Identify and explain three of the four types of religious organizations discussed in your text. How does each type of organization influence people's lives? Which type is most common in the United States (be specific)?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

(any three)
The simplest form of religious organization, a cult, forms around a specific person or idea drawn from an established religion. Cults are distinguished by the measure of loyalty they ex- tract from members. Typically small, they are also composed of deeply fervent believers. Members of cults leave behind their membership in older religious institutions and often live on the margins of society.
A sect is a small subculture within an established religious institution. Like cults, they break from traditional practices, but unlike cults they remain within the larger institution. For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses are usually classified as a Christian sect. Sects typically arise when some members of an established religious institution believe that the institution is drifting from its true mission, becoming sidetracked by extraneous, more "worldly" pursuits.
A denomination is a large-scale, extremely organized religious body. It has an established hierarchy, methods for credentialing administrators, and much more social respect than either a cult or a sect. Members of cults and sects are often subject to prejudice and discrimination in the main- stream society, but members of denominations are usually considered "normal."
The ecclesiae refers to religion so pervasive that the boundary between state and church is nonexistent. In such societies, the clerical elite often serve as political leaders or at least formal advisors to political leaders. Everyone in the society belongs to that faith by birth, not individual decision, and those who do not belong to the faith cannot become citizens.
In the United States, the overwhelming majority of the population belongs to one of the denominations of Christianity. The largest is the Roman Catholic Church (23 percent). Nearly 70 percent of all Americans claim membership in a Protestant denomination (chiefly Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, or Lutheran).