SOCIOLOGY: BELIEFS IN SOCIETY, CHURCH/SECT DISTINCTION (WALLIS/WEBER)

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  • CHURCH
    • The church/sect distinction
      • SECT
        • Sects are overtly emotional in nature which takes away from them being an intellectual discovery
      • Derived from Weber's distinction between   rational/ charismatic organisations
        • rational (authority rests in hierarchy and formality)
          • people follow pre-determined rules and have specific behavioural expectations for each other and the system.
            • those who qualify are given obedience and power due to peoples belief in their position
        • charismatic (belief in leader, often during hard-times)
          • people follow an individual due to special status, obedience due to emotional involvement. not intellect.
      • Wallis 2 characteristics
        • How they see themselves
          • churches and sects claim their interpretation of faith to be the only legit one.
            • denominations and cults accept many interpretations
        • How they're seen by wider society
          • churches and denominations = respectable
          • sects and cults = deviant
      • evaluation
        • Bruce (1995) churches and sects have drifted to denomination
          • churches no longer claim a monopoly and aren't universal
            • e.g. Jehovah's witness is now a denomination
        • Alridge (2000) groups such as Mormon's have an unusual position
          • in the USA seen as denominations, in the UK seen as a deviant group/sect
    • Argued churches are formal organisations which have taken religious belief to an intellectual level
    • Tradition and hierarchy work to restrain emotional reactions

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