From Piety to Professionalism--and Back?: Transformations of Organized Religious Virtuosity

From Piety to Professionalism - and Back? argues that the dissolution ties with institutions has greatly affected denominations-especially specific denominational subgroups such as Catholic religious orders, Protestant deaconesses, or women’s missionary societies - in profoundly important ways: shifting or obliterating their recruitment bases, altering the backgrounds and expectations of their leaders, and often causing fundamental transformations in the very identity and culture of the groups themselves.

Patricia Wittberg is Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.