ABSTRACT
The literature just cited can generally be grouped into one of two categories. One category, including the work of John Lofland and Rodney Stark and of Luther Gerlach and Virginia Hine has focused on the process of conversion, or the reasons why conversion occurs. The other literature—work by D. J. Parrucci, by R. Travisano, by Wayne C. Gordon has given major attention to types of converts and conversion. Lofland and Stark after extensive study of an eclectic religious cult called the “Divine Precepts,” outlined seven factors, the accumulation of which is both a necessary and a sufficient cause for conversion. The Gerlach and Hine model does not follow the major emphasis of most conversion literature in that it does not stress emotional, physical, or psychological needs of potential converts which would predispose them to commitment. Fundamentalist religious socialization, as has been said, emphasizes deep personal commitment, and such socialization often is rigorous, if not “oversocialization.”
