The Organisation of Religions

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  • Created by: Amy
  • Created on: 30-05-13 13:05
who distinguished between a church and a sect?
Troeltsch
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what is the major thing that churches and sects have in common?
a monopoly view of the truth
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niebuhr argued there was a another type of religious organisation; what is this?
denomination
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what is the fourth type of organisation?
a cult
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what do stark and bainbridge suggest about sects and cults?
they are in conflict with wider society
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what do they argue sects emerge from?
schisms
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what does this mean?
a breakaway from a church because of disagreements
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what benefits do sects offer?
other-wordly benefits (salvation in heaven)
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what do cults offer?
this-worldly benefits (improved lifestyle and happiness)
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what is an audience cult?
least organised, little interaction between members, low commitment
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what is a client cult?
acts as a business; offers services between a client and a consultant - offers self-improvement and self discovery
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what is a cultic cult?
fairly high commitment, highly organised
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what is a problem with these categorisations?
one organisation could fit into one type
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what is another problem?
sects are based on those emerging from christianity, may differ with buddhism or hinduism
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what does bruce argue about the monopoly of the truth?
a church only claimed to have the monopoly of the truth only applies to the catholic church before the protestant reformation
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why do churches struggle to maintain the credibility of their monopoly of the truth?
sects, cults and denominations have encouraged religious diversity which reduces the significance of the established church
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why was the term New Religious Movement introduced?
to make sense of the new religions emerging in the 1960s and 70s, the categories of sect and cult became increasingly inadequate to categorise and understand
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what is a world rejecting NRM?
similar to sects; has a charismatic leader; critical and hostile towards society; clear divide between themselves and society; high commitment
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what is a world accommodating NRM?
generally accept wider society; critical of lack of religiosity in society;
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what is a world affirming NRM?
lack traditional features of a religion such as worship; run like businesses; offer techniques to improve life; accept society; focuses on the individual
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what are two criticisms of the categorisation of NRMs?
it can be, again, too difficult to categorise an organisation into one of these categories; Stark and bainbridge argue the only point worth considering is their level of conflict of wider society
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what are the three reasons that people join sects?
marginalisation; social dislocation and relative deprivation
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what is marginalisation?
people on the 'margins of society' are often discriminated against and have no role in society
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how can a sect help those that are marginalised?
provide a theodicy of disprivilege: an explanation of suffering and the promise life will improve
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how are the black muslims an example of this?
explained their suffering was due to the evils of white people, they promised white people and their religion would be destroyed
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what did beckford find in his study of jehovah's witnesses?
they were mainly upper working class and lower middle class and unlike to be marginalised
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what did he argue these people became?
disillusioned
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how does wallis argue against this?
the term marginalisation can be correct because many middle class converts had often become marginal to society through drug use or membership of counter-cultures such as hippies.
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what is relative deprivation?
a sense of lacking something in relation to what other people have
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why might people turn to sects because of this?
they offer a strict code of conduct; if people follow this, they gain respect from the rest of the sect
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how do the black muslims provide an example for this?
demands a strict code of behaviour, and alcohol, tobacco and *** outside of marriage are all forbidden. Following this code helps give members responsibility, discipline, status and respect.
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what leads to a sense of dislocation?
rapid social change
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what is dislocation?
feeling 'out of place'
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what can this lead to?
anomie
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how can sects help with this?
they offer clear guidelines of behaviour to give members certainty and norms during an uncertain, normless time & suggest life will improve
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what is an example of this?
Methodism developed in the late 18th century/early 19th century in response to the rapid social change and dislocation caused by industrialisation
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how do stark and bainbridge criticise this?
more sects appeared during the 1950s, a period of economic and social stability compared with the 1960s and 1970s, both decades of social and political unrest
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how does wallis explain the emergence of NRMs?
through rationalisation; this has replaced the sense of magic and mystery to religion
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what does this lead to?
desacrilisation; loss of sacred and religious explanations
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how does willis argue world rejecting NRMs emerge ?
In the USA during the late 1960s, and early 70s, many people protested against political regimes. hey realised human effort alone could not change society, so they turned to religious organisations to get help from God.
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how does willis argue world affirming NRMs emerge ?
developed in response to the values of a modern capitalist society. These values include an emphasis on status, happiness, achievement, personal attractiveness and fulfilment; this can be difficult to achieve, so these NRMs help
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what does Niebuhr argue can happen to a sect?
become a denomination or die out
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what do other sociologists suggest can happen also?
they remain an established sect
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why might a sect become a denomination?
they become less critical of society; the new generation may not agree and leave, and society can change the things the sect was critical of
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why might the sect die out?
often the sect dies out on the death of the charismatic leader
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why might the sect stay an established sect?
the sect maintains its isolation from wider society.
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How does methodism act as an example for sects becoming denominations?
because they no longer are critical of wider society because society has changed the things they were critical of e.g. child labour and long working hours.
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what does wilson suggest the reason some sects become denominations is?
the answer to the question: what shall we do to be saved
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what are conversionist sects?
their main aim to convert people
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what are adventist sects?
they prepare themselves for the day of judgement
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who are more likely to become denominations?
conversionist sects
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why
it doesnt affect their primary aim - converting people
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who are more likely to stay as sects?
adventist sects
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why
their primary aim is to separate themselves from the sinful society and await the coming of christ; becoming a denomination would compromise their position which demands seperation
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Wallis: how do NRMs develop?
they can become more world accommodating - become less critical of society; become more world rejecting if the criticism of wider society intensifies
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what must world affirming NRMs do?
since they act like businesses, they must adapt to meet the needs and demands of their clients
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what has declined in a postmodern society?
metanarratives such as science
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what did science promise?
positive things for humankind to devleop
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however what has it also created?
harmful things such as global warming and addictive drugs
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what has this led to?
people lose faith in scientists and doctors
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why might people become disillusioned with religion?
because it fails to meet their spiritual needs
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why do these people turn to NAMs?
they offer alternative, non-scientific methods of healing. and spirituality
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why does this reflect postmodernism?
because it has an emphasis on individualism, choice and consumption
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who argues NAMs are a feature of modernism?
bruce
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what do modern societies value?
individualism
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what do NAMs provide?
a source of identity in a diverse and fragmented modern society, provide truth and certainty in an otherwise uncertain world
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

what is the major thing that churches and sects have in common?

Back

a monopoly view of the truth

Card 3

Front

niebuhr argued there was a another type of religious organisation; what is this?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

what is the fourth type of organisation?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

what do stark and bainbridge suggest about sects and cults?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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