Sodality
For sodality in social anthropology, see Sodality (social anthropology).
In Christian theology, a sodality is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form (which is termed modality). In English, the term sodality is most commonly used by groups in the Catholic Church, where they are also referred to as confraternities. See Sodality (Catholic Church). Sodalities are expressed among Protestants through the multitude of mission organizations, societies, and specialized ministries that have proliferated, particularly since the advent of the modern missions movement, usually attributed to Englishman William Carey in 1792. However they rarely use the term "sodality" in their names.