Religion et bureaucratie — Le problème de l'organisation religieuse

Abstract

The author notes that despite the work of Troeltsch and Weber, later sociology did not provide substantial treatment of the organizational aspects of religious phenomena. This shortcoming both on the theoretical and empirical level can perhaps be explained by the fact that churches have a ten dency to conceal the problems of their organization behind a quasi-theology, and sociologists do not always avoid the images and interpretations that the churches provide of them selves.

The author then cites three reasons which seem to militate in favor of a more thorough analysis of the organizational and bureaucratic aspects of the churches' activity. He also pro poses several ways of reflecting on the faithful's changing per ception of the Catholic Church as well as its democrati zation.