Chapter 9 Flashcards
(34 cards)
belief systems can be two things:
they can be deviant and be social typers of deviance
social typers
authority to define behaviours and characteristics and dictate what should be done as a response
ecclesia
state religion
-adopted at a govt level and is the norm
churches
large, well-established religions
-highly bureaucratized
-high membership and quite powerful
-major religions
-divided into denominations
denominations
a subgroup of churches that operate under a common name, tradition, and identity
-orthodox within judaism
sects
smaller and broken away from the church
-more rigid
-left to renew an old faith in reaction with their discontent with the church
-older
-Amish and hutterites, the taliban
cults
even smaller, rigid, oppositional groups
-reactionary and oppositional
-use brain washing, exploitation, media
-intense levels of commitment
-an entirely new belief system
sects and cults are seen to be _______ and exist in a state of _____ with the larger society
deviantized;tension
both secs and cults exist in a state of tension dependent on:
magnitude of differences
level of antagonism
extent to which the group isolates itself
denominational sect
possibility of becoming/being seen as a conventional denomination
established sect
will always remain a sect;persist but do not become denominations
Seventh-day Adventists are a _________ because
denominational sect
- Abandoned the day of the seven dates
- Several expectations have relaxed over the years
- Recognized compromise and reduced tension
- Established a state and actively to recruit new members
- Advocates for building new schools and unis, encourage education
- More mainstream
-has relaxed its rules and beliefs over time; less tension with society (less deviant)
Jehovah’s witnesses are a _________ because
established set
-not recognized as a denomination because of high tensions with society
-rigid expectations and commitment
- Strict prohibitions
- Blood represents life and only god can give life-refuse blood transfusions
- Beliefs are antagonistic to other religions
○ More isolated and more tension
- Refuse to serve in military
- More deviant than seventh day Adventists
Heaven’s gate
Involve members the earth is going to be destroyed, only way to survive is to die by suicide to make it to heaven
Aum Shrinrikyo
jap doomsday cult; leader declared himself christ; many govt classify them as a terrorist organization
-release of toxic gas released on tokyo subway-start world war and give them access to heaven, was tipped off,
family of love/family of God
associated with sexual deviance;sex to be freely shared, except to men; encourages pedophilia and incest
destructive cults
-leader places group above the law; members told that the same laws do not bind them as the rest of society
-very clear hierarchy system- leader has double standards
-control personal lives
-decieve outsiders
-apocalyptic vision in which the group plays the main goal
anti-cult movement
○ Parents concerned as to how their kids joined their groups
○ Many were quite fearful for their children
○ Educate parents and children of dangers
○ Professionals became involved and seen as the experts to get answers
○ Provided de program services
○ Referred to as cult awareness groups**
§ Educate ppl of dangers
§ Lobbying govt for stricter controls
countercult movement
doesn’t taget specific groups but opposed to religious freedom itself
-tend to be conservative Christians from evangelical + fundamental denominations;concerned with any religious belief that diverges from there’s
-lobby govt for stricter control of groups they seem as problematic
-less successful than secular cult awareness groups
Resistance to social control efforts include
○ Actively defend themselves in the press and in court
○ Change practices to gain greater legitimacy
○ Also comes from academics and challenges traditional typology
○ Traditional categorizations are
○ Socially constructed
○ All religions started out as deviant
○ Groups beliefs were oppositional to mainstream society; Only over time were they established as legitimized religions
religion as a social typer of deviance at the individual level
provide a moral code for distinguishing between right and wrong
religion as a social typer of deviance at the social level
influences political belief systems
-eg; witch persecutions, residential schools, victorian child savers movement
social gospel
apply biblical principles to solve societal problems
-victorian child-savers movement
pseudoscience
deviant science with not a lot of legitimacy or fixed categorizations (eg; astrology)
