ORGANISATIONS, MOVEMENTS AND MEMBERS

TROELTSCH - distinguished between two main types of organisations -  CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHURCH ...

• large organisations with millions of followers - accepting the status quo ie catholic church has 1.2 billion followers world wide, CofE have 8.5 million followers in 2014, Islam 1 billion followers and 2 million in the UK 
• churches have a large number, complex bureacratic structures/ heirarchy - tend to reassemble to business sturctures ie roman catholic church is led by pope francis - pope, carindals, archbishops, priests, deacons, laity
• claim the monopoly of truth = their way is the only way 
• universtalistic - aim to include all members of society but usually attract the middle classes who maintain a greater level of conservative beliefs - inclusivie-    places fewer demands/ obligations on members 

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SECT ...

• small, exclusive groups, expect a high level of committment 
• draw members from the poor and oppressed 
• Led by a charismatic leader rather than a bureacratic hierarchy
• also believe in the monopoly of truth - sects die out quickly
• sects are also known as SCHISMS - jones town - substantive belief 

NIEBUHR - distinguished between two main types of organisations

 CHARACTERISTICS OF A CULT ...

• known as new age movements ie astrology/ spiritualism
• highly individualistic, loose knitted without strong beliefs 
• led by practioners who claim to know special knowledge 
• tolerant of other organisations/ do not demand strong commitment 
• usually world affirming and claiming to improve life 

CHARACTERISTICS OF A DENOMINATION ...

• ie methodism - as lying midway between churches/ sects 
• membership is less exclusive than a sect but doesnt appeal to the whole of society 
• broadly accept societys values, do not claim the monopoly of truth
• are tolerant of other religions - may place some restrictions ie drink

• WALLIS - argues that there are two characteristics related to religious organisations - one method classifications 
• churches/ sects claim a monopoly of truth. cults/ denominations see that there are many valid interpretations of faith 
• churches and denominations are respected whereas cults and sects are seen as deviant within a popluar culture 

EVALUTAING THESE TYPOLOGIES 

• BRUCE disagrees with TROELTSCH'S view that the church has a monopoly of truth, this way only apparent prior to the reformation when catherdrals symbolised power and truth which was unchallenged 
• for BRUCE churches now exist amongst a market of religious organisations, they cannot claim a monopoly of full truth and are therefore denominations 

Since 1960's NRM have grown ie Moonies, Children of God, Krishna Consciousness

• WORLD REJECTING NRM = clearly religious with a notion of god, highly criticalof the outside world and seek radical change, membes live with restricted contact from outside world, have conservative moral codes for alcohol and sex ie moonies 
• WORLD ACCOMMODATING NRM= focus on religion rather than worldly matters, are breakaways from existing mainstream churches/denominations,neither accept/ reject the world ie neo pentecostalism 
• WORLD AFFIRMING NRM = collective worship, spiritual powers, optimistic, non exclusive and tolerant of other religions, entry is through training and places fewer demands on people ie scientology, soka gakkai 

WALLIS CONCLUDES world affirming NRM are the most successful. He offers a useful way to classifying new religions although he ignores the diversity of beliefs 

Although STARK AND BAINBRIDGE reject the idea of constructing typologies - believe we should distinguish between the conflict/ tension within society and religious groups 

1. SECTS result from SCHISMS - from a traditional religious doctrine. Sects promise other worldly benefits such as salvation and heaven - attract marginalised and deprived members 

2. CULTS - a newer form of religion ie scientology - these promise this worldly benefits such as good health to those suffering from psychic deprivations - normlessness and orgasmic deprivation - poor health 

S+B DIVIDE CULTS INTO 3 ORGANISATIONS 

• AUDIENCE CULTS - no formal membership/ limited commitment/ least organised 
• CLIENT CULTS - consultant/ client relationship, fee paying ie miracles, spirituality, self discovery - middly organised 
• CULTIC MOVEMENTS - most organised with a movement of followers, high demand and commitment required for religious needs ie moonies, scientology, doomsday cults 

