movements and members

Question 1

Defining religious organisations: Troeltsch- churches

Answer 1

Churches: large organisations, often have millions of members run by hierarchy of professional priests and claim to have monopoly of truth. Also universalists. Makes few demands upon members.

Question 2

Troeltsch- sects.

Answer 2

Sects: small, exclusive groups, hostile to wider society and expect high levels of commitment. Many led by charismatic leaders. Only similarity to churches is they too believe they have a monopoly of truth.

Question 3

Niebuhr- denominations

Answer 3

Denominations: are midway between churches and sects. Memberships are less exclusive than sects but don’t apeal to whole of society like a church. Broadly accept the values of society but not linked to state.

Question 4

Neihbur- cults

Answer 4

Cults: loosely organised and highly individualistic; it is usually small group which based around some shared themes and interests. Usually a sharply defined belief system. Usually led by practitioners or therapists. Many cults are world-affirming claiming to improve life in this world. Eg, TM, Scientology.

Question 5

Evaluation of defining religious organisations.

Answer 5

• Troeltsch ideas is not all churches linked to state such as Islam, only fits Christianity.
• there is overlap within categories, eg Scientology places high demand in its members but claims to be able to help its members.

Question 6

Defining new religious Novembers: world rejecting NRM’s

Answer 6

World rejecting NRM’s similar to sects. Eg, children of Godard heavens gate.
-they are very committed to their belief with clear notion of God
- They are highly critical of the outside world and seek radical change
- To achieve salvation members break with former life
- Members live community with restricted contact to the outside world movement controls all aspects of life often accused of brainwashing them.
- they are more popular in groups in society who feel marginalised or lack power

Question 7

2. World affirming NRM

Answer 7

-Similar to cults, breakaway from mainstream churches or denominations such as neo-Pentecostalism who split from catholic chruch.
-Neither accept or reject world, instead focusing on spiritual guidance.
- aim to restore the spiritual purity which is believed to be lost in larger institutions.

Question 8

3. World affirming NRM’s

Answer 8

Similar to cults. Lack some of the conventional features of traditional organisations such as collective worship.
- They accept the world as it is they are optimistic and promised followers success in terms of mains
Goals
- They are non-exclusive and intolerant of other religions but claimed to offer additional know
Followers are often more like the customers than members
-tend to largely attract middle class members

Question 9

Evaluation

Answer 9

• Wallace himself recognise that real
  NRM’s will really fit neatly into his typology and some organisation such as 3HO (the happy healthy holy organisation) may have features of all three type types

Question 10

Explaining the growth of religious movements: marginality

Answer 10

-Weber claims that sex tend to people who have been isolated or pushed to the fringes of society such as groups that are treated unfairly and maybe search searching for answers.
- sects offer them answers in form off ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage.

Question 11

Evaluation

Answer 11

-since the 1960s world rejecting NRM’s such as Moonies have recruited mainly from the more affluent groups of well educated young middle-class rather than the poor and marginalised.

Question 12

2) relative deprivation

Answer 12

Relative dep refers to a person sense of feeling deprived. Glock and stark identify several different types of relative depravation.
1)social deprivation- may stem from lack of power, prestige and status
2) organismic deprivation - experienced by those who suffer physical and mental problems.
3) ethical deprivation- result of people perceiving the world in moral decline
4) physical deprivation- those searching for inner spiritual fulfilment

Question 13

Evaluation

Answer 13

The ideas around deprivation can be hard to measure and quantify

Question 14

3) social change

Answer 14

Bellah argues that the increase insect and cult membership seen in the 1960s in the USA was due to middle class youth experience experiencing a crisis of meaning regarding materialistic values of their parents culture. Many turned to alternative pop/drug cultures which rejected such value.

Question 15

Evaluation

Answer 15

Only applied to movements in the 1960s not representative of all sects throughout history.

Question 16

The dynamics of sects and new religious movements. 1) the death of sects.

