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The Church of Divine Science is a religion.
The Church of Divine Science was founded in the late 19th century during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States by Nona L. Brooks (1861-1945) and her sister Fannie James in Denver, Colorado. Emma Curtis Hopkins, noted New Thought leader of the day, was instrumental in assisting with the organization. Shortly after the founding in Denver a second location was established in San Franciso, California, by Malina E. Cramer. There is also a loose connection with Charles Fillmore, founder of Unity School of Christianity in Missouri. By 1918 there were churches in Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Boston, Portland, Spokane and Saint Louis. By 1925 churches had opened in San Diego, Sacramento, Topeka, District of Columbia, Illinois, and Iowa.
Divine Science is part of the Christian New Thought Movement that believes in the omnipresence and benevolency of God. They see their God as possessing love, wisdom, power, and substance, and do not believe that God has an opposite, such as Satan. Divine Science considers it a changeless truth that God constitutes the nature of all being and that God and only God fills all realms and dimensions of existence. Like other New Thought churches, Divine Science considers spiritual healing very important, and strives to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who the New Testament portrays curing many peope. The Church's founder, Nona Brooks, says, "The whole of Divine Science is the practice of the Presence of God. Truth comes through the Bible, receptive prayer, contemplation and meditation and the practice of the presence of God here and now."
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