• MARGINALISATION, RELATIVE DEPRIVATION, SOCIAL CHANGE 

1. MARGINALISATION - WEBER argued that sects tend to attract members of society who are both economicaly/ socially marginalised. Sects offer members a 'theodicy of disprivelege' a religious justification and explanation for their suffering and rewards are promised ie the moonies attracted MC and affluent members like hippies, dropouts, drug users, peoples temple attracted disadvantaged, apathetic and unemployed members of society

2. RELATIVE DEPRIVATION - refers to the subjective sense of being deprived - possible to be privelleged and feel disadvantaged - may lack emotional warmth/ authenticy - may turn to sects for a sense of community. the RD move away from churches to form sects. World rejecting sects offer to the deprived compensators that they need rewards/ compensators. The priveleged are attracted to world accepting churches that express their status/ bring them success in achieving earthly rewards 

3. SOCIAL CHANGE - rapid changes disrupt norms/ values producing anomie, produces uncertainity and creates sects as the solution ie methodism offered a sense of community, warmth and fellowship recruiting large numbers to WC people- involves modernisation/ secularisation. people are less attracted to tradition/ prefer sects = less demanding/ fewer sacrifices 

• sects are short lived, only lasting a single generation or less
• sects are world rejecting organisations that come into existence because of schims
• second generation - who are born into the sect lack commitment
• the protestant ethic effect - sects that practise ascetism - hard work and saving - become more prosperous and upwardly modblie 
• death of the leader - when the leader dies the sect falls or a bureactic leader takes over and forms it to a denomination 

SECTARIAN CYCLE - STARK AND BAINBRIDGE 

• first stage is a schism - tension between need of deprived and privledged members of a church
• second stage - charismatic leader - great tension between sects and wider society
• third stage - denominationalism - protestant ethic effect of coolness
• fourth stage - establishment - sect becomes more world accepting and tension between wider society reduces

• CONVERTIONALIST - sects such as evangelical whose aim is to covert large numbers of people are likely to grow rapidly into larger formal denominations

• ADVENTIST - sects believe they must hold themselves separate from the corrupt world around them, this separatism prevents them from compromising and becoming a denomination 

many sects have succeeded in socialing children in high level of commitment largely keeping them apart from the wider world

however globalisation will make it harder in the future to keep sects from the outside world although it may make it easier to recruit thirld world where there are large numbers of deprived people for whom the message of sects is attractive - success of pentecostalists 

• there has been a range of beliefs and activities since 1980s
• very loosely organised audience/ client cults 
• includes beliefs in UFO's, aliens, tarot, yoga 
• HEELAS - 2 common themes that characterise the New Age 
• 1. SELF SPRITUALITY - turned away from traditional external religions such as churches instead look inside themselves to find it 
• 2. DETRADITIONALISATION - new age rejects spiritual authority of external traditional sources such as priests/ sacred texts, instead it values personal experience, belives that we can discover the truth for ourselves/ within ourselves 

NEW AGE beliefs include world affirming aspects to help people succeed in everyday outer world, as well as world rejecting elements that allow individuals to achieve enlightenment in their inner world 

POST MODERNITY/ NEW AGE - feature of post modern soceity is a loss of faith, science is promised a better world however it has given war/ environmental destruction/ global warming, resulted in people losing faith in experts/ professionals disillusioned with the churches failure to meet spiritual needs, people turn to new age/ idea each of us can find truth for ourselves/ look in

• BRUCE - growth of new age is individualism, a key principle of NA beliefs - the idea that each individual has the truth within themselves
  
• expressive proffesionals are concerned with human potential ie community workers and artists - new age most appeals to 
• NA beliefs are soft, self disciplined traditional, eastern religions ie buddhism has been watered down to compatibilse with westerners
• Bruce - NA pick and mix spiritual shopping, reflecting consumerist ethos of capitalist society
• HEELAS new age and modernity linked in 4 ways 
• 1. source of identity NA offers authentic identity 
• 2. consumer culture NA offers alternative way to achieve perfection 
• 3. rapid social change NA provides a sense of certainty and truth in the same way as sects 
• 4. decline of organised religion - modernity leads to secularisation , thereby removing traditional alternatives to NA beliefs

linked to immediate gratification and fatalism 

• DAVIE - there are gender differences in terms of religious practise, belief, self identification
• most church goers are female and outnumber males by half a million 
• more women than men 55% vs 44% say they have a religion 
• women express greater interest in religion and have stronger personal commitment to it 

