Chapter 9 Flashcards
(32 cards)
Secularization (durkhiem)
Ideas and rituals in Religion is on the decline
What is the most common religious group
Ecclesia, then churches, then sects, then cults
What is Jehovah witness
Sect
What is an example of denomination
Judaism and Christianity
Which religious groups are seen as deviant
¬ Sects and cults are more isolated from mainstream society and are the religious groups that are traditionally seen as deviant and in need of social control.
¬ Religious groups that are characterized by high levels of tension with the broader society are perceived as deviant. Cults are seen as more deviant than sects
Beliefs
anything that you personally think is true, regardless of whether it is actually true or not.
¬ Single beliefs are combined with other interrelated beliefs into organized sets of belief systems
¬ There are two different types of relationships between belief systems and deviance: belief systems as deviance, and belief systems as social typers of deviance.
Social embeddedness of religious belief systems
¬ the process by which religious belief systems emerge, the role that religion plays in people’s lives, and the relationships between religion and other social structures or processes.
Ecclessia
refers to state religions: a specific religious belief system is adopted at a governmental level and becomes a nation’s “official” religion.
Churches
¬ are not “official” religions of an entire society, but are large and powerful religious groups,
Churches are further subdivided into denominations such that there are different types of Christianity and Judaism
Sects
¬ are smaller religious groups that have usually broken away from larger churches at some point in their history. They are less established in society than churches
are churches with people of lower social status and members of marginalized groups. Emphasizes rewards come not in life, but the afterlife.
Cults
¬ are usually smaller than sects, frequently having only a handful of members. Their doctrine is more reactionary and oppositional with intense level of commitment from members.
How are religious groups perceived as deviant
¬ Religious groups that are characterized by high levels of tension with the broader society are perceived as deviant. Cults are seen as more deviant than sects
Why are sects and cults seen as deviant
¬ are more isolated from mainstream society and are the religious groups that are traditionally seen as deviant and in need of social control.
Denominational sect
verging on being seen as a conventional Christian denomination
Established sect
¬ JW are an established sect because of tension that continues to exist with the societies in which they reside.
Deviancy amplification
when a deviant group becomes more extreme as a response to hostilities or social control efforts from outsiders
How are cults constructed in the media.
The media portrays them as “folk devils” which contributes to moral panic.
Controlling “deviant religions”
Measures of social control emerge from the anti-cult movement, counter-cult movement, media, and governments
Anti-cult movement for controlling “deviant” religions
o targets only certain religious groups—those considered to be “destructive”
Counter-cult movement for controlling “deviant” religions
o a movement with its philosophy not being based on internationally recognized legitimate limits to religious freedom. They are opposed to religious freedom itself. These groups engage in measures to eliminate “deviant” religions in a larger attempt to recruit coverts to their own religious groups.
Governments for controlling “deviant” religions
o governments have the power to create legislation, policies, and programs that will curb the destructive nature of “deviant” religions.
Social typing of deviance
¬ religious belief systems also play a role in the social typing of deviance—their proclamations of truth incorporate moral truths as well.
Religious belief systems also serve as social types of deviance at the societal level
Science
knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, especially as obtained and tested through scientific method
Is Science the social typer of deviance or socially typed itself?
¬ Religion is subjected to social control and yet also steers processes of social control—it is socially typed but also socially types others.
¬ Science serves a social control function, dictating to us what is deviant and providing means for controlling that deviance. It is also subject to social control itself to prevent and resolve deviance.
Scientists can be typed as deviant when they engage in scientific misconduct
