ABSTRACT
The act of sacrifice, among other things, severs ties with that which is sacrificed and thus “detaches” the person. R. M. Kanter treats sacrifice in a rather straightforward “cognitive consistency” manner, claiming, “the more it ‘costs’ a person to do something, the more ‘valuable’ he will consider it, in order to justify the psychic ‘expense’ and remain internally consistent.” Christ Communal Organization (CCO) would be classified as requiring oral abstinence, although members do take meat and have few aversions to “rich foods”, coffee, and tea. Renunciation involves the relinquishing of relationships that are potentially disruptive to group cohesion, thereby heightening the relationship of individual to group. Kanter adds, in her discussion of “insulating mechanisms,” that most successful communities overtly sought specific renunciations of potential members. CCO meets this criteria as well, as the group has their own doctor and nurse staff, and have allocated resources to equip a medical office for use by group members in the home area.
