Sects divided in social class

Question 1

Marginalised lower social classes

Answer 1

sects tend to focus their attention and activity on more specific areas of concern to individuals: For example:
When a social group is marginalised by being denied status and rewards in society, they may be attracted to a sect because it not only offers an explanation for their marginality but opportunities for future achievement. Wilson found young black Americans were attracted to Islamic sects in the 1960’s

Weber found sects are most likely to emerge amongst the poor. Such groups may develop a ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ a religious set of ideas which explains why they are in that position. For example, if a group believes that they are ‘God’s chosen people’, the promise of ‘salvation’ is ‘compensation’ for their poverty. In part, the growth of sects such as the Nation of Islam

1. The sect leadership is largely antagonistic to the white ruling class. 2. Middle class Muslims have done reasonably well from the economic system and are consequently less likely to be attracted to sects that are critical of the economic and political structure. Sects such as Nation of Islam and ISIS offer members divine compensation

Question 2

Affluent middle class youth

Answer 2

Robert Bellah argues that the increase in sect membership seen in the late 1960s in the USA was also due to middle class youth experiencing a ‘crisis of meaning’ in regard to the materialistic values of their parent’s culture. Despite their privileged middle class culture, this group became disillusioned with the material world of capitalism and were attracted to sects offering a ‘counter culture’

This finding is reinforced by Barker’s study of the Moonies who found they attracted the younger middle classes (University students, for example). One reason for this might be the fact that the Moonie philosophy involves vows of poverty. The middle classes, who have experienced a comfortable lifestyle, tend to be rather more willing to renounce it than the working classes who have never experienced such a lifestyle

Question 3

A03

Answer 3

The wide variety of different sects tends to make it difficult to talk with any degree of certainty about the overall class composition of sects.