Organisations, movements and members Flashcards
Troeltsch - church and sects
Church- large organisations, millions of members, run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of professional priests and claim monopoly of truth, universalistic but more m/c, linked to state and are conservative.
Sects- small, exclusive groups, hostile to wider society and expect high level of commitment, members are poor and oppressed, charismatic leaders, also monopoly of truth.
Niebuhr- denomination and cults
Denominations- half way between church and sects, membership less exclusive then sects, broadly accept society’s values but not linked to the state, minor restrictions but no as demanding as sects.
Cult- loss knit, small, highly individualistic, loose belief system led by those who claim special knowledge, little commitment.
Wallis- new religious movements
world rejecting- the moonies, clear notion of god, critical of outside world, seek radical change, restricted contact with the outside world, conservative moral codes.
World- accommodating- breakaways from mainstream churches, such as Neo-pentecostalism, conventional lives, neither accept nor reject the world, focus on religious rather than worldly matters, seek to restore spiritual purity of religion.
world affirming- eg scientology, mainly cults, few demands, non exclusive, claim additional knowledge, offer success in their jobs and lives, accept the world.
Stark and Bainbridge - types of cults
Audience cults- least organised, no formal membership, title interaction between members, UFO cults eg.
Client cults- relationship between a consultant and a client, provide services, promise personal fulfilment.
Cultic movements- most organised, high level of commitment, can’t belong to other religious groups, eg moonies.
Weber- theodicy of disprivilege
they offer a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage, such as being told their misfortune will be worth it in the afterlife etc.
sects often go for the marginalised, nation of islam went for disadvantaged blacks.
Moonies went for m/c educated- but they still felt marginalised from society, drug users drop outs.
Wallis
those who are relatively deprived many move to sects as well, especially for a sense of community.
growth of NRM
world rejecting- WALLIS- offered young people a more idealistic way of life, people now saw a counter culture as an option and joined sects etc to break free
world affirming- BRUCE- response to modernity =, work no longer offers a sense of meaning, these create a sense of identity and techniques that promise worldly success.
Niebuhr- reasons why sects either become denominations or die
- second generations- who are born I the sects lack commitment
- Protestant ethic effect - sects that practise asceticism become prosperous and upward mobile, they then either leave the sect of abandon the world rejecting view part.
- death of the leader- either collapse or a bureaucratic leader takes the role and it becomes a denomination.
Wilson how sects can survive or don’t survive
- conversionist- evangelicals etc, aim to convert large number of people, make formal denominations
- adventist- Jehovah’s Witness etc, wait second coming of christ, keep separate and there stay a sect.
Heelas- two common themes of New age
- self spirituality- they seek the spiritual and have turned away from external religions such as the church and instead look inside themselves to find it.
- detraditionalisation- rejects the spiritual authority of external traditional sources, instead values personal experience and can discover the turret for themselves.
Heelas- new age and modernity links.
- source of identity- we have many roles which makes a fragmented identity, new age gives us authentic identity.
- Consumer culture- creates distraction as its never perfect, new age offers alternative way to get perfection.
- rapid social change- disrupts norms and values, new age offers certainty and the turret.
- delcine of organised religion- secularisation has removed the alternatives to new age religion.
Miller and Hoffman- three reason for gender differences
- Risk taking- its a risk not believing in religion, as you could go to hell if its true, men are less risk averse.
- women are socialised to be passive, obedient and caring, qualities valued by religion.
- women less likely to work so more time to focus on religion.
Women and the new age
individual sphere- WOODHEAD- women masculine role in paid work contradicted with their feminine role in the house. New age appeals to a new sphere of individualism, it is personal growth, there new source of inner self gives wholeness to them.
Class differences- BRUCE- m/c like new age as offers personal autonomy, control and self development, w/c prefer a passive role such as beliefs in a all powerful god.
stark and Bainbridge- women in sects because:
orgasmic- women more lonely to be ill
ethical- women more morally conservative, see world in moral decline.
social- more likely to be poor.
Brusco- women using pentecostalism in Latin America
the men spend 40% income on alcohol gambling etc, women go to this church as priests say they should spend this money on the family, therefore improving their situation, but doesn’t effect social role, women still housewives and men breadwinners etc
