Engaged members of the Unification Church. Impact of a charismatic large group on adaptation and behavior.

This project was designed to study the psychological nature of compliance with unusual behavioral norms among members of a charismatic religious sect. Three hundred twenty-one members of the Unification Church had been placed into marital engagement a year previously in a highly unusual fashion: their partners were assigned to them by the group's leader as part of a religious ritual. The abrogation of contemporary norms for mate selection was not associated with increased psychological distress. Church-related life experiences, however, were perceived as being of considerable psychological impact. Multiple regression analyses further revealed that the vulnerability of respondents to perceived life disruption was relived by their affiliation to the sect. This "relief effect," associated with social and religious ties to the sect, apparently reinforces compliance with the group's behavorial norms, particularly since the manner of reinforcement is integrated into the social structure of the group.