Cult Church
- Size and Influence - Size and Influence
No idea, hard to measure. Influence is limited Huge; millions of members. Tends to have global influence
- Type of Membership - Type of Membership
Individualistic. Very low commitment and people just dip in/dip out Members are often born into it, and so commitment is often relatively low. Universal
- Organisation appeal
No organisation - Organisation/Nature of Leadership
- Nature of Leadership Well organised; there is a hierarchy of paid officials.
No leadership - Life span
- Life span Existed for a very long time - thousands of years
Short, Might last a year or two. - Attitude to wider society
- Attitude to wider society Mainstream, adopting mainstream values. Leans away from controversy. Conservative
Fairly mainstream. Generally accepting - Claims to the truth
- Claims to the truth Used to think they had a monopoly on the truth (essentially where they believe it is the
No monopoly on the truth; however it depends. only way and is correct), however now accepting of other religions.
Examples include: People who are into crystals, Examples include: Christianity, Judaism, Islam
horoscopes, tarot cards. (New Age)
Beliefs -
Religious
Organisations
Sect Denomination
- Size and Influence
- Size and Influence Large; 100,000-1,000,000. Still typically global
It can vary, some are 60 (Heaven’s Gate) whereas Jehovah’s Witness are - Type of Membership
global. Can even be 10; Generally small. Sometimes born into it however very strict rules meant high
- Type of Membership commitment is required. Fairly universal appeal
People tend to choose these. Very high commitment with strict lifestyles. - Organisation/Nature of Leadership
Marginal? Disillusioned? Well organised; there is a hierarchy of paid officials.
- Organisation
Varies. For example Mormons were organised with paid officials - Life span
However, it is typically loosely organised/no organisation Shorter than churches; hundreds of years
- Nature of Leadership - Attitude to wider society
Typically a single charismatic leader, such as Jim Jones Mainstream and accepting of society. Conservative
- Life span - Claims to the truth
Fairly short lived, people ended up killing themselves in Heaven’s Gate and People’s They still do, however they are open to interpretation.
Temple. However there are Moonies and Jehovah’s Witness, possessing longevity
- Attitude to wider society
Do not possess mainstream values and reject society
- Claims to the truth
They think that they have a monopoly on the truth. Examples include: Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostalists
Examples include: The Amish, People’s Temple, Moonies, Mormons
- Size and Influence - Size and Influence
No idea, hard to measure. Influence is limited Huge; millions of members. Tends to have global influence
- Type of Membership - Type of Membership
Individualistic. Very low commitment and people just dip in/dip out Members are often born into it, and so commitment is often relatively low. Universal
- Organisation appeal
No organisation - Organisation/Nature of Leadership
- Nature of Leadership Well organised; there is a hierarchy of paid officials.
No leadership - Life span
- Life span Existed for a very long time - thousands of years
Short, Might last a year or two. - Attitude to wider society
- Attitude to wider society Mainstream, adopting mainstream values. Leans away from controversy. Conservative
Fairly mainstream. Generally accepting - Claims to the truth
- Claims to the truth Used to think they had a monopoly on the truth (essentially where they believe it is the
No monopoly on the truth; however it depends. only way and is correct), however now accepting of other religions.
Examples include: People who are into crystals, Examples include: Christianity, Judaism, Islam
horoscopes, tarot cards. (New Age)
Beliefs -
Religious
Organisations
Sect Denomination
- Size and Influence
- Size and Influence Large; 100,000-1,000,000. Still typically global
It can vary, some are 60 (Heaven’s Gate) whereas Jehovah’s Witness are - Type of Membership
global. Can even be 10; Generally small. Sometimes born into it however very strict rules meant high
- Type of Membership commitment is required. Fairly universal appeal
People tend to choose these. Very high commitment with strict lifestyles. - Organisation/Nature of Leadership
Marginal? Disillusioned? Well organised; there is a hierarchy of paid officials.
- Organisation
Varies. For example Mormons were organised with paid officials - Life span
However, it is typically loosely organised/no organisation Shorter than churches; hundreds of years
- Nature of Leadership - Attitude to wider society
Typically a single charismatic leader, such as Jim Jones Mainstream and accepting of society. Conservative
- Life span - Claims to the truth
Fairly short lived, people ended up killing themselves in Heaven’s Gate and People’s They still do, however they are open to interpretation.
Temple. However there are Moonies and Jehovah’s Witness, possessing longevity
- Attitude to wider society
Do not possess mainstream values and reject society
- Claims to the truth
They think that they have a monopoly on the truth. Examples include: Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostalists
Examples include: The Amish, People’s Temple, Moonies, Mormons
