Topic 6: Organisations, movements and members Flashcards
Troeltsch
Church- large organisations run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of professional priests who claim a monopoly of truth. They are universalistic- aiming to include all of society and please few demand on members. Tend to appeal to higher classes because they are conservative and have links to the state.
Sects- small exclusive groups hostile to wider society and expecting a high level of commitment. Draw members from the poor and oppressed and many are led by charismatic leaders. They too believe they have a monopoly of religious truth.
Niebuhr
Denominations- lie midway between church and sects. Membership is not exclusive but they do not appeal to the whole of society. They accept society’s values but are not linked to the state. They impose minor restrictions but are not demanding. They are tolerant of other organisations and do not claim a monopoly of truth.
Cults- highly individualist loose-knit small grouping around the same themes and interests, but are without a sharply defined belief system. Led by practitioners or therapists who claim special knowledge, but overall they are tolerant of other beliefs. They are world affirming and members may have no involvement once they have acquired beliefs and techniques.
Sects are world-rejecting organisation that come into existence because of a schism. They are shortlisted because: the second generation lack the commitment of their parents who has consciously rejected the world, sects that practice asceticism tend to become prosperous and upwardly mobile and so are tempted to compromise with the world and the death of a charismatic leader may cause collapse or transformation to a denomination under bureaucratic leadership.
Wallis
Two characteristics that are different between different organisations:
How they see themselves: churches and sects claim that there interpretation is the only legitimate one. Denominations and cults accept that there are many valid interpretations.
How they are seen by wider society: churches and denominations are seen as respectable and legitimate, sects and cults are seen as deviant.
Types of NRM’s:
World-rejecting NRM’s- have a clear notion of God, are critical of the outside world and wish for radical change, make members makes a sharp break with their former life and live communally under control of the movement. Have conservative moral codes. E.g. The Moonies, Krishna Consciousness, the Manson family
World-accommodating NRM’s- often breakaways from mainstream denominations, they neither accept nor reject the world but focus on religious rather than worldly matters, seeking to restore the spiritual purity of religion. Members leave conventional lives. E.g. New-Pentecostalists, Subud
World-affirming NRM’s- lack conventional features of religion and some are not highly organised. However they do offer access to spiritual or supernatural powers. They accept the world as it is and promise followers success. They are non-exclusive and tolerant of other religions but claim to offer special knowledge and techniques. Psychologise religion to offer this-worldly gratification. Most are cults whose followers are customers rather than members. They are the most successful type he studied. E.g. Scientology, Soka Gakai, TM and Human Potential
Although sects have begun to recruit form more affluent groups this does not contradict Weber as these groups had become marginal e.g. hippies, dropouts, drug users
Social changes from 1960s gave the young freedom from adult responsibilities allowing a counterculture to develop. Radical political movements gave new ideas about the future and the young were attracts to world-rejecting NRMs because they offered a more idealistic way of life.
Bruce
Troeltsch’s idea of a church having a monopoly only applies to Catholicism before the reformation. Since then sects and cults have flourished and diversity has become the norm. Churches are no longer churches because they have been reduced to the status of denominations competing with the rest.
The growth of sects/cults a response to socials changes involved in modernisation and secularisation. People prefer cults because they are less demanding.
The failure of the 1960s counter culture lead to disillusioned youth turning to religion instead. Growth of world-affirming NRMs is a response to modernity, especially the rationalisation of work. NRM’s give a sense of identity and techniques that promise success in this world
The growth of the New Age is a feature of the latest phase of modernity as modern society values individualism. New Age beliefs are often softer versions of Eastern religions such as Buddhism that have been watered down to make them palatable to self-centred Westerners.
There are twice as many women involved in sects than men
Stark and Bainbridge
Two kinds of organisations that are in conflict with wider society:
Sects- result from schisms- break away from churches usually because of doctrine disagreements. Offer other-worldly benefits to those suffering real deprivation.
Cults- new religions, such as Scientology or Christian Science, or ones new to a society that have been imported, such as TM. Offer this-worldly benefits to those suffering psychic and health deprivation.
Subdivide cults according to how organised they are:
Audience cults- the least organised and do not involve formal membership. Participation may be through media. E.g. Astrology and UFO cults
Client cults- based on relationship between consultant and client- proved services such as ‘therapies’ for followers. E.h. Homeopathy and Spiritualism
Cultic movements- the most organised demanding a higher level of commitment. Aims to meet all its members religious needs and members are rarely allowed to belong to another religious group at that the same time. Some client cults become cultic movements for their most enthusiastic followers. E.g. The Moonies.
