21]
Evangelical Church in Germany - 24.5 million[22]
Church of Sweden - 6.7 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania - 5.6 million[23]
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus - 5.3 million[23]
United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India - 4.5 million[24]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - 4.5 million[23]
Church of Denmark - 4.5 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland - 4.4 million[23]
Batak Christian Protestant Church - 4.2 million[23]
Church of Norway - 4.0 million[23]
Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia - 3.6 million[23]
Malagasy Lutheran Church - 3.0 million[23]
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod - 2.5 million[25]
The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria - 1.9 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea - 0.9 million[23]
Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil - 0.7 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia - 0.7 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa - 0.6 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia - 0.4 million[23]
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod - 0.4 million[26]
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia - 0.4 million[23]
The Indonesian Protestant Church - 0.4 million[23]
The Protestant Christian Church - 0.4 million[23]
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria - 0.3 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon - 0.2 million[23]
Church of Iceland - 0.2 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil - 0.2 million[27]
Simalungun Protestant Christian Church - 0.2 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe - 0.2 million[23]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia - 0.2 million[23]
Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary - 0.2 million[23]
Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine - 0.2 million[23]
The Lutheran Council of Great Britain - 0.2 million[23]
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church - 0.2 million[23]
Methodism - 75 million
United Methodist Church - 12 million[28]
African Methodist Episcopal Church - 2.5 million[29]
Methodist Church Nigeria - 2 million[30]
Church of the Nazarene - 2 million[31]
Methodist Church of Southern Africa - 1.7 million[32]
Korean Methodist Church - 1.5 million[33]
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church - 1.5 million[34]
The Salvation Army - 1.4 million [35]
United Methodist Church of Ivory Coast - 1 million[36]
Free Methodist Church - 0.9 million[37]
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church - 0.9 million[38]
Methodist Church Ghana - 0.8 million[39]
Methodist Church in India - 0.6 million[40]
Methodist Church in Kenya - 0.5 million[41]
Wesleyan Church - 0.4 million[42]
Evangelical Free Church of America - 0.4 million[43]
Methodist Church of Great Britain - 0.3 million[44]
Methodist Church in Brazil - 0.2 million[45]
Reformed churches - 75 million
Presbyterianism - 40 million
Presbyterian Church of East Africa - 4.0 million[46]
Presbyterian Church of Africa - 3.4 million[47]
United Church of Canada - 2.8 million[48]
Church of Christ in Congo–Presbyterian Community of Congo - 2.5 million[49]
Presbyterian Church of Korea - 2.4 million[50]
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - 1.8 million[51]
Presbyterian Church of Cameroon - 1.8 million[52]
Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian - 1.3 million[53]
Church of Scotland - 1.1 million[54]
Presbyterian Church of the Sudan - 1.0 million[55]
Presbyterian Church in Cameroon - 0.7 million[56]
Presbyterian Church of Brazil - 0.7 million [57]
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana - 0.6 million[58]
United Church of Christ in the Philippines - 0.5 million[59]
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria - 0.5 million[60]
Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa - 0.5 million[61]
Presbyterian Church of Pakistan - 0.4 million[62]
Presbyterian Church in Ireland - 0.3 million
Uniting Church in Australia - 0.3 million[63]
Presbyterian Church in America - 0.3 million[64]
Presbyterian Church of Korea - 0.3 million[65]
Presbyterian Church in Rwanda - 0.3 million[66]
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan - 0.3 million[67]
Continental Reformed churches - 30 million
Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar - 3.5 million[68]
United Church of Zambia - 3.0 million[69]
Protestant Church in the Netherlands - 2.5 million[70]
Swiss Reformed Church - 2.4 million[71]
Evangelical Church of Cameroon - 2.0 million[72]
Protestant Evangelical Church in Timor - 2.0 million[73]
Dutch Reformed Church - 1.1 million
Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa - 0.7 million[74]
United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands - 0.6 million[75]
Protestant Church in Western Indonesia - 0.6 million[76]
Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua - 0.6 million[77]
Protestant Church in the Moluccas - 0.6 million[78]
Reformed Church in Hungary - 0.6 million[79]
Reformed Church in Romania - 0.6 million[80]
Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa - 0.5 million[81]
Toraja Church - 0.4 million[82]
Reformed Church of France - 0.4 million[83]
Lesotho Evangelical Church - 0.3 million[84]
Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera - 0.3 million[85]
Christian Church of Sumba - 0.3 million[86]
Karo Batak Protestant Church - 0.3 million[87]
Reformed Church in America - 0.3 million[88]
Christian Reformed Church in North America - 0.3 million[89]
Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria - 0.3 million[90]
Reformed Church in Zambia - 0.3 million[91]
Kalimantan Evangelical Church - 0.2 million[92]
