As you can see from the title, sociologists tend to classify religious organisations into 4 main groupings. These are given below, with a few of their main characteristics.

1. CHURCH
   • These are large organisations with lots, often millions, of members. They often aspire to national or even global influence. They used to try to be the sole religious organisation within a particular country. The Catholic Church used to have this role over all of Europe; the Church of England (the name gives it away, doesn't it!) aspired to the same status within this country. Today, due to globalisation (mass media, cultural pluralism, and detraditionalisation (Giddens) this territorial monopoly is no longer possible.
   • They have a large paid hierarchy of officials (e.g. Bishops, Deans, Cardinals, Priests, Curates, etc)
   • Often linked to dominant political and cultural interests. Again, the name "Church of England" gives it away! They support the status quo and are essentially conservative. (These are the type of religious organisations that Marxists and Functionalists and Feminists would accuse of conservatism).
   • They are in low normative tension with their wider society. They tend to have and support the same norms & values as he majority of the population. (For example, the C. of E. just about tolerates divorce, homosexuality, gambling, and abortion, but doesn't encourage them: just like Mum & Dad, really!)
   • Recruitment is normally by birth, although they do make converts.
2. DENOMINATION
   • These have smaller memberships, and a smaller hierarchy of paid officials.
   • They do not strive for territorial domination, but are generally happy to co-exist with other denominations.
   • Best UK examples = Baptists, Methodists, Wesleyans, Congregationalists, etc. They typically have memberships of a couple of hundred thousand each.
   • They can be seen as a developed sect (Methodism is a good example of this).
   • There is some, but not extreme, normative tension with the wider society. Methodists, for example, are a bit more unhappy about gambling, alcohol, etc, that the C. of E.
   • Recruitment through birth or conversion. Numbers seriously declining in the UK (link to secularisation debate...)
3. SECT
   • An offshoot or splinter from an established religion. Often the group splits because it feels that the Church has "lost touch" with the "truth" or essence of religion.
   • They claim a monopoly on religious truth - they alone have "the answer".
   • Generally small. But may develop into a denomination.
   • Recruitment normally through conversion.
   • Often extreme normative tension with rest of society. They are deviant because they believe things which are very different from mainstream norms & values.
   • Often based around a charismatic individual.
   • For the above reasons, these are the groups that are often accused of "brainwashing" their converts, breaking up famiilies, etc.
   • They are a type of New Religious Movement (NRM)
   • They are disliked by functionalists as they destroy value consensus/cultural homogeneity.
   • Examples = The London Church of Christ (the group we study in the video); The Moonies (studied by Eileen Barker in her famous book. (You can select others that you have heard of....)
4. CULTS
   • A minority group with different religious norms & values from the mainstream.
   • May be loose-knit, have no formal organisation, and not even meet face-to-face.
   • Extremely varied (See Stark & Bainbridge) and may be only quasi-religious.
   • Often short-lived: "crazes" or "fads".
   • Members can "pick & mix" as part of a consumer lifestyle.
   • Another type of NRM
   • Disliked by functionalists, but sen as inevitable by postmodernists: result of more consumer choice and emphasis on lifestyles and identity.
   • Examples = Wicca; Satanism; Feng Shui; some types of yoga and meditation (TM); UFOlogy; etc.

There are two ways in which Wallis classifies NRMs. The first is according to their origins: where they came from.

1. Christian Traditions: such as the London Church of Christ, the Unification Church (Moonies), etc.
2. Eastern Religions: which gave rise to the Hare Krishna movement, Nichiren Shoshu, Yoga, Tai Chi, etc.
3. Western Psychotherapy: which led to Scientology, EST, and various "self-help" movements and therapies.

1. World-affirming: they accept the world, and say they will help their followers be successful and happy in it, through increased energy, concentration, etc.
2. World-accomodating: they encourage members to remain in the world, but to develop their inner power or purity.
3. World-rejecting: usually organised sects which encourage members to withdraw from the world. They claim a monopoly of religious truth, are in extreme normative tension, often seing the rest of society as misguided or wicked.