This article analyzes the Czech followers of Reverend Moon using the viewpoint of rational choice theory. It focuses not only on this group as a specific religious organization with the characteristics of a sect, but also on how the institutional environment and its changes before and after 1989 affected this group's character, including its survival strategies. The diachronic dimension of our analysis helps to map (1) the changes in the strategies of the organization towards its own members, and at the same time (2) the changing character of the religious market. The Czech Republic's religious market underwent a transformation from a state-regulated to a partially deregulated environment. In our research, we test whether the members of this religious group fulfill the characteristics of a sect, as described by rational choice theory, which means determining: (1) the degree of tension with the social environment; (2) the degree of exclusion, conservatism, and participation; and (3) the degree of religious and social commitment to this organization. In addition to these descriptive aspects, we also focus on the strategies of this religious organization that are connected with the structure and dynamics of the religious market. All these aspects have their consequences for the level of this social group's social inclusion in Czech society.
The focus of the article is an analysis and interpretation of the dramatic transformation of the Unity of the Brethren at the end of the 15th century. In this period, the Unity of the Brethren primarily reconsidered its rejection of secular power, the urban way of life, and most crafts and trade. These changes are referred to in previous research as the transformation of the sect into a church. Nevertheless, this transformation has not yet been systematically studied using adequate theoretical methods that would reflect the more general mechanisms of development operating in Christian religious movements. The author therefore returns to the sociological roots of this debate. Inspired by the neo-Weberian approach of David d'Avray, the author uses theories concerning the transformation of sects into churches as ideal types in the comparison of two key thinkers – Petr Chelčický and Luke of Prague. Petr Chelčický inspired the establishment of the Unity of the Brethren and his teachings rejected secular power and the urban way of life. In contrast, Luke of Prague legitimized the abovementioned changes in his teaching. The analysis reveals that the tension between the Unity of the Brethren and mainstream society was not diminished, as it was closely linked to the identity of the Unity of the Brethren. On this level, the Unity of the Brethren remains more of a sect. However, the new concept of salvation by Luke of Prague, based on God's grace, enabled and legitimized life in cities, participation in secular power, and the transformation of social practice, without disturbing the sense of exclusivity of the Unity of the Brethren.
In the last quarter of the 13th century, a group was formed in Milan around memories of Guglielma, considered as a holy woman. Besides mainstream forms of cult, esoteric beliefs about Guglielma came into being, and a small network of people began to claim that Guglielma was a female incarnation of the Holy Spirit. Her followers had the project of establishing a new order in the Catholic church with new gospels, new apostles, a new hierarchy and a female pope. This article aims at a reconstruction of the group in the process of its emergence, reconsiders the source basis of various statements in existing literature, and arrives at the following conclusions: (1) by her way of life, Guglielma stimulated the birth of a congregation venerating her memory, but she was not the author of teachings associating her with the Holy Spirit; (2) in spite of the obvious importance of Andrea Saramita and Mayfreda da Pirovano, there are also other devotees of Guglielma who creatively contributed to the group's conversations and activities, but were overshadowed by the inquisitors' search for heresiarchs and by subsequent historiography; (3) there is no other evidence for the Bohemian and royal origin of Guglielma besides the trial records, and this alleged origin is likely to be a pious legend of her followers; (4) contrary to the suggestions of several historians, the devotees of Guglielma did not intend to establish a purely female hierarchy in the Church; and (5) in their conversations, Guglielma's followers discussed the question of why the Holy Spirit could not incarnate in a man, and for the most part, they saw the female incarnation of the Holy Spirit as a logical outcome of the process of human salvation. In addition to our assessments of these issues, we use the records to draw some conclusions about the precarious process of group formation.