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Group dynamics applies to any group of people - including religion. Although, the basics of group dynamics has a common focus - it's not necessarily the rule in all cases. Larger groups often have many subgroups with theirown specific rules and modification of rituals (common to the larger group). For example, psychologists are a group of people brought together around pyschology. This does not mean that the larger group of pyschologists is exactly the same as smaller subgroups within psychology. While, larger community of psychologists has a set of rules, rituals and authorities (the essential structure of a religion). Subgroups fill-in more specifics of the religion. For example both Freudians and Jungists are psychologists - but they are not the same - nor do they represent the whole of the pyschologist community. They exist within, exclusive in the specifics of psychology yet mutual to the community, as a whole.
Looking further into the subgroups of the Freudians and the Jungists, we can get a better insight to group dynamics and the definition of religion. Sigmund Freud, an intellectual in Vennia (Austria) around the turn of the century - ushered in a new era of thinking - about thought and the human mind. He introduced the world to psychoanalysis. While Carl Jung was a contemporary who based his work on Freudian thought, adjusting it to hisown - bringing an unknown mystical and collective unconcious to pyschanalysis. Also in this group of Neo-Freudians was Alfred Adler, who was also expelled from this group for his heresay of social influences in psychoanalysis - specifically superiority and inferiority complexes. As the original Vennia group (of pyschologists) broke up, new ones formed around each ejection. These formed the early subgroups of psychology - each of whom would be influential in schools (of psychology) and methods of treatment for those deemed of therapy. Not surpisingly from this group would also come new ideas of the origins of thought and behavior. One new.idea, that came into itsown identity - separate from psychology - was psychiatry. Psychiatry was the belief in physical origin of thought and behavior. Together they would be the origin of a whole new era of horror - including the holocaust.
What one can see with this brief study of psychology - that it's rejection of religion makings psychology an oxymoron. This means that an active psychologist, who has rejected what he considers to be religion, has not rejected the religion of pyschology - and is still religious. Although, he does not view psychology as a religion. The reason being, the common view of religion only sees a church (or temple) as the primary symbol of religion. This is an odd historical develpment of the modern era (the late 1800s). Ironically, other religions, beyond the standard western view - are not viewed as religions. The primatives of the world outside the west, were just that primative. They were primal and responded to only base existance of primative humans. This produced the branch of study called anthropology. Under anthropology, primative cultures (anything that wasn't white) could not be religions because they were too simple and could not understand the complexities of religion (which was reserved for the civilized west). As such the (civilized) west produced two primary (and diametrically opposed) religions, Christianity and Science, underwhich there were many denominations. Although, Science refused to see itself as a religion with each discipline as a denomination (of the whole).
This blindness to the definition of religion includes atheism, secularism (science), neo-paganism and western adapted hinduism and buddhism. However, in recent years we can also add sportsism, celebritysm, shoppingism (mallists and antiquists), neo spiritual feminism (including; neo-yogists, young godessists, mother godessist and grandmother goddessist ), and environmentalism. As well, among the religious elders we can include pop culturalists, gamists and sub-culturalists. Think of the shopping fashionists (fashionistas) with their rituals and rules. This regularity of ritual does not escape the ultimate sports fan, who must watch religiously and with rituals of body paint, pilgrimages to team holy grounds and the sports temples. This analogy can applied to many (or any) activities we think are important.
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