Religious Organisations

Question 1

Stark + Bainbridge

Answer 1

• Organisations are in conflict with wider society - sects + cults: audience cults, client cults, cultic movement.
• Historical cycle of religious decline, revival + renewal - established churches decline, leaving a gap in the market for sects + cults.

Question 2

Bruce

Answer 2

• Main cause of fundamentalism: globalisation.
• Threatens their beliefs + lifestyles - develop rigid beliefs + behaviour, e.g. third world, western.

Question 3

Woodhead + Heelas

Answer 3

• New Age: self-spirituality + detraditionalisation.

Question 4

Wallis

Answer 4

• Distinguished between world-affirming, world-rejecting + world-accommodating NRMs.

Question 5

Troeltsch

Answer 5

• Distinguished between churches + sects.

Question 6

Weber

Answer 6

• Marginality - sects appeal to deprivileged groups (marginal to society).
• Sects offer solution to lack of status by offering a theodicy of deprivilege - explanation for disadvantage.

Question 7

Wilson

Answer 7

• Rapid change undermines established norms, producing anomie (normlessness) - affected turn to sects.

Question 8

Davie

Answer 8

• Religious + secular movements become fundamentalist due to uncertainties in postmodern world.
• Fundamentalism reasserts / claims truth.

Question 9

Lyon

Answer 9

• Religious consumers - making conscious choices about what elements of religion they find useful.