NRMs and the New Age

• New Religious Movements - NRMs

  New sects and cults emerged since 1960s - modernity, religious pluralism
• Wallis - NRMs


  Sects: charismatic leader, monopoly of truth, other-worldly benefits

  Cults: loosely organised, pluralistically legitimate, this-worldly benefits
• Wallis - NRMs (types)

  World-rejecting

  • early stage sects, extreme, think the world is living in sin

  World-accommodating

  • loss of charismatic leader, can't remain fanatical
  • become more pluralistically legitimate
  • routinisation of charisma - when leader dies, delegate leadership

  World-affirming

  • many cults, accept the world as is
• Stark and Bainbridge (sects)

  Sectarian cycle of sects:

  Schism - split from church/denomination in pursuit of true way + other worldly benefits

  Initial fervour - charismatic leader, devotion

  Denominalisation - charismatic leader dies, becomes more world-accommodating

  Establishment - world affirming

  Further schism - cycle starts again, usually poorer members
• Critique of sects and cults

  • Difference between sects and denominations is not clear
  • Cults have differing definitions - Wallis, Bruce and Stark and Bainbridge all define them differently
  • Wallis' three different types of NRMs could be described as sects, denominations and cults
• Niebuhr

  Denomination or death - sects either become a denomination or stay fanatical (Adventist sects) and die out
• Critique: Niebuhr

  Wilson - Adventist sects remain radical and remain appealing because of this
• Stark and Bainbridge (cults)


  Audience cults - online, through social media/internet

  Client cults - pay to be in, get benefits, religious consumerism e.g. Transcendental Meditiation

  Cult movements - fanatical, devoted, isn't a sect because it hasn't split from a church
• Critique of NRMs as evidence against secularisation

  Berger - World-rejecting groups are in response to secularisation - they are trying to renew/revive religion
• Weber - growth of NRMs

  Marginality - NRMs appeal to marginalised people

  Theodicy of deprivilege - disadvantaged are favored by god

  Hope of salvation to marginalised - offers hope things will get better
• Critique: Weber - growth of NRMs

  NRMS can be appealing to more than just materially deprived - Wilson argues also appeal to those defeated in war, suffering effects of natural disaster and marginalised ethnic minorities e.g. Nation of Islam in US
• Wilson - growth of NRMs, social change

  Traditional norms disrupted - traditional churches no longer fill needs of people in changing society

  Methodism during industrial revolution - Methodism appeal to w/c in new industrial cities

  Post industrial/modern world - new phase of change and uncertainty - NRMS appeal as they give stability + certainty
• Heelas - New Age

  detraditionalism - aren't going through secularisation, religion is just not traditional

  Self-spirituality - individualism, people think differently, finds what suits them

  Subjective tern - rejecting collective worship, finding what works for ourselves
• Heelas and Woodhead - New Age

  Kendal project

  Spiritual revolution - spirituality gone from everyone praying together to people finding what works for them individually

  Congregational domain decline - decline in people going to places of worship

  Holistic domain growing - growth of small-scale practices and activities e.g. Yoga Class
• Critique: Heelas and Woodhead

  Kendal project - small area, not generalisable to whole population

  Kendal, not an ethnically diverse town, no mosques, temples etc

  Significance of New Age = exaggerated
• Stark and Bainbridge - religion as a market


  Rational choice theory

  • religion = rational choice, people think when making a choice of what to believe e.g. that is too extreme i can't commit

  Supply-led religious market: pay to be in cults, offer benefits, selling their religion

  Offer of compensators - compensators for people's problems
• Critique: Stark and Bainbridge - religion as a market


  Focuses too much on individual decision making and neglects influence of social and cultural factors on religious belief
• Lyon - religion as a market

  Religious consumerism

  • people look for what they want to believe like shopping

  Re-enchantment

  • religious revival
• Hervieu-Leger - religion as a market

  Decline in chain of memory

  • power of religion passed through generations
  • chain of religious belief being passed down = breaking

  Cultural amnesia

  • age of individualism - individuals no longer accepting beliefs of their parents and grandparents

  Spiritual shopping

  • we choose what we want, pick and mix process
  • pilgrims - people trying different beliefs
  • converts - settling on a religion
• Critique: Hervieu-Leger - religion as a market

  Oversimplifies complexity of religious beliefs and practices.

  Neglects social and cultural influences of religion on individuals