Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.
8 group profiles for organisations whose documented founding falls in the 1840s. Sorted by CLCI score, descending.
Historical American communal Christianity (1848–81) founded by John Humphrey Noyes. Distinctive 'complex marriage' (every adult member married to every other), 'stirpiculture' eugenic-breeding programme, mutual criticism sessions.
The Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) is a Catholic women's religious community founded in 1846 in Derby, England by Cornelia Connelly (1809–1879), an American-born convert. SHCJ operated girls' boarding schools and day schools across the UK, Ireland, and the United States from the 1840s through the late 20th century. Mid-20th-century coercive-control patterns at the schools have been documented in survivor memoirs, *Guardian* + *Irish Times* 2024 reporting, and the broader Irish state-inquiry context (Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries). The contemporary order has substantially reformed and operates a much smaller educational footprint.
Small Mormon offshoot following James Jesse Strang's 1844 succession claim against Brigham Young. Strang briefly led Mormon settlements on Beaver Island, MI, before his 1856 assassination. Tiny surviving congregation in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Historical French-American utopian-communal movement (1848–98) following Étienne Cabet's 'Voyage en Icarie'. Multiple US communities; all defunct by 1898.
Historical American Fourierist secular-communal movement (1840s). Brook Farm (1841–47), North American Phalanx (1843–55), various other Phalanxes. All defunct by 1860s.
Largest US Protestant denomination. The 2022 independent Guidepost report documented decades of SBC Executive Committee cover-up of clergy sexual abuse.
Conservative Lutheran denomination (1847). Closed communion, male-only ordination. Mainstream conservative Lutheran body.
Mainstream Western mediumship religion (1848+) emerging from the Fox sisters' 'spirit rapping' phenomenon. National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Voluntary low-control.