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New Religious Movements (NRM's) (Types of new religious movements ( …
New Religious Movements (NRM's)
Types of new religious movements ( :silhouette: Wallis)
World-rejecting NRMs
Examples
The Moonies
Krishna Consciousness
the Manson Family
the Branch Davidian
People's temple
Characteristics
clear notion of God
highly critical of the outside world and seek radical change
sharp break with their former life to achieve salvation
"brainwashing' and living communally - a lot of control
conservative moral code
World-accomodating NRMs
Characteristics
breakaways from existing mainstream churches or denominations
focus on religious rather than worldly matters
seek to restore the spiritual purity of religion
members tend to lead conventional lives
Examples
neo-Pentacostalism - Catholicism
Subud - Islam
World-affirming NRMs
Examples
Scientology
Soka Gakkai
TM
Human Potential
Characteristics
not very organised and some lack conventional features of religion eg. collective worship
accept the world as it is and promise their followers success ie. careers and relationships
Non-exclusive and tolerant of other religions
claim they have additional special knowledge that would help their followers - psychologising religions that offer this-worldly gratification
cults where followers are customers > members and entry is through training
:forbidden: Evaluation
:silhouette: Willis
NRMs will rarely fit into his typology and some may have features of all 3
useful way of classifying religious movements but he ignores the diversity of beliefs that may exist within an NRM
:silhouettes: Stark and Bainbridge
reject the construction of typologies - we should distinguish between religious organisations using just one criterion ( the degree of conflict between the religious group and wider society
Dynamics of sects and NRMs
Denomination or death
:silhouette: Niebuhr - sects (world-rejecting) are short-lived and that within a generation, they either die out or they compromise with the world, abandon their ideas and become a denomination
Reasons
the "protestant ethic" effect
practice asceticism - become prosperous - tempted to compromise with the world - either leave the world-rejecting NRM or it will abandon its beliefs
death of the leader
charismatic leader dies - sect either collapses or takes on a more bureaucratic leadership to become a denomination
the second generation
the other generations lack the commitment of their parents
The sectarian cycle
:silhouettes:Stark and Bainbridge argue that sects go in cycles - schism, initial fervour, denominationalism, establishment and further schism
Established sects
:silhouette:Wilson disagrees with the sectarian cycle
conversionist
aim to convert large numbers of people = likely to grow into denominations
examples
evangelicals
adventist
to be saved, they believe they must separate themselves from the corrupt world around them - this separatism prevents them from compromising and becoming a denomination
examples
seventh day adventists or jehovah's witnesses
Sects and cults ( :silhouettes:: Stark and Bainbridge)
Sect
result from schisms - they usually break away from churches because of disagreements about doctrine
promise other-worldly benefits to those suffering economic deprivation or ethical deprivation
Cult
new religions such as Scientology andChristian Science or ones new to that society that have been imported eg. TM
promise this-worldly benefits to more prosperous individuals who are suffering psychic deprivation and organismic deprivation
audience cults
least organised and do not involve formal membership or commitment, there are little interaction between the members, participation may be through the media
eg. astrology and UFO cults
client cults
based on the relationship between a consultant and a client, provide services to their follower, emphasis is on "therapies" promising personal fulfilment and self-discovery
cultic movements
the most organised and demand a higher level of commitment than other cults, aims to meet all religious needs and members are rarely allowed to belong to another religious group
eg. the Moonies
some client cults (Dianetics) turn into a cultic movement (Scientology)
Reasons for the growth of NRMs
World-rejecting NRMs
:silhouette: Wallis - increased time in education = creation of counter-culture = avoiding adult responsibilities + radical political movements = attraction to NRMs as they offered a more idealistic way of life
:silhouette: Bruce - the failure of counter-culture to change the world that led to disillusioned youth turning to religion instead
:silhouette: Bruce - modernisation and secularisation = more people are attracted to cults rather than sects and traditional church
World-affirming NRMs
:silhouette: Bruce - response to modernity esp. rationalisation of work = work doesn't provide a source of identity anymore whereas NRMs provide a sense of identity and techniques that promise success in this world
:silhouette:Wallis - some movements of the middle ground such as the Jesus Freaks have grown = attracted disillusioned former members of world-rejecting NRMs because they provide a halfway house back to a more conventional lifestyle