Full Beliefs in Society Notes and Flashcards
Key Concepts of Beliefs in Society
Religiosity:
The quality of an individual's religious beliefs and experiences.
The role that religion plays in society.
Fundamentalism:
Religious militancy is used by individuals to prevent the erosion of their religious identities.
Secularisation:
The decline of religion.
The loss of religion's influence over state issues.
Ideology:
Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements.
Includes patterns of inequality.
Types of Religion:
Theistic Beliefs:
The belief in at least one God.
New Age Movement:
Movement that spread through the occult and metaphysical religious communities in the 1970s and 80s.
Looked forward to a “New Age” of love and light.
Offered a foretaste of the coming era through personal transformation and healing.
Animism:
The idea that things found in nature, such as trees, rocks, and wind, have souls.
Totemism:
The practice of associating groups of people with particular animals and plants.
5 Features of Religion:
Belief in sacred beings.
Sacred and profane objects, places, and times.
Ritual acts are based on sacred and profane objects, places, and times.
Moral code with supernatural origins.
Prayer and other forms of communication with supernatural beings.
Definitions of Religion:
Substantive:
A belief system that has a supernatural being or God at its centre.
The being is seen as superior, all-powerful, and inexplicable by science and the laws of nature.
Functional:
Portrays a concept as essential for social consensus and cohesion.
Aids in human adaptation and societal survival by providing answers to existential questions.
Explains the meaning of existence.
Constructive:
Determined by the members of a certain community and society.
Interested in how a set of beliefs is acknowledged as a religion, and who has a say in the process.
Belief and Ideology:
Belief Systems:
An ideology or set of principles that helps us to interpret our everyday reality.
Religion as a Closed Belief System:
Scientific knowledge is open to challenge and can often be disproven.
Religion claims to have special knowledge of the absolute truth.
Its knowledge is sacred and therefore cannot be challenged.
Religion as an Open Belief System:
When it is open to change.
Herberg suggests that some religions are open to change and have diluted their belief systems in order to maintain relevance in modern society.
Science as a Closed Belief System:
Kuhn believes that science as a discipline is a closed belief system due to the paradigms that dominate it.
Science as an Open Belief System:
It constantly opens itself up to criticism and testing.
Constantly seeks to discover new knowledge.
Polynyi - Self-Sustaining Beliefs:
Circularity:
Complete rejection of the claims of rivals to convince followers that they alone hold the truth.
Subsidiary:
Get-out clauses to explain away criticisms or to deflect the argument.
Denial of legitimacy to rivals:
Reject alternative worldviews by refusing to grant any legitimacy to their basic assumptions, e.g. creationism rejects evolutionists' knowledge
Case Study: Azande and Witchcraft:
The Azande are trapped in their own belief system.
Because they accept the idea of witchcraft, they cannot challenge it.
Therefore, it is a closed belief system that cannot be overturned, even with evidence.
Ideology:
Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality.
Religion Differs From Ideology Because:
A religion may present a vision of a just society, but it cannot easily have a practical political program.
The emphasis of religion is on faith and worship.
Its appeal is to inwardness, and its aim is the redemption or purification of the human spirit.
An ideology speaks to the group, the nation, or the class.
Marxism:
Overview:
A key conflict theory originates from the work of Karl Marx.
Believes that capitalist society is based on inequalities between the 'bourgeoisie' (ruling capitalist class) and 'proletariat' (working class).
Thinker:
Gramsci, Marx, Althusser
Postmodernism:
Overview:
An approach that attempts to define how society has progressed to an era beyond modernity.
Within this era, individuals are more likely to have a greater importance placed on science and rational thought as traditional metanarratives no longer provide a reasonable explanation for postmodern life.
Feminism:
Overview:
A perspective (and a movement) that recognises and opposes patriarchy (the male dominance of society).
Argues for the rights of women.
There is a range of different types of feminists, all of whom have different approaches to the issue.
Thinker:
Oakley
Manheim:
His most enduring contribution was to the sociology of knowledge, which he defined as a theory of the social or existential conditioning of thought.
Mannheim viewed all knowledge and ideas as bound to a particular location within the social structure and the historical process.
Science and Religion:
Core Principles of Science:
Objectivity
Reliability
Generalisation
Paradigm:
A particular and accepted set of thoughts and assumptions about the way things are and the way research should be done
Falsification:
Any research that wishes to be considered scientific must subject its hypotheses to falsification, to testing, to trying to prove them incorrect.
Merton (Norms):
Communalism
Universalism
Disinterestedness
Originality
Scepticism
Sociology of Scientific Knowledge:
Interpretivism:
The study of human society must go beyond empirical and supposedly objective evidence to include subjective views, opinions, emotions, and values: the things that can't be directly observed and counted. These are phenomena that require interpretation.
