Denomination or Death

• Niebuhr 1929: sects are world rejecting organisations because of schism. The splitting from an established church due to disagreements over religious doctrine. Sects are short-lived and within a generation they die out or compromise with the world.
• Niebuhr 1929:

  1. Second Generation: lack commitment and fervour of their parents as they did not have to consciously reject the world
  2. Protestant Ethic Effect: sects that practise asceticism tend to become prosperous and upwardly mobile and thus are tempted to compromise with the world 
  3. Death of the Leader: sects with a charismatic leader will either collapse on the leaders death or a formal, bureaucratic leadership will take over it, transforming it into a denomination