Sociology-Beliefs-Organisations/Movements/Members Flashcards
What are the types of religious organisation?
Church and sect, denomination and cult, new religious movements, and sects and cults
Who was the first person to attempt to identify the features of different types of religious organisation?
Ernst Troeltsch, who distinguished between two main types; the church and the sect
How does Troeltsch define churches?
Large organisations, often with millions of members such as the catholic church, run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of professional priests, and they claim a monopoly of the truth. They are universalistic, aiming to include the whole of society, although they tend to be more attractive to the higher classes as they are ideologically conservative and often closely linked to the state (eg British sovereign is head of both state and church of England)
How does Troeltsch define sects?
Small, exclusive groups. Unlike churches, sects are hostile to wider society and they expect a high level of commitment. They draw their members from the poor and oppressed. Many are led by a charismatic leader rather than a bureaucratic hierarchy. The only similarity with churches is that sects too believe they have a monopoly of religious truth
What does Niebuhr talk about?
He talks about denominations such as Methodism, and describes them as lying midway between churches and sects. Membership is less exclusive than a sect, but they don’t appeal to the whole of society like a church. Like churches they broadly accept society’s values but are not linked to the state. They impose some minor restrictions on members, such as forbidding alcohol, but are not as demanding as sects. Unlike both church and sect, they are tolerant of other religious organisations and don’t claim monopoly of the truth
What is a cult?
Highly individualistic, loose-knit and usually small grouping around some shared themes and interests, but usually without a sharply defined and exclusive belied system. Usually led by ‘practitioners’ or ‘therapists’, who claim special knowledge. Like denominations, cults are usually tolerant of other organisations and their beliefs. They don’t demand strong commitment from followers, who are often more like customers or trainees than members. They may have little further involvement with the cult once they’ve acquired its beliefs and techniques. Many are world-affirming, claiming to improve life in this world
What two characteristics does Wallis highlight when summing up the similarities and differences between religious organisations?
How they see themselves (churches and sects claim a monopoly but denominations and cults accept there are many valid interpretations), and how they are seen by wider society (churches and denominations are seen as respectable and legitimate but sects and cults are seen as deviant)
What does Bruce argue about Troeltsch’s definitions?
His idea of a church having religious monopoly only applies to the catholic church before the 16th century protestant reformation, when it had a religious monopoly over society, symbolised by its massive and imposing cathedrals. Since then, sects and cults have flourished and religious diversity has become the norm
How have religious organisations changed in todays society?
Churches are no longer truly churches in Troelsch’s sense because they have lost their monopoly and been reduced to the status of denominations competing with all the rest
Since the 1960s there have been many new religious movements, what are some examples?
The Unification Church, the Children of God, Transcendental Meditation, Krishna Consciousness and many more
How does Wallis categorise these new religious movements?
World-rejecting, world-accommodating and world-affirming
What are world-rejecting new religious movements?
Similar to Troeltsch’s sects. Examples include the Unification Church, Krishna Consciousness, Children of God, the Mason Family, the Branch Davidian and the People’s Temple. They vary greatly in size, from a handful of members to hundreds and thousands
What are the characteristics of world-rejecting NRMs?
Clearly religious organisations with a clear notion of God, they are highly critical of the outside world and they expect or seek radical change, to achieve salvation members must make a sharp break with their former life, members live communally with restricted contact with the outside world (movement controls all aspects of their lives and is often accused of ‘brainwashing’ them), they often have conservative moral codes
What are world-accommodating NRMs?
Often breakaways from existing mainstream churches or denominations, such as neo-Pentecostalists who split from catholicism, or Subud from Islam. They neither accept nor reject the world, and they often focus on religious rather than worldly matters, seeking to restore the spiritual purity of religion. Eg neo-pentecostalists believe that other Christian religions have lost the Holy Spirit. Members tend to lead conventional lives
What are world-affirming NRMs?
These groups differ from all other religious groups and may lack some of the conventional features of religion, such as collective worship, and some are not highly organised. However, like religions, the offer their followers access to spiritual or supernatural powers. Examples include Scientology, Soka Gakkai, TM and Human Potential
What are the characteristics of world-affirming NRMs?
