This book brings together some of the most acknowledged essays by Hammond written over the last decade and explores religious organizations, their internal dynamics, and their impact. The first half of the book examines issues such as: church membership; the formation of religious identity; the changing meaning religious organizations have in the mind of persons returning to church after 'dropping out' for a significant period; the orderly dynamics idertaken by small sects who, in growing, lower tension with social environments. The second half of the book examines the consequences of these internal dynamics including world system theory, the church and its impact on voting behaviours, the cultural impact of cults, ideological reformation, ethnicity and conscience, and the relationship between religious and ethnic identities.
