Originally Posted by
babaluey
Pardon my ignorance, but I have to ask: what religion (or denomination) requires being voted in by the congregation in order to be a member?
My father belongs to a Presbyterian church, here in Canada (may be called something different in the US and elsewhere) and there are 3 levels of membership. Anyone can attend but to act on behalf of the church, you need to be "approved". I can't remember the name of all 3 levels but I know that the top is called Elder (top, excluding the Pastor). My parents were Anglican when they came over from the UK in 1957 but in the last few years, they haven't been happy with the Anglican church as a whole and also, were not happy with the Ministers in the local churches so they switched to Presbyterian.