They accept the world as it is. They are optimistic and promise followers success in terms of mainstream goals and values eg careers and relationships. They are non-exclusive and tolerant of other religions, but claim to offer additional special knowledge or techniques to help followers unlock their own spiritual powers and achieve success. They have been described as psychologising religions offering this-worldly gratification. Most are cults, whose followers are often customers rather than members, and entry is through training. The movement place few demands on them and they carry on normal lives
In general, out of all of the NRMs studied by Wallis, which ones are the most successful?
World-affirming NRMs. Eg scientology had about 165,000 members in the UK in 2005 as compared with only 1,200 from the Unification Church
What is the evaluation for new religious movements?
Wallis offers a useful way of classifying the new religious movements but some argue it is not clear whether he is categorising them according to the movement’s teachings, or individual members’ beliefs. He ignores the diversity of beliefs that may exist within an NRM
How does Wallis himself evaluate his categorisation?
Recognises that real NRMs will rarely fit neatly into his typology and some, such as 3HO (Health happy holy organisation) may have features of all three types. Nevertheless, many sociologists find such typologies useful as a way of analysing and comparing the significant features of NRMs
How do Stark and Bainbridge evaluate new religious movements?
They reject the idea of constructing such typologies altogether. Instead they argue we should distinguish between religious organisations using just one criterion-the degree of conflict or tension between the religious group and wider society
What two groups do Stark and Bainbridge identify that are in conflict with wider society?
Sects (result from schisms-splits in existing organisations. Break away from churches usually due to disagreements about doctrines) and cults (new religions or ones new too that particular society)
In general, how do Stark and Bainbridge see sects and cults?
See sects as promising other-worldly benefits to those suffering economic or ethical deprivation, and see cults as offering this-worldly benefits to more prosperous individuals suffering psychic and organismic deprivation (normlessness and health problems)
How do Stark and Bainbridge subdivide cults?
According to how organised they are. They split them into audience cults, client cults and cultic movements
What are audience cults?
Least organised and don’t involve formal membership or much commitment. There is little interaction between members. Participation may be through the media. Examples include astrology and UFO cults
What are client cults?
Based on the relationship between a consultant and a client, and provide services to their followers. In the past, they were often purveyors of medical miracles, contact with the dead etc, but the emphasis has shifted to ‘therapies’ promising personal fulfilment and self-discovery
What are cultic movements?
Most organised and demand a higher level of commitment than other cults. Movements aim to meet all its members religious needs and unlike followers of audience and client cults, they are rarely allowed to belong to other religious groups at the same time. An example is the Unification Church. Some client cults become cultic movements for their most enthusiastic followers eg scientology.
What are the reasons for the rapid growth in new religious movements, and sects and cults since the 1960s?
Marginality, relative deprivation, social change, the dynamics of sects and NRMs, the growth of the New Age, postmodernity and the New Age
Who talks about marginality and the growth of religious movements?
Troeltsch notes that sects tend to draw members from the poor and oppressed. Weber also notes that sects tend to arise in groups who are marginal to society. Such groups may feel they are disprivileged-not receiving their just economic rewards or social status.
In Weber’s view, how do sects offer a solution to marginalised groups?
They offer their members a theodicy of disprivilege-a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage. This may explain their misfortune as a test of faith eg while holding out the promise of rewards in the future for keeping the faith
Historically, how has marginality played a part in religious movements?
Many sects, as well as millenarian movements have recruited from the marginalised poor. Eg in the 20th century the Nation of Islam recruited successfully among disadvantaged blacks int he USA
Does marginality play a part in religious movements today?
Since the 1960s, the sect like world-rejecting NRMs have recruited mainly from more affluent groups of often well-educated young, middle class white
What does Wallis argue about the recruitment process of sects since the 1960s?
He argues this does not contradict Weber’s view, because many of these individuals had become marginal to society. Despite their middle class origins, most were hippies, dropouts and drug users
What is relative deprivation?
It refers to the subjective sense of being deprived. This means that it is possible for someone who in reality is quite privileged to feel that they are deprived or disadvantaged in some way compared with others. Meaning the middle class are materially ‘well off’ but may feel spiritually deprived, especially in today’s materialist, consumerist world which they may perceive as impersonal, so Wallis argues they may turn to sects for a sense of community
What do Stark and Bainbridge argue about relative deprivation?
