<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
This module examines the different forms of religious organisation.

It is normal for people to organise themselves into groups, organisations or associations. This happens in the area of commerce, labour, sport, culture, politics, education, social welfare and so on. Religion is no exception in this regard.

In order to express itself socially, the formation of organisations or associations within which people can enter into relationship with the holy or, more specifically, with the supernatural or divine, often occur. There are different types of religious organisations, of which we will discuss the following types briefly: denomination, ecclesia, sect and cult.

Although most of these terms have a Christian origin and connotation - the typology was originally thought out by the German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) and the theologian Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), they are useful in the sense that each of them represents a certain type of structure. These terms will therefore be used to describe certain types of organisations that may, or may not, occur in other religious traditions.

Ecclesia

The most important characteristic of the ecclesia (Greek for "church") is that it covers a large geographical area, which is either national or international. We tend to use the Greek word because "church" is too ambiguous in English: it can mean a specific organisation, the collection of all Christians, or a building!

The area covered and the vast number of members involved, are responsible for a complicated administration. Authority within the ecclesia is normally centralised and moves along a well–established hierarchy. Since the ecclesia is sufficiently large and well established to accommodate internal differences, various kinds of sub–organisations and leaders exist within the larger group.

Today the Roman Catholic Church is a good example of an ecclesia. On the other hand, bodies like the World Council of Churches or the World Alliance of Reformed Churches cannot be regarded as ecclesiae because membership is totally voluntary and the member churches retain their individual identities. Perhaps the Lutheran World Federation can in some ways be regarded as an ecclesia. All Lutheran churches all over the world belongs to this federation. However, it would be different from the Catholic church since the Lutheran Church in South Africa and, say, the one in Sweden are both separate denominations, each with its own autonomy.

As society changes, an ecclesia may gradually be reduced to the status of a denomination. In Britain, where the Anglican Church was in the ecclesia category for a long time, other denominations have increased in importance to such an extent that the influence of Anglicanism has decreased considerably.

Denomination

A denomination is a large group which has been well established and enjoys wide acceptability in the community. Usually a denomination is quite tolerant towards another denominations, but rather intolerant towards sects (see below), which are seen as narrow minded and reactionary.

Questions & Answers

what is mutation
Janga Reply
what is a cell
Sifune Reply
how is urine form
Sifune
what is antagonism?
mahase Reply
classification of plants, gymnosperm features.
Linsy Reply
what is the features of gymnosperm
Linsy
how many types of solid did we have
Samuel Reply
what is an ionic bond
Samuel
What is Atoms
Daprince Reply
what is fallopian tube
Merolyn
what is bladder
Merolyn
what's bulbourethral gland
Eduek Reply
urine is formed in the nephron of the renal medulla in the kidney. It starts from filtration, then selective reabsorption and finally secretion
onuoha Reply
State the evolution relation and relevance between endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton as it relates to cell.
Jeremiah
what is heart
Konadu Reply
how is urine formed in human
Konadu
how is urine formed in human
Rahma
what is the diference between a cavity and a canal
Pelagie Reply
what is the causative agent of malaria
Diamond
malaria is caused by an insect called mosquito.
Naomi
Malaria is cause by female anopheles mosquito
Isaac
Malaria is caused by plasmodium Female anopheles mosquitoe is d carrier
Olalekan
a canal is more needed in a root but a cavity is a bad effect
Commander
what are pathogens
Don Reply
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής -genēs "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is anything that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.[1][2
Zainab
A virus
Commander
Definition of respiration
Muhsin Reply
respiration is the process in which we breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide
Achor
how are lungs work
Commander
where does digestion begins
Achiri Reply
in the mouth
EZEKIEL
what are the functions of follicle stimulating harmones?
Rashima Reply
stimulates the follicle to release the mature ovum into the oviduct
Davonte
what are the functions of Endocrine and pituitary gland
Chinaza
endocrine secrete hormone and regulate body process
Achor
while pituitary gland is an example of endocrine system and it's found in the Brain
Achor
what's biology?
Egbodo Reply
Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized field that cover their morphology, physiology,anatomy, behaviour,origin and distribution.
Lisah
biology is the study of life.
Alfreda
Biology is the study of how living organisms live and survive in a specific environment
Sifune
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Learning about religion. OpenStax CNX. Apr 18, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11780/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Learning about religion' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask