beliefs: religious organisations, movements and members Flashcards

Question

what type of leader is most likely to acgieve social change and what are they associated with

Answer 1

**charismatic leader** > associated with physical and sexual **abuse**, financial control and **murder**

Answer 2

**David Koresh > Branch dividians** **Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to search their premises**, only to be met by gunfire. **Four agents were killed and sixteen wounded**. the FBI attempted to arrest those inside using armoured vehicles. A fire started, resulting in the **death of more than 80 Branch Davidians, including 22 children.**

Answer 3

* scientology * transcendental mediation * heavens gate cult

Answer 4

**other-worldy benefits** (eg: good health) to those suffering with **organismic deprivation** (health problems)

Answer 5

* audience cults * client cults * cultic movements

Answer 6

The least organised and **do not involve formal membership or much commitment**. There is little interaction between members. **Participation may be through the media e.g. UFO cults**

Answer 7

Based on the relationship between the leader and members of the organisation. The **leader provides services to their followers.** In the past, they often conducted medical miracles, contact with the dead etc. But now there is emphasis on **therapies promising personal fulfilment and self-discovery**

Answer 8

The most organised and **demand a higher level of commitment**. The aim of the movement is to meet all it’s members’ religious needs and they are **not allowed to belong to any other religious group at the same time**. They often **predict the end of the world and practise mass suicide**.

Answer 9

Both a **client cult and cultic movement**. Scientology **offers services such as ‘stress test’ etc, that clients (members) can pay for**. Scientology became a cultic movement out of the development of the client cult Dianetics.

Answer 10

A cultic movement, > they were a **doomsday cult and committed mass suicide**

Answer 11

**Beckford** observes that sociologists are reluctant to use the term cult because of it’s **negative connotations**. They argue the term **conveys prejudice and stigma.**

Answer 12

they are a result from **schisms- splits in existing organisations.** They **break away from churches** usually because of **disagreement** about doctrine.

Answer 13

Religion dulling the pain of oppression and exploitation for those who are suffering on earth and promised rewards in heaven. This keeps them subordinate and allows them to except their inferior position within society. > explains why ** sects are appealing to deprived people**

Answer 14

1. **schism** > Members of a traditional church **break away and form their own movement.** This is caused by disagreement over the doctrine. 2. **internal fervour** > With charismatic leadership & **tension develops between the sects beliefs and those of wider society** 3. **denominationalism** > The intensity of the movement **cools down** over time. Especially when the **second generations beliefs differ from their parents** 4. **establishment** > The sect becomes **more world-accepting** and it begins to **compromise with wider society** 5. **further schism** > Some members who still hold the original belief become frustrated with the movement and **break away to form a new sect.** The **cycle** begins again.

Answer 15

-The second generation who are born into the sect **lack the commitment of their parents** - The **protestant ethic effects** sects that practise asceticism (hard working and saving) tend to become more successful and are more likely to be tempted to **compromise with the world** - Death of the leader or **bureaucratic leadership takes over**

Answer 16

There are **thousands of sects** across the world, very few share the same beliefs. Even if those with origins within the same religion are unique in their beliefs. Both **Wilson and Wallis** have been **criticised for attempting to fit sect into categories**. However they both have argued that the **classification of a sect was designed to help sociologists identify similarities and differences within a religious group**

Answer 17

The decline in religious attendance is **undermining the denominational stats of some religions**. For instance, the **Methodist denomination has a rapidly ageing congregation** which is **not being replaced by younger worshippers**. Consequently this could lead the denomination to shrink and obtain sect status within the next 30 years.

Answer 18

The concept of church is no longer relevant in modern society because **almost half of the UK identify as having no religious affiliation or identity**

Answer 19

The Church of England no longer commands universal loyalty because of the increasing fragmentation into denominations and sects. Bruce argues that the identification of the Church of England is largely symbolic, it **lost it’s church status and is merely now a denomination.**

Answer 20

* World-rejecting NRMs * World-accommodating NRMs * World-affirming NRMs

Answer 21

Their beliefs are very **critical of the outside world** and therefore they often **seek radical change.**

Answer 22

They are not satisfied with the world but **still seek to live within the communities.** They seek to restore the world by influencing change to **return to conservative values.**

Answer 23

Rather than turning against the world, these movements are **positive about the world** but argue that individuals are **lacking something spiritually and this is preventing them from achieving success.**

Answer 24

* Their religious ideology tends to be highly **critical of mainstream society and religions** * demand **high levels of commitment** from members > often **expect members to withdraw from mainstream society and devote much of their lives to the movement**. Some of them may act as **‘total institutions’**, controlling every aspects of members’ lives. * While regular members’ lives are tightly controlled, **those higher up the hierarchy will typically have more ties and more interactions with the outside world.** * **Seeking radical individual transformation or even radical social change** is often the main goal * They tend to have been founded by a **charismatic leader**, and membership tends to demand loyalty to that leader. * vary in size: **from small**, ‘one location’ organisations such as The People’s Temple **to global** NRMs such as the Moonies. * have **conservative religious beliefs**, especially where sex and marriage are concerned.

