This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1986, Volume 3, Number 1, pages 36-56. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.

Charismatic Covenant Community: A Failed Promise

Adrian J. Reimers

The evolution of The People of Praise Charismatic Community is described as an emanation of the Catholic charismatic renewal, itself stimulated by Vatican II in the 1960's and 1970's, which saw much religious experimentation and the formation of new lay religious communities. According to the author, an ex-member of The People of Praise, the group came to represent a spiritually poor "generic" Christianity far removed from the Catholic Church. This, plus tight psychological and social controls based on theories of "headship," "discipleship," and "commandability" led the author and his wife to leave the community after more than a decade of membership.
 

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