Abstract
The religious order is a historical form of Christianity, especially of Catholicism. Among its characteristics it purports to have a vision of the world which does not depend in any significant way upon that which is dominant in the Church and society. It affirms its difference by its perception of and dealings with aspects of everyday life. The historical continuity of the typical difference of the cognitive minority can be traced through a psychosocial trajectory moving from conflictual intensity to eventual disappearance. The religious order exists through its members. It grapples with relations of institutional and cultural dependence in its effort to define frontiers for itself. This continues to be true in the initiatives following on from Vatican II, whether projects of renewal or processes of decline.