Javanese Christian Churches - 0.2 million[93]
Indonesia Christian Church - 0.2 million[94]
Church of Christ in the Sudan Among the Tiv - 0.2 million[95]
Church of Lippe - 0.2 million[96]
Evangelical Church of Congo - 0.2 million[97]
Evangelical Church of Gabon - 0.2 million[98]
Christian Evangelical Church of Sangihe Talaud - 0.2 million[99]
Central Sulawesi Christian Church - 0.2 million[100]
Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany - 0.2 million[101]
Congregationalism - 5 million
United Church of Christ - 1.2 million[102]
Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola - 0.9 million[103]
United Congregational Church of Southern Africa - 0.5 million[104]
Anabaptism and Free churches - 5 million
Schwarzenau Brethren/German Baptist groups - 1.5 million[105]
Mennonites - 1.5 million
Plymouth Brethren - 1 million[106]
Moravians - 0.7 million[107]
Amish - 0.25 million
Hutterites - 0.05 million
Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) - 0.4 million
Modern Protestantism - 429 million
Pentecostalism - 279 million[108]
Assemblies of God - 65 million[109]
Fangcheng Fellowship - 12 million
International Circle of Faith - 11 million[110]
China Gospel Fellowship - 10 million
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) - 9 million
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel - 8 million
Church of God in Christ - 6.5 million[111]
Apostolic Church - 6 million
Jesus is Lord Church - 6 million
International Pentecostal Holiness Church - 4 million
United Pentecostal Church International - 4 million
The Pentecostal Mission - 2.5 million
Christian Congregation of Brazil - 2.5 million
True Jesus Church - 2.5 million
Church of Pentecost - 2.1 million
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God - 2 million
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World - 1.5 million
Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa - 1.2 million
Church of God of Prophecy - 1.5 million
Association of Pentecostal Churches of Rwanda - 1 million
God is Love Pentecostal Church - 0.8 million
Nondenominational evangelicalism - 80 million
Calvary Chapel - 25 million
Born Again Movement - 20 million
Association of Vineyard Churches - 15 million
Christian and Missionary Alliance - 4 million[112]
True Jesus Church - 2.5 million
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) - 1.2 million
African initiated Protestant churches - 40 million
Zion Christian Church - 15 million
Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim - 10 million
Kimbanguist Church - 5.5 million
Church of the Lord (Aladura) - 3.6 million[113]
Council of African Instituted Churches - 3 million[114]
Church of Christ Light of the Holy Spirit - 1.4 million[115]
African Church of the Holy Spirit - 0.7 million[116]
African Israel Church Nineveh - 0.5 million[117]
Seventh-day Adventist Church - 17 million
Restoration Movement - 7 million
Churches of Christ - 5 million
Christian churches and churches of Christ - 1.1 million[13]
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - 0.7 million[118]
Oneness Pentecostalism - 6 million
United Pentecostal Church International - 4 million
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World - 1.5 million
Eastern Orthodoxy - 225–300 million


A map of Eastern Orthodoxy by population percentage.
The most common estimates of the number of Orthodox Christians worldwide is approximately 225–300 million.[119] There are also a number of autonomous Orthodox churches, that account for no more than 12 million and are united in communion with the rest of the Eastern Orthodox church, plus some not universally recognized churches and Orthodox splinter groups.
Autocephalous churches - 240 million
Russian Orthodox Church - 150 million
Romanian Orthodox Church - 23 million
Serbian Orthodox Church - 11.5 million
Church of Greece - 11 million
Bulgarian Orthodox Church - 10 million
Georgian Orthodox Church - 3.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople - 3.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch - 2.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria - 1.5 million
Orthodox Church in America - 1.2 million
Polish Orthodox Church - 1 million
Albanian Orthodox Church - 0.8 million
Church of Cyprus - 0.7 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem - 0.14 million
Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church - 0.07 million
Autonomous churches - 12 million
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) - 7.2 million[120]
Moldovan Orthodox Church - 3.2 million
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia - 1.25 million
Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia - 0.62 million
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric - 0.34 million[citation needed]
Estonian Orthodox Church - 0.3 million
Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe - 0.15 million
Finnish Orthodox Church - 0.08 million
Chinese Orthodox Church - 0.03 million
Japanese Orthodox Church - 0.02 million
Latvian Orthodox Church - 0.02 million
Non-universally recognized churches - 11 million
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) - 5.5 million[120]
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 3.8 million
Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 2.4 million
Macedonian Orthodox Church - 2 million
Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance) - 0.75 million
Old Calendar Romanian Orthodox Church - 0.50 million
Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church - 0.45 million
Orthodox Church in Italy - 0.12 million
Montenegrin Orthodox Church - 0.05 million
Other separated Orthodox groups - 10 million
Old Believers - 5.5 million
Greek Old Calendarists - 0.86 million
True Orthodox Church - 0.85 million
Oriental Orthodoxy - 86 million


A map of Oriental Orthodoxy by population percentage.
