New Religious Movements & New Age Movements Flashcards
World Rejecting Movements
Wallis (1984)
require total commitment & cutting selves off from soc - unification ch
highly critical of soc & seek radical change - control all aspects of lives = conserv moral codes - rules on sex
World Affirming Movements
Wallis (1984)
m like self help/therapy groups = tol of other religs - transcendental meditation
may lack conven features of religs eg col worship - some not highly org - give followers access to spiritual/ supernatural powers - accept world as is = optimistic
non exclusive m = cults - followers = customers / members - entry via training can live normal life
World Acommodating Movements
Wallis (1984)
m trad (pentecostalism)
lead conven lives = break aways from existing chs / denoms who are focused on relig matters - seek to restore spiritual purity
neither accept / reject world - tolerate it
Marginality
Uncertainties of Social Change
inequality, immigration, racism, may marg some groups so NRMs help ppl make sense of of situ & promise hope in life after death- Weber called this theodicy of dispriviledge
Relative Deprivation
Uncertainties of Social Change
why ppl from white MC backgrounds join NRMs - see selves as deprived comp to peers
Modernity & Post-modernity
Uncertainties of Social Change
alienation of cap inc beaurc & disillusionment w/ work creates uncertainty - choice ppl have in constructing iden - creates uncertainty & crisis of iden
New Age Movements
became dom 1980s - focus = develop spirituality thro belief system
not as org as mainstream relig - can affect lifespan of movement
often collect mems through pop media sources & seminars - makes ppl aware - enables mems to learn guidelines as group/indu on how can develop spirituality further
Examples of NAMs
eg paganism, belief in aliens tarot, crystals
Heelas
= 2 themes that chara NA =
Self Spirituality - looking w/in self X external ch
Detrad - rejecting trad sources of spiritual auth & valuing personal exper
often loosely org - audience / client cult - growing in UK - 2008 = 2000 NA activities & 146,000 practitioners
Growth of NAMs
appeal to those who has aban trad religion
mod soc = m indu & indu belief trusted m
helps ppl cope w/ uncer of mod can = sense of iden
may reflect cul change - mass commun gives aware of dif movements
Statistics & Growth of NRMs
Barker (1999) - could be around 2000 NRMs in Europe but dif to = certain = m globally
v dif to know how many ppl follow - don’t count, keep secret/ distort some have handful, others 100s/1000s few lacking cred claim millions - how can we know they are growing
Kendal Project (2005)
Woodhead & Heelas - mapped congregational domain = ch & religiosity in the town - who attended, where & how often = 7.9% = 2x nat average
interviewed ch mems about meaning of ch & = questionaires
holistic milieu - mapped non congregational activs = m detailed case studies & street survey to talk to those outside both - only v small group expressed no spirituality at all
non-c = inc rapidly congre = dec HM pop w/ middle aged women
Kendal Project Evaluation
= reasons for choosing Kendal but = not typical rep of religiosity in UK = predominant white pop - EMs not reflected tend to = m relig - doesn’t rep growth of non Christian religs
= MC town - not necessarily rep of less prosperous multi cul town / city centres
defining HM = problematic
John Drane (1999)
a post mod - suggests NRM have grown bc science failed - englightenment & rationalisations led to ppl dimissing trad religs - inc found sci didn’t provide answers needed
= sense that science, reason & development would solve probs but have created new ones - environ disaster/ nuc catastrophe - argues ppl are turning away from metanarras - look to selves - turning to spirituality