Answer 16

Niebuhr argues that sects are short lived and within a generation they either die out or compromise with the real world. Reasons for this:
- the second generation- who are born into sects lack the commitment
- the ‘Protestant ethic’ effect- sects are the practise asceticism (hard work and saving)
- death of a leader
- hostility front he wider world

Question 17

Evaluation

Answer 17

Neibhr doesn’t consider how some sex can continue on in society and last a long time for example Jehovah’s Witnesses

Question 18

2) the sectarian cycle (sects change over time)

Answer 18

The cycle:
1) schism - tension between the needs of deprived and privileged
2) initial fervour- have a charismatic leader, and tension between sects’ beliefs and those in wider society
3) denominations- the Protestant ethic and coolness of 2nd generation means the fervour disappears
4) establishment - the sect becomes more world-accepting and tension reduces
5)further schism- when more zealous or less privileged members break away.

Question 19

Evaluations

Answer 19

Stark and banbridge argue that sucks never die out but that’s not the case some sects do come to an end - heavens gate.

Question 20

3)alternative view: sects become “established”

Answer 20

Wilson argues not all sects follow the previous patterns. He argues some sects have survived many generations such as Johanna witnesses. Wilson established two types of established sects:
1) conversions: sects such as evangelicalss who aim to convert large numbers of people are likely to grow rapidly into large more formal denominations.
2) adventists: sex such as seventh day adventurists or Johanne witnesses await the second coming of Christ to be saved they believe the most told themselves separate to the world around them

Question 21

Evaluation

Answer 21

Statistics show that society is becoming more secular it’s going to be harder for sex to become established when religious is declining

Question 22

The growth of new age movements: characteristics of new age

Answer 22

Heelas: two common themes that characterise the new age:
- self-spirituality : the focus of New Age practices is to seek fulfilment from within yourself
- detraditionalisation - the new age rejects the spiritual authority of external traditional sources such as priests or sacred texts.

Question 23

Postmodernists explanation of new age movement

Answer 23

Drane argues that the appeal of NAM’s is a sign that we are in a postmodern society there has been a loss of faith in meta narratives a science promise to bring progress and improve human conditions but instead war has give us genocide and global warming as a result, people lost faith in experts and professionals and turn to new age ideas that each of us can find the true self

Question 24

Late modernists explanation of new age

Answer 24

-Bruce argues that the growth of New Age is a feature of the latest phase of modern Society not post maternity.
-heelas sees new age linked in 4 ways
1) a source of identity
2) consumer culture
3)rapid social change
4) decline of organised religion

Question 25

Gender and beliefs: reasons for gender differences. 1) risk

Answer 25

By not being religious people are risking condemnation to help women are less likely to take risk compared to men often taking a caregiver role Eval: Davie argues fewer dangers associated with childbirth means that women are faced and fewer risks of dying so become less religious

Question 26

Socialisation

Answer 26

In society, women are socialised to be more passive obedient caring. This means women are more attracted to religion.

Question 27

Paid work and gender roles:

Answer 27

Bruce argues that women’s religious state is a result of the lower level of involvement impaired work this explains why men’s religious participation has declined

Question 28

Life and death

Answer 28

Davie argues that women are closer to birth and death which brings them closer to the ultimate question about meaning of life and religion provides the answer for that Eval: deterministic

Question 29

Women and sect membership

Answer 29

Glock and stark argue that women are more likely during sex as a more likely to experience one of the following forms of relative demotion - organismic -social -ethical

Question 30

Age and belief: older people and religion

Answer 30

- disengagement- As people get older, they lose active involvement cited due to their retirement in Work participation and religious organisations provides a form of social support - religious socialisation- all the generations more likely to have a greater emphasis placed on religion through education system and socialisation in the family - ill-health and death- older generation face with declining health and impending death

Question 31

Younger people and religion.

Answer 31

Young people expressed less religious beliefs in surveys and have lower participation in mainstream Christian religions.

Question 32

Reasons for age differences

Answer 32

1) declining attraction of religion 2) expanding spiritual marketplace 3)believing without belonging 4) declining religious education

Question 33

Ethnicity and beliefs: reasons for ethnic differences.

Answer 33

1) community identity and cultural defence 2) social deprivation and marginality 3) social identity (cultural transition) 4) family pressure

Question 34

Evaluation

Answer 34

-Family pressure argument is a term -Secularisation is occurring so difficult for ethnic minorities to remain religious

Question 35

Sociological explanations- social class and beliefs

Answer 35

Marxists- working class more religious to cope with alienation Neo-Marxists- can help against oppression for working class Functionalism- working class people face times of crisis and uncertainty more frequently Weber- wc are more attracted to compensation of religion.

Question 36

Eval

Answer 36

Middle class take part in nam/ client cults as they have the money to