Types of religious organisations

Below are the characteristics of the 4 typologies (ways of grouping religion) created by Troeltsch and Niebhur.

NOTE: Here a Church doesn’t refer to Christianity alone but to the group of religions that have the characteristics of a Church.

Church   Large   Very inclusive   Claims a monopoly on truth   Run by a bureaucratic hierarchy   – deacon, priest, Pope, Imam etc   Open to all but mainly attracts upper/middle class because it is very conservative   Doesn’t demand high   commitment E.g Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism	Sect   Demands high commitment   Usually attracts the working   class or relatively deprived   Run by a charismatic leader   Claims  monopoly on truth   Detached from wider society and hostile towards it E.g Manson Family, People’s Temple, Jehovah’s Witness
Denomination   Not as inclusive as a Church but not as exclusive as a sect   Doesn’t claim a monopoly on truth and is tolerant of other religions   Demand a moderate level of commitment   State some rules but are not very fussy about it E.g Pentecostalism, Methodism	Cult   Small, loose knit groups   Highly individualistic (the individual is more important than the group)   Shared themes and interests but no sharp, defined belief system   Are usually led by ‘practioners’ or ‘therapists’ who claim to have special knowledge   Are tolerant of others and do not demand strong commitment   Claim to improve life E.g Scientology