ABSTRACT
During the past three years, the author and two other researchers have been involved in an extensive investigation of one segment of the Jesus Movement, Christ Commune (a pseudonym), a part of one of the oldest, most well~established Jesus Movement organizations in this country ( Enroth, Ericson, and Peters, 1972). The researchers conducted lengthy interviews, participated as observers in the activities of the group and administered personality tests to group members. Most of the material presented here is drawn from the author's interaction with leaders and other members during our first visit to the commune, sup~ plemented by interview data, and observations made by the co-researchers (James T. Richardson and Robert Simmonds) during later visits. The commune which was studied is located in the northwest and draws members from over forty organization houses located throughout the United States. Christ Commune consists of almost one hundred members, called brothers and sisters, who are predominantly white and are from upper middle class backgrounds. (See Harder, Richardson and Simmonds ( 1972) for more detailed information on this group.) The average age of members is twenty one and the average educational level is slightly over twelve years. Most members experienced moderate religious socialization before joining this fundamentalist sect. The numerical predominance of males in the sect ( 84 % in 1971, 65 % in 1972) may reflect the superiority of their position within the group and the predominance of rewards available to them. However, the increasing number of females at Christ Commune during the past two years may indicate more rewarding roles available to them, which we suspect reflects a recognition by the group leaders of the importance of having a fairly balanced population if the group is to survive.