Autocephalous churches in communion
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church - 48 million[121]
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria - 15.5 million
Armenian Apostolic Church - 8 million
Syriac Orthodox Church - 6.6 million[122][123][124]
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church - 2.5 million
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church - 2 million[125]
Armenian Orthodox Church of Cilicia - 1.5 million
Autonomous churches in communion
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church - 1.2 million[126]
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople - 0.42 million
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem - 0.34 million
French Coptic Orthodox Church - 0.01 million
British Orthodox Church - 0.01 million
Churches not in communion
Mar Thoma Syrian Church - 1.1 million[127]
Malabar Independent Syrian Church - 0.06 million
Anglicanism - 85 million
Anglican Communion - 80 million[128]
Church of England - 25.0 million[129]
Church of Nigeria - 18.0 million[130]
Church of Uganda - 8.1 million[131]
Anglican Church of Kenya - 5.0 million[132]
Episcopal Church of Sudan - 4.5 million[133]
Church of South India - 4 million[134]
Anglican Church of Australia - 3.9 million[135]
Anglican Church of Southern Africa - 2.3 million[136]
Episcopal Church in the United States - 2.1 million[137]
Anglican Church of Tanzania - 2.0 million[138]
Anglican Church of Canada - 2.0 million[139]
Church of North India - 1.5 million[140]
Anglican Church of Rwanda - 1.0 million[141]
Church of the Province of Central Africa - 0.9 million[142]
Anglican Church of Burundi - 0.8 million[143]
Church in the Province of the West Indies - 0.8 million[144]
Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean - 0.5 million[145]
Church of Christ in Congo–Anglican Community of Congo - 0.5 million[146]
Church of Pakistan - 0.5 million[147]
Church of Ireland - 0.4 million[148]
Church of the Province of West Africa - 0.3 million[149]
Church of the Province of Melanesia - 0.2 million[150]
Continuing Anglican movement and independent Anglican churches - 1.5 million
Traditional Anglican Communion - 0.4 million[151]
Church of England in South Africa - 0.1 million[152]
Restorationism - 44 million
Latter Day Saint movement - 15.2 million
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) - 15 million[153]
Community of Christ - 0.2 million[154]
Iglesia ni Cristo - 10 million[155][156]
New Apostolic Church - 10 million[157]
Jehovah's Witnesses - 7.65 million [158][159]
La Luz del Mundo - between 1 and 7 million
Church of Christ, Scientist - 0.4 million
Friends of Man - 0.07 million
Christadelphians - 0.06 million
Chinese-originated churches – 10 million
All of these groups have origins in the Lord's Recovery movement associated with Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. The Shouters are an offshoot of the Local Churches considered a dangerous sect by the Chinese government; due to the extremely decentralized nature of both groups, there is controversy over which house churches should be actually considered part of each. Eastern Lightning, which is in turn an offshoot of The Shouters, is very hierarchical (in contrast to its predecessors) and teaches that Christ has already returned as a woman named Lightning Deng.
Local Churches – between 1 and 10 million
Eastern Lightning – 1 million
The Shouters – unknown, probably less than 1 million
Church of the East - 0.6 million
Assyrian Church of the East - 0.5 million
Ancient Church of the East - 0.1 million
Unitarian Universalism - 0.6 million
Note: Unitarian Universalism, which counts 0.6 million adherents,[160] developed out of Christian traditions but no longer identifies as a Christian denomination.
Unitarian Universalist Association - 0.2 million[161]</sup>[Having trouble with feed burner again, this post wasn't showing up on other blogrolls, so trying a repost without the links to see if that was the problem. UPDATE:  taking out the links seems to have solved the problem.  You can find the links at Wikipedia.]