ABSTRACT
Religious commitment can be highly individual and private, especially in modern times. A central theme in the history of the sociology of religion has been the distinction between various forms of religious organizations. Ernst Troeltsch was a major figure in German theology in the early 1900s. According to Troeltsch, the distinction between church and sect had to do with the organization of the religious community. The concept of cult was introduced in 1932 by sociologist Howard Becker. Several sociologists of religion have attempted to further develop the typologies of religious organizations. The term institutionalized sect, introduced by Robertson, refers to a group that maintains the expectation of active support by its members, but it has relinquished its self-understanding as the only dispenser of religious truth. People join through an individual and voluntary choice, although the most important form of recruitment in established denominations takes place through childbirth. Religious organizations are sometimes depicted as very conservative.
