types of organisation

• churches

  troeltsch ~

  • large organisations run by bureaucratic hierarchies that claim a monopoly of truth
  • they are the most established and are universalistic and attempt to include all of society without placing many demands on their members
  • are integrated into mainstream culture
  • eg. the catholic church or islam
• sects

  troeltsch ~

  • small, exclusive groups that are hostile towards wider society and expect high levels of commitment from their followers
  • no automatic membership and followers are recruited from the poor and oppressed
  • they are often led by a charismatic leader
  • also believe they hold a monopoly of truth
  • often radical protest movements set up in opposition to a dominant mainstream religion
  • usually born from conflict with the church resulting in a breakaway such as a concern over the church's wealth
  • eg. nation of islam or amish
• denominations

  niebuhr ~

  • lie midway between churches and sects
  • broadly accept mainstream societal values but are unlinked to the state
  • impose minor restrictions but aren't as demanding as sects
  • are tolerant of other organisations and don't claim a monopoly over the truth
  • are less hierarchical and don't have as much of an appeal in society
  • eg. methodists and shia muslims
  • brierley - there are about 250 christian denominations in britain
• cults

  • highly individualistic, loose-knit and usually small groups
  • based around shared interests and themes but have no sharply defined or exclusive belief system
  • not based in theology
  • usually led by 'practicioners' or 'therapists' who claim special knowledge
  • usually tolerant of other organisations and don't claim monopoly over truth
  • often promise spiritual empowerment but have no control over members who may leave when they have aquired skills
• similarities and differences

  wallis - there are two key similarities and differences between the four organisations

  • how they see themselves - churches and sects claim that their interpretation of faith is the only legitimate one whereas denominations and cults don't
  • how others see them - churches and denominations are seen as legitimate forms of belief whereas cults and sects aren't
  • stark + bainbridge - a difference between cults and sects is that sects have broken away from another established religious group whereas cults have no previous links to other organisatiosn
• new religious movements

  wallis - there is a spectrum of three types of of new religious movements based on their relationship to the outside world

  • world-affirming
  • world-rejecting
  • world-accommodating
• world-rejecting nrms

  wallis - most similar to troeltsch's sects eg. krishna consciousness and the manson family

  • clearly religious organisations with a clear notion of god
  • highly critical of the outside world and seek radical change to it
  • members must completely reject their former life to achieve salvation
  • members live communally with one another and have restricted contact with the outside world
  • ofen have conservative moral codes but politically radical
• world-affirming nrms

  wallis - often the most successful of movements eg. human potential and brikham yoga

  • accept the world as it is and are optimistic and promise success in mainstream goals to their followers
  • non-exclusive and tolerant of other people's beliefs but claim to hold special knowledge that enable followers to unlock their own spiritual powers
  • most are cults and followers are often customers not members
• world-accommodating nrms

  wallis - most similar to traditional religions, often an offshoot of church or denomination eg. mormonism and neo-pentecostalism

  • neither accept or reject the world
  • focus on religious rather than worldly matters and seek to restore religion's spiritual purity
• evaluation of types of nrms

  • some argue wallis' classification isn't clear - is he categorising according to movements' teachings or individuals' beliefs?
  • ignores diversity of beliefs that can exist within new religious movements
  • wallis recognises that real new religious movements dont' neatly fit into his typology and some have features of all three types eg. the healthy happy holy organisation
  • stark + bainbridge - reject the idea of typologies - we should distinguish between new religious movements purely based on their level of conflict with wider society
• sects and cults

  stark + bainbridge - based on their idea of classification based on level of conflict with society, there are two groups that are at odds with wider society

  • sects - break away from churches, usually because of disagreements about doctrines
  • cults - new religions eg. scientology

  sects promise other-worldly benefits eg. a place in heaven to those suffering economic or ethical deprivation whereas cults offer this-worldly benefits to more prosperous individuals siffering psychic and organismic deprivation
• types of cults

  stark + bainbridge - cults can be divided based on how organised they are

  • audience cults - the least organised, don't involve formal membership and there is little interaction between members eg. astrology
  • client cults - based on the relationship between client and cult and provide services to their followers eg. 'therapies' for growth
  • cultic movements - the most organised and demanding, aims to meet members' needs through being exclusive and preventing the membership of other religions eg. the manson family
  • some groups eg. scientology are this for the most devout members