That it is the relatively deprived who break away from churches to form sects. When middle-class members of a church seek to compromise its beliefs in order to fit into society, deprived members are likely to break away to form sects that safeguard the original message of the organisation
What is an example of Stark and Bainbridge’s view of relative deprivation?
Deprived may stress Christ’s claim that it’s harder for rich man to enter Kingdom of Heaven than camel to pass through eye of needle (the better off may want to play this down). By contrast the deprived may emphasise Christ’s message that ‘the meek shall inherit the Earth’. Stark and Bainbridge argue world-rejecting sects off the deprived the compensators they need for rewards they are denied in this world. By contrast the privileged need no compensators or world-rejecting religion-they’re attracted to world-accepting churches that express status and bring further success in achieving earthly rewards (similar to Wallis’ two main types of NRMs)
How is social change an explanation for the recent growth of religious movements?
Wilson argues that periods of rapid change disrupt and undermine established norms and values, producing anomie or normlessness. In response to uncertainty and insecurity that this creates, those who are most affected by the disruption may turn to sects as a solution
What is an example of how social change has led to growth in religious movements?
The dislocation created by the industrial revolution in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th century led to the birth of Methodism, which offered a sense of community, warmth and fellowship with clear norms and value and the promise of salvation. Methodism succeeded in recruiting large numbers of the new industrial working class
What does Bruce argue about social change and the growth in religious movements?
Similarly, he sees the growth of sects and cults today as a response to the social changes involved in modernisation and secularisation. In his view, society is now secularised and therefore people are less attracted to the traditional churches and strict sects, because these demand too much commitment. Instead people now prefer cults as they are less demanding and require fewer sacrifices
How has the growth of world-rejecting NRMs been explained?
Wallis points to social change from the 1960s impacting on young people, including the increased time spent in education. This gave freedom from adult responsibilities and enabled a counter-culture to develop. Also growth of radical political movements offered alternative ideas about the future. World-rejecting NRMs were attractive in this context as they offered young people a more idealistic way of life
What does Bruce argue about social change and the growth of world-rejecting NRMs?
Argues that it was the failure of the counter culture to change the world that led to disillusioned youth turning to religion instead
How has the growth of world-affirming NRMs been explained?
Bruce argues that their growth is a response to modernity, especially to the rationalisation of work. Work no longer provides meaning or a source of identity-unlike the past, when the protestant ethic gave work a religious meaning for some people, yet at the same time, we are expected to achieve-even though we may lack the opportunity to succeed. World-affirming NRMs provide both a sense of identity and techniques that promise success in the world
What else does Wallis note about the growth of NRMs?
Some movements of the middle ground such as the Jesus Freaks have grown since the mid 1970s. These have attracted disillusioned former members of world rejecting NRMs (which have generally been less successful) because they provide a halfway house back to a more conventional lifestyle
How long do sects and NRMs survive for?
While churches such as the Catholic Church and the Church of England have a history stretching over many centuries, sects by contrast are often short-lived organisations, frequently lasting only a single generation or less. Sociologists have therefore been interested to understand the dynamics of sect development. There is also interest in how the NRMs described by Wallis will fare in the long term
What are the dynamics of sects and NRMs?
Denomination or death, the sectarian cycle and established sects
What does Niebuhr argue about the dynamics of sects and NRMs?
Sects are world-rejecting organisations that come into existence because of schism. Argues that sects are short lived and that within a generation, they either die out or they compromise with the word, abandon their extreme denomination
What are the reasons for denomination or death?
The second generation (born into the sect lack the commitment and fervour of their parents who had consciously rejected the world and joined voluntarily). The ‘protestant ethic’ effect (sects that practice asceticism tend to become prosperous and upwardly mobile eg Methodists in 19th century, so some members may be tempted to compromise with the world and leave or abandon the world-rejecting beliefs). Death of the leader (sects with charismatic leaders either collapse on their death or a more formal bureaucratic leader takes over, transforming it into a denomination)