REASONS FOR GENDR DIFFEERNCES 

• gender differences in risk taking - by not being religious ie men are more likely not to be religious
• women are more religious because they are socialised into being passive - qualities ie caring and obedient are valued by religion - more attracted to religion 
• MILLER AND HOFMAN - women more likely to work part time - more time to organise and participate in religious activities 
• DAVIE - women closer to birth, death, brings them closer to ultimate questions about the meaning of life that religion is concerned with 
• men see God as powerful , in control and women see God as loving and forgiving 

• BRUCE - womens religiosity is a result of lower levels of involvement in paid work 
• links to secularisation process of rationalisation 
• religion has become privitised, mens religiosity has declined more quickly than womens 
• by 1960's women had taken secular masculined roles in the public sphere of paid work   BROWN- 'decline of female piety' 
• remains more attractive to women than men 1. religion has strong values and so do women 2. men withdrawl from religion means churches have become feminised 

women and the new age 

• heelas - 80% of partcipants in holisticism in kendal were femal 
• in relative to 'natural' gives women high status and sense of self worth, emphasises the importance of being authentic
• indivdual sphere WOODHEAD is concerned with individual autonomy and personal growth - NA beliefs bypass the role of conflict by creating a new source of identity based on inner strength
• BROWN - self religions - those who emphasise subjective experience rather than external authority 

• BRUCE - argues that women are more likely to involve themselves in sects, this is developed further by stark and bainbridge who discussed religious market theory 
• sects offer women compensators for their deprivation 
• 1. orgasmic - women are likely to suffer from mental/ physical poor health, higher rates of morbidity
• 2. ethical - women are more likely to have conservative beliefs- attracted to world rejecting sects, the world is declined 
• 3. social - women are more likely to experience poverty/ economic deprivation - theodicy of disprivlege 

pentecostal gender paradox 

• pentacostalism has grown rapidly within poorer parts of the world - latin america
• the substantive beliefs tend to promote patriarcal/ female subordination yet women are more likely to be attracted 
• insists of gender division of labour that requires men to provide for the family 

• PENTACOSTALISM - insists patriarchal values including traditional gender roles and ascetic lifestyle - calvinism 
• women use pente as a way to resist the culture of chalvinism and to support improved conditions for them and their families
• males in columbia tend to spend income on products for themselves ie tabacco, alcohol and gambling 
• pente.. challenges this and teaches men to spend their money to support their families to enable improvement 
• this allows for women to have a much higher standard of living which demonstrates why they` are more likely to support this belief
• PRYCE - penta.. in bristol provided followers with a new set of values that were appropriate to the new world, that they were experiencing 
  
• values taught through pente.. included self reliance, saving and non fatalistic attitudes - a protestant ethnic effect
• BRUCE argued that once a particular ethnic group had successfully transitioned their commitment to religion can weaken 
• children and grandchildren may lose commitment to religion when they get older 

• FOR DURKHEIM/ PARSONS religion alows for social order and solidarity, it does this through creating a sense of common identity/ community maintaining stabilisation 
• it can also be an important agent of secondary socialisation which transmits cultural norms and values to the next generation preserving ethnic identities 
• CULTURAL TRANSITION - religion can provide security a form of community for migrants who move to britain allowing for an easier passage which prevents feelings of loss, alienation and isolation 
• religion can be a key focal agent which allows for migrants to feel secure in an alien land 
• the building of temples and mosques in the face of hostility can reinforce a sense of acceptance, solidarity and community
• WEBARIAN PERSPECTIVE - ethnic minorities tend to suffer greater levels of economic disadvantaged which could be down to racism within a wider society
• for weber same sects and denominations may attract poorer ethnic minorities because they provide an explanation / justification of their suffering