A New Look at Sect Development.

Although much progress has been made toward understanding how sects develop, currently available typologies and theories cannot account for how all sects develop. Sociologists have tended to restrict their studies to relatively nonradical sects confronting relatively tolerant societies in ways that are passive or only mildly militant. In short, they have studied the kinds of sects common in English-speaking countries. They have not dealt adequately with really radical sects or with sects operating in intolerant environments. In this paper it is argued that sect development involves a dialectical process between sect and host society. What sects become in time is not simply a function of their initial characteristics taken by themselves but is the product of an ongoing process of interaction with their environments. This perspective is illustrated by discussing the histories of the Old Colony Mennonites and the Mormons and by drawing out of these histories some implications for future studies of sect development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]