From Sect to Church: A Sociological Interpretation of the Baha'i Movement

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Berger is one of the foremost mid-twentieth century sociologists. His was the first sociological analysis of the Baha'i religion. Berger sought to describe two fundamental transformations of the Baha'i Faith: (1) the transformation from a millenarian movement within Shii Islam into an independent religion with a worldwide following ; (2) the 'routinization of charismatic leadership' into largely rational-legal forms. He uses the concept of 'motif' to study fundamental concerns of the religion and defines two major Baha'i motifs: the gnostic and the millenarian.