ORGANISATION, MOVEMENTS AND MEMBERS

Question 1

Religious organisations
Main types:

Answer 1

Churches, sects, denominations and cults
While some people hold religious beliefs without belonging to any organised group, many others express their faith through membership of a religious organisation such as the church.

Question 2

Troeltsch

Answer 2

• Distinguished between church and sect.
• Churches are large organisation, often with millions of members such as the Catholic Church run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of professional priests. They are universalistic, aiming to include the whole of society but more attractive to the higher classes due to their ideological conservatism and close link to the state. E.G. the British Sovereign is both head of state and the head of the Church of England.
• Whereas, sects are small, exclusive groups, hostile to wider society and they expect a high level of commitment. They members are usually poor and oppressed. There is no hierarchy of paid officials but are often under the control of a charismatic leader.
  However, they both believe that they have monopoly of religious truth.

Question 3

Niebuhr, 1929

Answer 3

• Describes denominations such as Methodism as lying midway between churches and sects as membership is less exclusive but like sects they don’t appeal to the whole of society. Like churches they broadly accept society’s values, but they are not linked to the state.
• They impose minor restrictions such as forbidding alcohol but are not as demanding as sects.
• Unlike both churches and sects, however, they are tolerant of other religious organisations and do not claim a monopoly of the truth.

Question 4

Cults

Answer 4

• Religious groups that are small, secretive, with a charismatic leader. They are usually highly individualistic but without a sharply defined and exclusive belief system.
• Cults are usually led by ‘practitioners’ or ‘therapists’ who claim special knowledge.
• Like denominations, cults are usually tolerant of other organisations or beliefs.
• They are world-affirming, claiming to improve life in this world.
  E.G. Heaven’s gate, Jim Jones’ cult, scientology as an NRM

Question 5

Stark and Bainbridge
Identified 3 types of cults:

Answer 5

Audience cults - provide little other than information, often consumed individually and spread through the media e.g. horoscopes, UFOs
Client cults - more organisation, often sell therapy and courses by practitioners e.g. spiritualism
Cult movements - wider range of activities, support

Question 6

Sects

Answer 6

Tend to loosely link to an existing church
E.G. Westboro Baptist Church, Lutherism

Question 7

world rejecting new religious movements

Answer 7

moonies, children of God, Manson family etc
religious organisations with a clear notion of God
highly critical of the outside world and seek radical change
members must make a sharp break with their former life
live communally with restricted contact with the outside world
conservative moral codes

Question 8

world accommodating and world affirming NRMs

Answer 8

accommodating - breakaways from existing mainstream churches, neither accept or reject the world, focus on religious matters, live conventional lives
affirming - accept the world as it is, non exclusive, tolerant of other religions, followers are customers rather than members like scientology

Question 9

evaluation of NRMs

Answer 9

Wallish criticised as it is unclear whether he is categorising them according to the movements teachings or individuals beliefs
ignores diversity of beliefs
NRMs will rarely fit neatly into his typology
Stark and Bainbridge - reject the idea of constructing such typologies altogether; we should distinguish between religious organisations by the degree of conflict or tension between the religious group and society

Question 10

Weber(marginality)

Answer 10

• argues that sects appeal to disprivileged groups who are marginal to society.
• Sects offer a solution to their lack of status by offering their members a theodicy of disprivilege- a religious explanation of their disadvantage.
• Historically, many sects and millenarian movements have recruited from the marginalised poor. For example, in the 20th century the Nation of Islam recruited successfully among disadvantaged blacks in the USA.

Question 11

Weber EV.

Answer 11

However, since the 1960’s, the sect-like world rejecting NRMs such as the Moonies have recruited mainly from more affluent groups and often well-educated middle-class whites. However, Wallis argues that this does not contradict Weber’s view, because many of these individuals had become marginal to society.

Question 12

Wallis (relative deprivation)

Answer 12

This refers to the subjective sense of being deprived. This means that it is possible for someone who is in reality, quite privileged, but they feel they are deprived or disadvantaged in some way compared to others. E.g. some middle-class people may feel spiritually deprived.

Question 13

Wallis
EV.

Answer 13

(Stark and Bainbridge) argue that it is the relatively deprived who break away from churches to form sects.

Question 14

Wilson (1970)

Answer 14

argues that periods of rapid change disrupt and undermine established norms and values produce anomie. In response to the uncertainty that is created, those who are most affected may turn to sects.