Why are sects short lived

• Problems with maintaining commitment

  Barker- people are unable to cope with the strict discipline and rules imposed on members. The heavy and often extreme commitment required is difficult to maintain so people leave.

  Niebur- the enthusiastic fervour is hard to maintain after the first generation. This leads to wither the death of the sect or it will adapt and become less of a protest movement and more tolerate of mainstream society. What Becker referred to this process as “a sect cooling down” and becoming more like a denomination.
• loss of the leader

  leaders of sects tend to be very charismatic which is what attracted people to the sect in the first place.

  Without that leader the group may collapse without a central figure to hold on to. Loss of a leader may be due to death or imprisonment.

  Evaluation- not all groups disband after the loss of their leader. Some become more fanatical especially when the leader is imprisoned.

  e.g. Charles Manson’s “Family” continued to support and follow his lead after his arrest and their own.
• Changing circumstances-

  The social circumstance and personal reasons that originally led to someone to join a cult may change or disappear over a period of time making membership to the cult redundant.

  Second generation members may not have felt the initial reason for joining the sect so are more likely to leave.

  Baker suggests that as younger people get older their reasons for joining the sect wane and they wish for a more normal life.

  This then leads to either the sect disbanding or changing to become more of a denomination.
• Postmodernism

  the modern is characterised by a fragmentation of belief and that the wide variety of religious and spiritual systems to choose from.

  This allows people to experiment without making a long term commitment e.g. spiritual shopping.

  The greater tolerance of beliefs also means that sects have a short shelf life due to changing fashions and consumer tastes.