Sects Flashcards
What kind of people join sects?
Research shows that normal people join
Lots of well educated people
From a wide range of groups
What personality traits/characteristics do people who join sects have?
People who really want to belong & need to be part of a group
People who lack self image/confidence and need praise from others
Unassertive; rather go along with something than challenge it
Gullible; accept what they’re told
‘black and white’ people; want everything to be the absolute truth + just believe what they see/read
Why do people who lack self respect/confidence join sects?
Because once they join the community they are immediately important
What are the different types of sects? (7)
Doomsday/millennial sects
Destructive sects eg mass suicides
UFO sects
Religious sects
Political sects
Established sects
Commercial sects
What are doomsday/millennial sects?
They claim that the world will end on a certain day, how, why + what will happen after
What are UFO sects?
Said they were from a different planet or universe
What are destructive sects?
End in violence, violence was always inevitable
eg mass suicides
What are religious sects?
Where leaders distort religious ideas to suit themselves
What are political sects?
Where political leaders are turned into cult leaders eg Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini
They get religious justification built around it
What are established sects?
They have been going for so long that although there have been lots of controversies, they have become quite mainsteam
What are commercial sects?
Where they have commercialised their faith eg the Moonies
What does Niebuhr (1929) argue about sects?
That they are world-rejecting organisations that come into existence because of schisms
They are short lived and with in a generation will either die out, compromise with the world, abandon their extreme ideas or become a denominations
What are the reasons for sects being short lived?
The second generation who are born into the sect lack the commitment of their parents
Sects with a charismatic leader either collapse on the leader’s death or a more formal bureaucratic leadership takes over, transforming it into a denomination
Sects that practice asceticism (hard work) tend to become upwardly mobile, such members will be tempted to compromise with the world so will leave or abandon beliefs
