A Social Analysis of Religious Organisations: The Cases of Church, Sect, Denomination, Cult and New Religious Movements (NRMs) and Their Typologies

Authors : Nuri Tinaz

Pages : 63-108

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Publication Date : 2005-01-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :This paper examines the sociological concepts and analysis of religious organisations; church, sect, cult, denomination and new religious movements. It also aims to bring together all sociological arguments of religious organisations to show how they have developed, evolved and then transformed over the years, and how their analysis and understanding have changed and differed from one sociologist to another over the time. The sudden rise of cult and new religious movements has accelerated conceptual complexity and confusion in the sociology of religion when analyzing and studying religion, religious organisations and movements, so that sociologists have felt obliged to create new typologies to understand and interpret the changing face of religious phenomena.
Keywords : sociology of religion, Church-Sect Typology, Cult, Denomination, New Religious Movement (NRM) Typologies