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A tiny little denomination (U.S. adherents about 140,000) that began in the early 1700s in Germany in the area just outside the Black Forest that had been fought over by the French, German princes, and the Holy Roman Empire for years and years. Alexander Mack and six others, inspired by the followers of Menno Simon (Mennonites) began what became the Brethren in a baptismal ceremony in 1708 at Schwarzenau.
Because of their roots resisting and avoiding armies that routinely encamped in and around their homes, the Brethren like the Mennonites and the Quakers have historically been a pacifist sect, conscientiously objecting to war in any form, summarized in Mack's dictum that all war is sin. In addition, Brethren have also stressed simple living and personal modesty similar to the Quakers, and indeed some Brethren communities still adhere to the plain dress and eschew modern conveniences. Another feature of the Brethren is non-compulsion in religious matters. That is, though they welcome converts (I'm one), they don't go out of their way to terrify folks into joining their denomination to avoid going to hell. As a result, Church of the Brethren congregations range from the incredibly conservative to the incredibly liberal and most shades in between. Differences in adherence and interpretation have caused the original Brethren to splinter several times, and besides Church of the Brethren, there are the Grace Brethren, Dunkard Brethren, Brethren Church and a couple of other factions whose names escape me right now, but all of whom trace their founding back to Mack.
The congregation I belong to is an isolated outpost in Portland, the only one for a hundred miles around. We're pretty much regarded (affectionately) as kooks by the rest of the denomination. This is due to our publicly affirming stance as regards gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons, as well as certain other "liberal" interpretations of our understanding of scripture and tradition.
Whew! That got surprisingly long -- sorry.
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