Ecclesia (sociology of religion)

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An ecclesia is one of the four members of the most common sociological typology of religious groups -- the other three are the denomination, the sect and the cult. An ecclesia is a religious group which is strongly integrated with the dominant social and political culture. Often ecclesias are state churches, though they need not be: a state church by definition has official legal recognition of its role in the society, while an ecclesia might not.

[edit] Etymology

εκκλησια is the Koine Greek word for church. It is a perfect participial form of the verb καλεω (meaning "call") with the prepositional prefix εκ (meaning "from" or "out of"). That is, the church consists of those who have been called out from the world. In the New Testament and in Christian theology, the term was (and is) used for all Christian churches.