ABSTRACT
Lutheran theologian and sociologist Ernst Troeltsch, who had been influenced by Dilthey, developed a typology of church and sects. A church is usually conservative and adapts itself to worldly demands by aiming at mass support rather than at an elitist kind of loyalty. Some scholars have incorporated Troeltsch's category of mysticism into the concept of cult because of the loose and weak bonds existing among its members, and because of the low level of institutionalization and rather tolerant religiosity that characterize cults. However, Troeltsch's definitions undoubtedly revolved mainly around the dichotomy between church and sect. H. Richard Niebuhr could also be viewed as a nonsociologist who dealt with sociological issues. Niebuhr was also interested in the transformation of the sects after their collision with the world, and he registered their inner weakening, which led them to change into denominations. Schismatic tendencies were the expression of cultural division and of the various interests that derived from it.
