World accommodating definition
An often seen result of such factors is the incorporation into the theology of the new sect a distaste for the adornments of the wealthy (e.g., jewelry or other signs of wealth).
After their formation, sects can take only three paths - dissolution, institutionalization, or eventual development into a denomination.
In the sociology of religion, the most widely used classification is the church-sect typology.
The typology states that churches, ecclesia, denominations and sects form a continuum with decreasing influence on society.
They have a mixture of sect-like and denomination-like characteristics. existing today originated as sects breaking away from denominations (or Churches, in the case of Lutheranism and Anglicanism).
Examples include: Hutterites, Iglesia ni Cristo, and the Amish. Examples include: Methodists, Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists.
Institutionalized sects are halfway between sects and denominations on the continuum of religious development.
Ecclesias include the above characteristics of churches with the exception that they are generally less successful at garnering absolute adherence among all of the members of the society and are not the sole religious body.
The state churches of some European nations would fit this type.
And even if the membership does not grow or grows slowly, norms will develop to govern group activities and behavior.
The development of norms results in a decrease in spontaneity, which is often one of the primary attractions of sects.
Johnstone provides the following eight characteristics of denominations: Sociologically, a "sect" is defined as a newly formed religious group that formed to protest elements of its parent religion (generally a denomination).