Abstract
The inclusion in the field of religion of certain practices which are legitimate in the political sphere profoundly affects the structuring of the former in a way which is not reflected in the latter.
These practices in the political sphere have combined to help the emergence of centralised power, but their effect is different in the field of religion, the structure of which tends to have more in common with the literary or artistic spheres.
The analysis is centred upon the appeals to public opinion, which has been regarded as legitimate, and on the importance for the life of the Church of public opinion taken in the context of discussion between established authority and pressure groups. This implies an analysis of the structure which controls the means of communication with the masses and the extent to which this structure has been acknowledged as having the right to decide who shall speak. A new area for negotiation has been created which is subject to the social limits imposed by diverse forms of pluralism.