The Arithmetic of Social Movements: Theoretical Implications
This paper tries to explain many well-known patterns in the careers of cult movements by close examination of the arithmetic of plausible rates of recruitment and growth. Why do cults so often grow rapidly at the start, only to stall after a few years? Why do cult movements so often retreat from the...
| Published in: | Sociological analysis |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1982
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper tries to explain many well-known patterns in the careers of cult movements by close examination of the arithmetic of plausible rates of recruitment and growth. Why do cults so often grow rapidly at the start, only to stall after a few years? Why do cult movements so often retreat from their initial aim to convert the world and turn inward? Are cult founders charismatic in any useful sense of that term? Why do religious movements maintain their initial doctrinal intensity as long as they continue to grow? We argue that the answer to these and many other pertinent questions can be inferred from some simple arithmetic results. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711418 |