Organsiations, Movements And Members Flashcards
Identify 5 characteristics of a church
Large organisation, many members, bureaucratic hierarchy of priests, claim a monopoly of the truth, inclusive
Why are churches more attractive to the middle class?
They are ideologically conservative and are often closely linked to the state
Identify 5 characteristics of a sect
Small organisation, exclusive, hostile to wider society, expect a high level of commitment and often have charismatic leaders
How are sects similar to churches?
They claim a monopoly of the truth
What sort of people do sects attract?
The poor and oppressed
What two types of religious organisation does Richard Niebuhr describe?
Denominations and cults
What two types of religious organisation does Ernst Troeltsch distinguish between?
Churches and Sects
How does Neibuhr describe denominations such as Methodism?
He describes them as lying midway between churches and sects
Identify 5 features of denominations
Quite large, membership is less exclusive than sects, they accept society’s values, low levels of demand from members and they do not claim a monopoly of the truth
Identify 5 key features of cults
Poorly organised, highly individualistic, small, tolerant of other organisations and they do not demand strong commitment from followers
Who do cults tend to be led by?
Practitioners or therapists who claim to have special knowledge
According to Roy Wallis, how do churches, sects, denominations and cults differ in the way they see themselves?
Churches and sects claim that their interpretation of the faith is the only legitimate or correct one whereas denominations and cults accept that there can be many valid interpretations
According to Roy Wallis, how do churches, sects, denominations and cults differ in the way they are seen by wider society?
Churches and denominations are seen as respectable and legitimate, whereas sects and cults are seen deviant
Since the 1960s what sort of religious organisations have significantly increased?
New religious movements
Give two examples of NRMs
Moonies and Transcendental meditation
Row Wallis categorises NRMs into three groups. What are they?
World-rejecting NRMs, World-accommodating NRMs and World-affirming NRMs
Give 3 examples of World-rejecting NRMs
The Moonies, Branch Davidians and the People’s temple
Identify 5 key features of World-rejecting NRMs
They have a clear notion of God, they are highly critical of the outside world, they demand significant changes from members former lives, members have restricted access to the outside world and they often have conservative moral codes
What do World-accommodating NRMs tend to be breakaways from?
Existing mainstream churches or denominations
Give an example of a world-accommodating NRM
Neo-Pentecostalists who split from Catholicism
Name 4 features of World-accommodating NRMs
They neither accept or reject the world, they focus on religious rather than worldly matter, they seek to restore the spiritual purity of religion and their members tend to lead conventional lives
Give an example of a World-affirming NRM
Scientology
How do World-affirming NRMs view the world?
They accept the world as it is
Are World-affirming NRMs exclusive or non-exclusive?
Non-exclusive
How do World-affirming NRMs view other religions, and what do they claim to offer?
They are tolerant of other religions, but they claim to offer additional special knowledge or techniques that enable followers to unlock their own spiritual powers and achieve success or overcome problems such as unhappiness or illness
What are most World-affirming NRMs, and how are their followers described?
Cults whose followers are described as customers rather than members