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This chapter presents a basic overview of the history of the Order of Christ Sophia (OCS). The OCS is only a decade old, but it has grown out of a number of predecessor movements: the Holy Order of MANS (HOOM), the Brotherhood of Christ, and the Holy Order of Sophia. Earl Blighton, who was involved in alternative spirituality for much of his life, founded the HOOM during the heyday of the counterculture. Father Peter Bowes, who had been a minister in the Holy Order of MANS, founded the Brotherhood of Christ. Father Peter's brotherhood was short-lived. But one of Bowes's students, Mother Clare Watts, founded an all-women's order, the Holy Order of Sophia, which later became the Order of Christ Sophia after Bowes and Watts joined forces. The historical backdrop for the OCS is thus the history of these predecessor movements and the biographies of Blighton, Bowes, and Watts.

This chapter examines the order's beliefs and practices. Earl Blighton, known to Holy Order of MANS (HOOM) members as Father Paul, wedded new thought and an esoteric belief system that included elements from Indian yoga systems to traditional practices from Catholicism. Order of Christ Sophia situates itself firmly in the tradition of the Holy Order of MANS. This is evident in the Holy Order of Christ Sophia's (OCS) theological terminology, clerical attire, and day-to-day rituals. There have also been certain additions to the original HOOM synthesis. Perhaps the most important new element is the addition of a psychotherapeutic dimension that engages members in a kind of ongoing group therapy as an integral part of their spiritual practice.

This chapter looks at the future prospects for the order in terms of Rodney Stark's analysis of how religions grow—or, to use Stark's terminology, how religions “succeed”. It is argued that although many specific components of his theoretical formulation are useful, other components miss the mark. The first part of the chapter critiques certain aspects of the Stark model of religious growth. It then applies his success model to evaluate the Order of Christ Sophia's potential for future growth. In terms of Stark's theoretical formulation, the order's prospects appear bright. The final section speculates about the OCS's postcharismatic future.

In its relatively short lifespan of ten years, the Order of Christ Sophia (OCS) has experienced more than its fair share of controversy. From an accusatory media, to disenchanted ex-members, to direct assaults from the anti-cult movement (ACM), the order has matured in a hostile milieu. This chapter examines the major areas in which the OCS has been involved in controversy: first, confrontations with former members of the Holy Order of MANS (ex-HOOMies) who question the OCS's legitimacy; second, confrontation with disenchanted former members of the OCS; and third, confrontation with the media and ACM figures.

Demographic questionnaires were administered to members of the Order of Christ Sophia (OCS) in 2005 and 2008. This chapter examines the membership's characteristics and analyzes how people became members. Though some of the OCS data support generally accepted conclusions that researchers have drawn from earlier studies of new religious movements, on certain points the data call into question—sometimes dramatically—prior generalizations. Thus, for example, the scholarly consensus is that the great majority of recruits become involved in new religious movements (NRMs) in response to the “youth crisis” that takes place during the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood. The average member of the order, however, became involved in his or her 30s. This and a number of other characteristics of the OCS membership challenge general conclusions about recruits to new religions that have been drawn from previous research.

Understanding religious experiences is central for understanding a wide variety of contemporary religious movements. This chapter examines the range of religious experiences reported by members of the Order of Christ Sophia. Members of the order conceive of themselves as Christian mystics, a self-identification that emphasizes this dimension of the religious life. Religious experience has also been a foundational category of analysis for certain classical theorists of religious studies. Because this approach has been rejected by a number of important recent theorists, the chapter offers an argument for taking religious experiences seriously, without burdening this category of human experience with the responsibility for legitimating the larger enterprise of religious studies.

This chapter presents a psychological profile of the Order of Christ Sophia (OCS). The study was designed to add to the body of empirical research to promote a better understanding of the psychological effects of membership in new religious movements (NRMs). Because the Order of Christ Sophia has not previously been empirically studied, it offers new information and an alternative perspective to the available research. The chapter includes the use of measures found in prior research on NRMs to allow for direct comparisons between OCS members and participants in other NRMs.