A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders.
A public-benefit nonprofit corporation[1] is a type of nonprofit corporation chartered by a state government, and organized primarily or exclusively for social, educational, recreational or charitable purposes by like-minded citizens.
Often these types of corporations are recognized under the law on a subnational level, for instance by a state or province government.
Religious corporation articles need to have the standard tax exempt language the IRS requires.
[2] Depending on the state in which they are located, they may also be exempt from some of the inspections or regulations governing non-religious groups performing the same services.