"Disembodied Access" and Technological Constraints on Organizational Development: A Study of Mail-Order Religions*

Using a structural perspective, Lofland's concept of "disembodied access" is related to deviant religions in American society. Specifically, this paper investigates the influence of the United States Postal Service as it channels and constrains the organizational development of a sample of 27 religious groups whose members and leaders correspond almost exclusively by mail. Three structural adaptations of these groups are discussed as consequences of relying on the mails for existence: procedures of recruitment, commitment maintenance, and the distribution of charisma. It is concluded that the structure of the postal system confronts these religious groups with unique constraints that interact with more general dilemmas to limit organizational growth, more so than in the case of religious groups not relying so heavily on the mails. F or unconventional religious groups, whether they be sect-typical or original movements, the networks of communications among leaders, members and potential converts are important factors in organizational growth. To the extent that the wider social environment imposes constraints or limitations on these communication patterns, groups' development and even their chances of survival may be limited. The following study examines the influence of one particular communication structure, the United States Postal Service, and how deviant religious groups which rely almost exclusively on it for membership communications find their organizational growth channeled by that usage. This exploratory analysis argues that religions whose organizations consist almost entirely of members who correspond by mail manifest organizational needs common to other religious groups, but that their preponderate reliance on the postal system *The author wishes to express appreciation to Lawrence E. Hazelrigg, Peter J. Burke, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticisms of earlier drafts of this paper.