Types of NRM's Flashcards
Intro
eg the Unification Church (Moonies); Scientology; Transcendental Meditation.
The term New Religious Movements (NRM’s) refers to those cults and sects which have emerged since the 1960’s. The term NRM started to be used in the 1960’s because it was believed that the divide between ‘cult’ and ‘sect’ was inadequate to describe the variety of new organisations that had developed in society
Types
The last 50 years has seen a rapid growth of NRM’s in the USA and Europe. This has been happening at the same time as churches have declined and appears to suggest that beliefs in society are changing rather than declining. (anti-secularisation argument)
Wallis argues that the term NRM is too wide and does not distinguish between the great varieties of organisations that exist in the world. Wallis said NRM’s should be defined according to the relationship they have to the outside word. He identified the following three types of NRM’s:
World Accommodating
Such groups stress the personal needs of religious belief and practice and exist to improve the spiritual lives of members. World accommodating organisations are normally break away groups from existing mainstream churches because they believe the church has failed to keep to the original teachings of the religion and has made too many compromises in its beliefs to fit in with modern society,
eg New Right Christian groups may believe the church is too accepting of women’s liberation, gay rights and the teachings of evolution. Members of such groups usually have ‘normal’ lives in the same way as the majority of the population, but may follow a strict moral code in their private behaviour.
World Rejecting
These are mainly sects and have a small and restricted membership. Members are required to reject the world and see it as ‘evil’. The organisation exercises strict control over members who are expected to cut off ties with friends and relatives if they do not accept the organisations teachings and give up personal possessions to the group.
They are often led by charismatic leaders and members subordinate themselves to the leader. They live an ascetic lifestyle in communities and members hand over all their assets to the religion. The radical stance of the religion makes them appealing to the young. They seek to change the world. World rejecting sects also attract ‘moral panics’ over claims of ‘brainwashing’ members and they are widely seen as deviant in society.
by having a young membership and strict discipline, they often fail to retain members; Barker found that many young people join the Moonies for only a couple of years and see it as a transition phase in their lives.
World affirming
These are mainly cults. They see the world as one of opportunity and accept society’s norms and values, eg values of personal achievement and wealth creation.
They may lack some of the features normally associated with a religion, such as not having a place of worship, collective rituals or a set of beliefs. However, they do claim to be able to improve people and make them more successful in society by unlocking the ‘spiritual powers’ of members.
Members live in the ‘normal’ world although many engage in expensive training programmes and are shown techniques to make them more successful and to overcome personal problems. Eg through counselling and training Scientology claims to help people achieve their full potential in their personal and working life. They seek a wide membership and try to sell a service to public. Followers often tend to be customers rather than members. Heelas called them ‘cults for capitalism’.
