Types of Religious Organisation | Beliefs in Society | A-Level Sociology

The main types of religious organisation are explained in this A-Level Sociology revision video for Beliefs in Society.
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VIDEO TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Introduction
0:37 - Defining churches, sects, denominations, and cults
1:26 - Weber's typology of churches and sects
2:01 - Troeltsch's expanded typology
2:57 - Characteristics of churches
3:34 - Characteristics of sects
4:12 - Denominations
4:50 - Examples of churches, denominations, and sects
5:24 - Cults vs sects
6:10 - Limitations of typologies
6:57 - Changes to churches in modern society
7:27 - Growth of new religious movements
7:50 - Conclusion
VIDEO SUMMARY
This video explains the sociological typology used to categorize different types of religious organizations. It starts by defining key terms like churches, sects, denominations, and cults. Weber had a simple typology distinguishing between large churches and small sects. Troeltsch expanded this to look at other factors besides size. He characterized churches as closely tied to the state, hierarchical, mainstream and conservative. Sects claim a monopoly on truth, use charismatic leadership, demand total commitment, and are often hostile to the state. Denominations are in between churches and sects. Cults are loosely organized and make few demands. The video ends by noting limitations of typologies, like increased religious pluralism in modern societies.
KEY TERMS
Church, sect, denomination, cult, typology, secularization, religious pluralism