It is the relatively deprived who turn away from churches to form sects. World-rejecting sects offer the deprived compensators which the privileged do not need.
The sectarian cycle:
- Schism- deprived members break away into a world-rejecting sect
- Initial fervour- charismatic leadership and great extension between the beliefs of the sect and ip wider society
- Demoninationalism- Protestant ethic effect and coolness of second generation means fervour disappears
- Establishment- sects becomes more world-accepting and tension with wider society reduces
- Further schism- when more zealous/less privileged members break away to found a new sect true to the original message
Weber
Sects tend to arise in groups who are marginal to society. Sects offer a theodicy of disprivilege- a religious explanation for suffering or disadvantage.
Wilson
Periods of rapid social change undermine norms and values producing anomie or nor lessens. Some turn to sects in response to this uncertainty.
Established sects: Conversionists wish to convert league numbers of people, Adventist sects hold themselves separate from the corrupt world around them. The former will become a denomination, the second will not, they will become established sects which can survive for many generations by socialising children into high commitment by keeping them apart from the wider world. Globalisation will make it harder to keep separate but it will also allow recruitment in the deprived Third World.
Heelas
Themes that characterise the New Age:
Self-spirituality- people have turned away from traditional religions and instead look inside themselves to find the spiritual
Detraditionalisation- New Age rejects spiritual authority of external traditional sources, instead valuing personal experience, believing we can discover the truth for ourselves. Most New Age movements help with both the inner and outer world
The new age and modernity are linked in four ways:
A source of identity- in modern society individuals have many different roles but little overlap between them, resulting in a fragmented identity. New Age beliefs offer a source of authentic identity
Consumer culture- creates dissatisfaction because it never delivers on the perfection that it promises. The New Age offers an alternative way to achieve perfection
Rapid social change- disrupts norms and values resulting in anomie. The New Age provides a sense of certainty and truth in the same way as sects
Decline of organised religion- modernity leads to secularisation removing traditional alternatives to New Age beliefs. For example in the USA the New Age is strongest where churchgoing is at its lowest- in California
Drane
The appeal of the New Age is part of a shift towards postmodern society. This includes a loss of faith in meta-narratives. People have lost faith in scientists and doctors and in the churches’ ability to meet their spiritual needs. As a result they are turning to the New Age to find the truths in ourselves by looking within.
Miller and Hoffman
In 2005 1.8 million women in England were churchgoers against 1.36 million men.
Women express greater interest in religion, have a stronger personal commitment to it and attend church more.
Women are more religious because they are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring. These are qualities valued by religions so women are more likely to be attracted . Men who have these qualities are also more likely to be religious. Women are more likely than men to work part-time or be full-time carers so they have more scope for organising their time to participate in religious activities. Women are more likely to be attracted to the church as a source of gender identity.
Heelas and Woodhead
These differences may be connected to differences in the way men and women see God- as the God of power and control or the God of love and forgiveness.
As women are more connected to nature no healing they may be more attracted to the New Age. 80% of participants in the holistic milieu in Kendal were female. Such movements often celebrate the natural and invoke cults of healing which gives women a higher status and sense of self-worth. Women’s experiences of child-rearing makes them less aggressive and goal-oriented and more cooperative and caring. This fits with the expressive emphasis of the New Age. The New Age empathises the importance of being authentic rather than merely acting out roles. Women are more likely to be attracted to this as they are more likely to see their prescribed roles as restrictive.
Greeley
Taking care of other family members increases women’s religiosity As it involves responsibility for their ‘ultimate’ welfare as well as their everyday needs.
Davie
Women’s closer proximity to birth and death (through child-bearing and caring for elderly, sick and dying relatives) brings them closer to ultimate questions about the meaning of life. This also fits in with the differences in the way men and women view God.
Brown
New Age ‘self’ religions appeal to women’s wish for autonomy. However some women may be attracted to fundamentalism because of the certainties of a traditional gender role that it prescribes for them.
Since the 1960s women have begun to reject traditional subordinate gender roles. Christianity was closely bound up with these roles so women have rejected traditional religion at the same time.
Glock and Stark
Social, organismic and ethical depreciation are why people need the compensators of religion. These are all more common among women as women tend to be more morally conservative, poor and ill.
