Ask and answer stupid questions here! - Page 140

First off, think of type of church on basically two axis.
One axis is the traditional Catholic to Protestant spectrum.

Catholics think the Pope is the head of the church on earth, heir to the disciple Peter's seat of leadership among the apostles. They are slightly more likely to talk in terms of good works rather than faith, and are more focused on the wisdom of tradition and less so on the authority of the bible. Priests cannot marry and must be men. Aesthetics are often very intricate and grand. The communion (mass) is the center of the service, not the sermon.

Protestants believe in the "priesthood of all believers" and think that religious ceremonies are symbolic rather than miraculous. They tend to place a higher emphasis on the bible and salvation by grace, and correspondingly are more likely to talk in terms of predestination. A simple aesthetic is often preferred, with a liturgical emphasis on the sermon.

In rough order from most Catholicish to most Protestantish:
Catholic
Eastern Orthodox (actually farther Catholic than actual Catholics on ceremonial-ism)
Episcopalian/Anglican (ranges from practically Catholic to actually Presbyterian)
Lutheran
Methodist
Baptist
Presbyterian

The second metric is complicated (I will give extreme and oversimplified descriptions). Think of a triangle:
......................Liberal
...................../...........\
..................../.............\
..Evangelical______Fundamentalist

Mainstream/Mainline is somewhere in the middle.

Liberals tend to focus on Jesus to exclusion of other parts of the bible. Major emphasis on the idea that salvation isn't necessarily about what religion you put on your census form. (Invisible church) Often a very strong emphasis on social justice and poverty reduction. Generally pro-gay and pro-choice. Usually politically liberal.

Evangelicals tend to be more charismatic, modern in form of worship, and have an emphasis on going out and converting people. Megachurches are usually evangelical. Social mission is often minimized, outside of evangelism. Tendency to say fairly little about the Bible at all, and go for a more "experiential" kind of religion. Politically mixed, and often prefer not to talk politics in church.

Prosperity Gospel are an offshoot of Evangelicals who are very insistent that faith will reward you with health and money. Other Christians, even other evengelicals, tend to be skeptical, and point to a lack of biblical grounding.

Fundamentalists are the good old classic bible-beating hellfire-invoking guys (yeah, guys, not so much with the women pastors here). In many ways they look very ultra-catholic in terms of social positions and the insistence of the rectitude of tradition.

Most actual churches are somewhere in the middle, mixing elements. Mainline churches are most central, with a mixture of liberal social positions, the Evangelical aversion to politics, and a concern with the entirety of scripture.

Named denomination usually says very little about position on this spectrum. Look instead for keywords. Numbered churches (First Methodist) are generally liberal or main-line. "Bible" or "Fundamental" mean Fundamentalist. "Non-denominational" or a name that sounds like a brand of juice drink might be evangelical.