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The concept is found in almost all religions, especially those with a degree of formal organization, so that there is scope for special people, places etc to be devoted to worship.
In Christianity, especially in American branches of Protestantism of the more Pentecostal variety, holiness has acquired the secondary meaning of the reshaping of a person through spiritual rebirth. This process is described in the Bible, in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, chapter 6, verses 19-22. The term owes its origin to John Wesley's concept of "scriptural holiness" or "Christian perfection". The term "holy" may refer to someone or something that is associated with a divine power , such as water used for Baptism.
The Holiness movement began within Methodism in the United States, among those who thought the church had lost the zeal and emphasis on personal holiness of Wesley's day. In the latter part of the 19th century revival meetings were held, attended by thousands. In Vineland, N.J in 1867 a camp meeting was begun and the National Holiness Camp Meeting Association, which went on to establish many holiness camp meetings across the nation. Some adherents to the movement remained within their denominations; others founded new denominations, such as the Church of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is a denomination of Protestant Christianity, within the broad tradition of Methodism. History The church was begun in October of 1895 in Los Angeles, California by a group of people who desired a church that welcomed an America and the Church of God (Anderson)The Church of God (Anderson is a non-denominational, Holiness believing group of Christians with roots in Wesleyan pietism and also in the anabaptist tradition. It was started in 1880 ¹ by Daniel Sidney Warner and several others. Warner had been a member. Within a generation another movement, the PentecostalThe Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostalism is similar to the Charismatic movement, but developed earlier and separated from the mainstream church. Charismatic Christians, movement was born, drawing heavily from the Holiness Movement.
The general notion of a holy person or object as one set apart for religious purposes is close to that of a tabooFor the Taboo boardgame, see Taboo (game). A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom declared as sacred and forbidden; breaking of the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by object, which must not be touched or used by ordinary people or for ordinary purposes. In Christian thought, however, mere setting apart would be seen as a form of legalism; true holiness, in the Wesleyan sense, is a matter of inner motivation. Since it is impossible to know another person's inner motivation with certainty, however, it would be rash for anyone to describe someone else's religious practice as merely legalistic.