On the one hand, it is a delusion. Loving a denomination larger than a few people makes as much sense as loving mathematics. It is an abstraction.

But it can also mean loyalty to lawful Church authority, which is a good thing.

The conceptual problem in the denominational context is that one submits to a denomination willingly on the basis of some claim that the denomination is run in a certain way and that one can expect a certain amount of integrity and godliness in the process. When such expectations are completely disappointed, one can feel one was defrauded and want to retract the decision that was made under false pretenses.

But it is not that simple. Marriages should not end simply because one spouse feels disappointed in the other. The contractual nature of modern church relationships is similar (probably not identical!). So it gets messy.

One can love one’s mother more than all other women without insisting that she is the best women in the world. One can be loyal to a denomination for the same reason.

Yet, there are always those within denominations who will insist that the only reason to belong to one is because one is assured of its superiority. That is not true loyalty to a denomination but rather an ethic of perpetual war within the body of Christ. It is a war with other denominations and it is also a war against other members of the denomination for not believing in the alleged superiority. And it becomes a perfect instance in which “love” of the denomination requires exactly the opposite of love toward the people who make up the denomination.

Denominations typically spell out a few conditions of teaching, belief, or practice that define the boundaries for the denomination. Since most denominations are not so shameless as to include “We are the best of all” in those requirements, it is not uncommon for the members and ministers of the denomination to include people who are not infected with that level of arrogance. These people are the natural targets of those who are so infected.

But as a true society, any story about how one came to join a certain denomination will be mostly about providential relationships. Some stories will contain very little account of a change of heart and mind (“I was born to Episcopalian parents”) and others will contain a great deal.

But denominations are a network of relationships and one is led into them through relationships.

[Note: I believe I have ripped off both Fisher Ames (love of math) and G. K. Chesterton (love of mother) through primary or secondary sources, but my memory is too dim to say more.]