Answer 25

* They are typically **offshoots of an already existing religion**. * These movements tend to **aim to restore the ‘spiritual purity**’ which they believe has been lost in the larger institutions they have broken away from. * The main aim is to **provide members with ‘spiritual solace**’ and a way of coping with their ordinary lives. * They tend to focus on **helping individual members develop their own interior sense of spirituality and commitment to God.** * they do not reject mainstream society, in fact most members of world accommodating groups tend to be **actively involved with mainstream society** – they have jobs * not obsessed with ‘maxing out personal spiritual growth’, they are more about **helping members cope with their ordinary lives**, improving their quality of life within in society

Answer 26

* They aim to **help members achieve their full potential** in terms of the dominant values of mainstream society. * These groups **claim to access to spiritual or supernatural powers**, and aim to help members access these powers so that they can be successful in life, by unleashing their full potential. * tend to **lack any formal religious doctrine**, and are the ‘least religious’ of Wallis’ three NRMS, at least in the conventional or traditional sense of what organised religion is about. * They are **extremely individualistic**: success is seen as a matter of individual effort. * There is little attempt to control members lives, **low commitment. Turnover of membership tends to be quite high**. * Membership tends to be **‘tiered’.** * Membership is **highly inclusive** – want as larger membership base as possible. Membership of such groups may be limited to a client base consumer style relationships > **members ‘buy spiritual services’ from the group**

Answer 27

* peoples temple * the moonies * the manson family

Answer 28

* pentacostalism

Answer 29

* scientology * transcendental meditation

Answer 30

some organisations do not fit nearly into his typology, e.g. **their members might live in communes but still go out and hold conventional jobs**. An example is the **Healthy, Happy, Holy Organisation** (3HO), based partly upon Sikh religion, where **followers live in communes or ashrams but work outside the sect as well.**

Answer 31

Beckford > categories in Wallis’ scheme are **hard to apply** because is it **not clear whether the teaching of the movement or the beliefs of individual members are more important**. He also argues that **Wallis does not take account of the diversity of views** that often exist within a single organisation.

Answer 32

1. Marginality 2. Relative deprivation 3. Social change

Answer 33

**Weber** > NRM’s tend to **attract individuals who are a minority** within a community. These movements (sects) tend to preach **‘theodicies of disprivilege’**, and provide the poor and powerless with reasons that explain their unfortunate situations and allow them to **gain access to a new community of people with similar experiences** and beliefs. Wallis argues some well-educated, young, middle-class whites join sects because they **have become marginal groups in societies e.g. hippies, dropout and drug users**.

Answer 34

**Barker** discusses a more recent trend of **young, middle class people being attracted to NRM’s.** Barker notes that in some cases, middle class children **feel neglected by their career orientated parents and therefore suffer from relative deprivation** when they compare their experiences to their peers. Wallis argues that they may turn to sects for a **sense of community (alternative family)** because of contemporary society being impersonal and **lacking in moral values, emotional warmth or authenticity**. However Barker notes that in many cases such **membership for younger people is temporary as the lose the need for this alternative family as they grow older.** Alternatively, World-rejecting sects appeal to the deprived because they **offer the deprived the compensators that they need for the rewards** they are denied by this world. E.g. ‘ the meek shall inherit the earth’

Answer 35

**Wilson** claims that in **times of rapid social change**, individuals often feel a **sense of uncertainty** and anxiety. For instance the Methodist denomination surged in popularity during industrialisation. Other reasons for the growth of NRMS: a. World-rejecting NRMS- social changes from the 1960’s impacting on young people, including the increased time spent in education. This gave them freedom and **allowed a ‘counter culture’ to develop.** b. World-affirming NRMS – a response to modernity, especially to the rationalisation of work. Provide a sense of identity and techniques that promise success in this world. Society is now secularised and therefore people are **less attracted to the traditional church and strict sects,** because they demand too much commitment. Instead, people now **prefer cults because they are less demanding and require fewer sacrifices**.

Answer 36

- UFO’s - Aliens - Tarot reading - Crystals - Alternative medicine - Yoga - Magic

Answer 37

1. **Self-spirituality:** New Agers **seeking spirituality and look inside themselves to find it** 2. **Detraditonalisation:** The new age rejects the spiritual authority. They **value personal experience that we can discover for ourselves.** They reject priests or holy texts.

Answer 38

The Findhorn community in Scotland offers a range of workshops, programmes and events in the environment of a working ecovillage. The programmes are intended to **give participants practical experience of how to apply spiritual values in daily life.** The cornerstone of the Findhorn community is **belief in a world of spirits who communicate their wisdom** and their wishes **to mortals who are 'attuned' to them**. By cooperating strenuously with the spirits, mortals can realise on earth a life of harmony and abundance.

Answer 39

**Drane** > believes that New Age movements have grown as a result of an **apparent failure of science as a belief system**. He argues in a postmodern society **neither religion nor science provides individuals with the answers they need**. Science and technology in turn has created new manufactured risks (eg: wars, global warming)

Answer 40

key principles of modernity align with New Age movements, because they **both value individualism.** Individualism is a particularly important value for **‘expressive professions’** concerned with human potential, such as **community workers or artists the group to whom the New Age appeals most**. **Heelas** > sees the **New Age as a product of modernity.** He outlines four key ways how New Age movements and modernity are linked

Answer 41

1. A source of identity > In modern society you have a **fragmented identity** (many different roles) and **New age beliefs offers a source of authentic identity** 2. Consumer culture > Creates dissatisfaction if expectations are not delivered but **New age delivers an alternative way to achieve perfection** 3. Rapid social change > This event in modern society disrupts established norms and values, resulting in chaos (anomie). The **New age provides a sense of certainty and truth** in the same way as sects 4. Decline of organised religion > Modernity leads to secularisation thereby **removing the traditional alternative to New Age Beliefs**

beliefs: religious organisations, movements and members Flashcards

(67 cards)