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
What is Wallis criticised of ignoring?
The diversity of beliefs that may exist within a NRM
What two types of religious organisation does Stark and Bainbridge identify that are in conflict with wider society?
Sects and cults
According to Stark and Bainbridge, how are sects formed?
Sects result from schisms - splits in existing organisations
What sort of benefits do Stark and Bainbridge see sects as promising?
Other-worldly benefits (e.g a place in heaven)
What sort of benefits do Stark and Bainbridge see cults as promising?
This-worldly benefits (e.g good health)
What are the 3 categories of cults?
Audience cults, client cults and celtic movements
Give 3 features of audience cults?
They are unorganised, do not involve formal membership or much commitment
Give two features of client cults?
They are based on the relationship between a consultant and a client and they provide a service to their followers
Give 3 features of Celtic movements?
They are the most organised, they demand high levels of commitment and they aim to meet all of its members religious needs
What three explanations do sociologists offer for the growth of NRMs?
Marginality, relative deprivation and social change
In Webers view, why do sects appeal to marginalised groups?
They offer their members a theodicy of disprivilege - that is, a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage
How do NRMs provide a solution to the relative deprivation experienced by relative deprivation?
Although middle class people are materially well-off, they may feel that they are spiritually deprived, so they turn to sects for a sense of community
According to Wilson, why is social change a reason for the increase of NRMs?
Periods of rapid social change disrupt and undermine established norms and values and create a sense of anomie, so those who are affected by this disruption turn to sects as a solution to the uncertainty and insecurity
According to Niebuhr, how do sects come into existence?
Because of schism - splitting from an established church because of a disagreement over religious doctrine
According to Niebuhr, why do sects not last very long?
People who are born into the sect lack the commitment of their parents, Sects that practice asceticism tend to lose their members because they abandon its world-rejecting beliefs and they often die with the death of their charismatic members
What do Stark and Bainbridge argue religious organisations move through?
The sectarian cycle
What is the first stage of the sectarian cycle?
Schism - There is tension between the needs of deprived and privileged members of a church so the deprived members break away
What is the final stage of the sectarian cycle?
Further schism - Less privileged members break away to found a new sect true to the original message
How does Wilson criticise Stark and Bainbridge’s sectarian cycle?
He argues that some groups can become established sects
According to Heelas, there are two common themes that characterise the New Age. What are they?
Self-spirituality and detraditionalisation
What does Bruce argue about the growth of the New Age?
He argues that it is a feature of the latest phase of modern society
According to Bruce, why are New Age movements more appealing to Westerners?
They are a softer version of much more demanding and self-disciplined traditional Eastern religions such as Buddhism
In 2005, how many women in England were churchgoers compared to men?
1.8 million compared to just 1.36 million men
According to Miller and Hoffman, why are women more likely to attend church more?
They have a stronger personal commitment to it, express greater interest in religion and because they are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring which are qualities valued by most religions
According to Miller and Hoffman, how do differences in the type of work men and women do make it more likely that women would participate in religious activities?
Women are more likely than men to work part-time or to be full-time carers, so they have more scope for organising their time to participate in religious activities
What is Davie’s explanation for women’s greater attendance to religion?
She argues that women’s closer proximity to birth and death through child bearing and caring for elderly relatives brings them closer to ‘ultimate questions’ about the meaning of life that religion is concerned with
Why are women more attracted to New Age movements?
Women are more often associated with ‘nature’ and a healing role and New Age movements often celebrate the ‘natural’ and involve cults of healing which give women a higher status and a sense of self-worth
How does Bruce explain women’s greater attendance to New Age movements?
He argues that women’s experiences of child-rearing makes them less aggressive and goal-orientated, and more co-operative and caring - where men wish to achieve, women wish to feel
Why do Glock and Stark and Stark and Bainbridge argue that people may participate in religion?
Because of the compensators for social, organismic and ethical deprivation that it offers
How do Glock and Stark and Stark and Bainbridge’s compensators explain women’s greater participation in religion?
Women are more likely to suffer ill health and thus seek healing through religion (Organismic deprivation), Women tend to be more morally conservative, much like religion (Ethical deprivation) and Women are more likely to poor (Social deprivation)
Who is more likely than white Christians to see religion as more important?
Muslims, Hindu’s and black Christians
How are the origins of ethnic minorities a reason for their higher religious participation?
Most ethnic minorities tend to originate from poorer countries its traditional churches
What argument does Bruce give for greater religious participation amongst ethnic minorities?
He argues that religion offers support and a sense of cultural identity in an uncertain or hostile environment and therefore plays a role of cultural defence
What argument does Bird give for greater religious participation among ethnic minorities?
He argues that religion among minorities can be a basis for community solidarity, a way of preserving ones culture and language and a way of coping with oppression in a racist society
What helped the African Carribean population to adapt to British society?
Pentecostalism
Explain the higher participation of under 15’s in religion
They are more likely to go to church because they are made to go by their parents
Explain the low participation of over 65’s in religion
They are more likely to be sick or disabled and therefore unable to attend, and higher death rates means they are a smaller group
According to Voas and Crockett, what are the two main sorts of explanation for age differences in religious participation?
The ageing effect and the generational effect
What is the ‘ageing effect’?
This is the view that as we approach death, we naturally become more concerned about spiritual matters and the afterlife, so we are more likely to attend church
What is the ‘generational effect’?
This is the view that as society becomes more secular, each new generation is less religious than the one before
