Sectarian Cycle

• Stark and Bainbridge 1986: religious organisations moving through a cycle.

  1. Schism
  2. Initial Fervour
  3. Denominationalism
  4. Establishment
  5. Further Schism
• Schism: tension between the needs of deprived members and privileged members
• Initial Fervour: with a charismatic leadership and great tension between a sect’s beliefs and those of wider society
• Denominationalism: Protestant ethic and the coolness of second generation ensures the fervour disappears
• Establishment: sect becomes more world-accepting
• Further Schism: more zealous and less privileged members break away, founding a new more fervent sect