Marxism:
Knowledge is conceived as a product, not of passively perceiving individuals, but of interacting social groups. Scientific theories are not individually revealed but socially constructed
Feminism:
They compel us to reconsider our most basic assumptions about the principles, methods, and aims of science. Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth
Postmodernism:
Sociology cannot and should not try to be scientific; theories that claim to be scientific are metanarratives: just big stories, with no real validity
Aldridge (Transitions From Religious to Scientific Explanations):
Theological Stage
Metaphysical Stage
Scientific Stage
Impact of Science on Religion:
It can be argued that the growth of science has led to a decline in Religion, however, this is not necessarily the case. Millions of people still identify themselves with one of the major religions in the world, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. All manner of religious and supernatural beliefs and superstitions still continue to have a huge impact on human behaviour. For example, the mass suicide at the People’s Temple in 1978 and the Heaven’s Gate Cult, which believed that they would be taken to Heaven on a spaceship that was hidden behind the Hale-Bopp Comet in 1997. Many people still hold abstract and unseen forces responsible for life events such as luck, magic, ghosts, Tarot, ESP and horoscopes.
Functionalist View on Religion:
Religion is a Vital Institution for:
Maintaining social cohesion and solidarity
Durkheim:
The Sacred & The Profane:
Sacred objects, rituals, and people are regarded as having special significance and will be treated with awe and respect. For example, the ‘Shroud of Turin’ would be a sacred object, which is treated with respect and pilgrimages to this object are ways of strengthening religious beliefs. However, it must be noted that these objects may not be intrinsically special, but rather that a special meaning is attached to the object by the social group.
Profane objects, activities, and people are ordinary and everyday, with no special meaning attached to them. For example, even though the Bible is a sacred text, it is a profane object that individuals use to strengthen their belief systems.
Totemism:
The most basic religion, that the totemic principle represents in the minds of its adherents a universal, impersonal supernatural power (or life force), but that this force really represents the moral and epistemological power of society.
Collective Conscious:
The reason why and how individuals who are different can come together and form a society. This is because collective consciousness refers to a set of common beliefs, values, and behaviours that are found within a society.
Cognitive Functions:
Religion is the source of our ‘cognitive capacities’ (our ability to think and reason conceptually). In order to think, we need categories such as time and space. Religion provides the concepts and categories we need for understanding the world and communicating with others
Parsons:
Values and Meanings:
Religion helps people cope with unforeseen situations and uncontrollable outcomes. He identifies two essential functions that religion performs in modern society.:
It creates and legitimates societies’ central values by sacralising them, which serves to promote a value consensus.
It is a primary source of meaning by trying to answer the ultimate questions about the human condition, such as why people suffer and the good die young. Which enables people to make sense of these events and helps society maintain stability.
Bellah:
Civil Religion:
It is the belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. For example, ‘the American way of life’.
Bellah argues that civil religion integrates society in a way that all the different churches and religions in America cannot. American Civil religion involves loyalty to the nation state and a belief in god. This is expressed through various symbols and rituals, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, phrases such as one nation under God
Malinowski:
Psychological Functions:
Religion helps people to cope with emotional stress, which could undermine social solidarity. Malinowski suggests two types of situations where religion would perform
Where the outcome is important but is uncontrollable and uncertain. For example, in the Trobriand tribe, lagoon fishing is not seen as dangerous or uncertain, so it requires no ritual; however, Ocean fishing is both dangerous and uncertain, so ‘Canoe Magic’ rituals are performed before setting out.
Evaluation:
It ignores the negative aspects of religion, such as hate crimes, oppression of certain social groups and fundamentalism
Hamilton and Dysfunction: Ignores the ways in which religion can be a source of social division, for example, in Northern Ireland between the Protestants and the Catholics
Marxist View of Religion:
The main function of religion is:
To provide social order that leads to stability in society
Engels argues that:
Religion has a dual character and could act as a conservative force, but it was also possible for it to challenge the status quo and encourage social change
Religion as an Ideology:
Legitimates Inequality:
Religion legitimates or disguises exploitation and inequality. It creates false class consciousness in the working class and prevents revolution, maintaining the stability of capitalist society
Legitimates the Power of the Ruling Class:
The ruling class legitimates their position and their success, and for the working class, it offers hope for reward in the afterlife
‘Spiritual Gin’ Lein:
The ruling class used religion cynically to create a mystical fog which obscured reality for the working class
Religion as a Product of Alienation:
Individuals create an all-powerful being which has control over them
What does Alienation mean?
When humans feel disconnected or estranged from some part of their nature or from society
Suffering as a Test of Faith:
Some people think that it is God’s will that they are poor, either because he is testing their faith in him or because they have violated his rules. Many people believe that if they endure their suffering, they will be rewarded in the afterlife
Existential Security:
A state where the total existential risk across all time is low, such that humanity’s long-term potential is preserved and protected
Promises of an Afterlife:
The promise of an afterlife gives people something to look forward to. It is easier to put up with misery now if you believe you have a life of ‘eternal bliss’ to look forward to after death.
Religion as the Opium of the Masses:
Disconnecting disadvantaged people from the here and now, and dulling their engagement in progressive politics
What does Marx mean by the ‘Opium of the masses’?
Religion acts like a narcotic, easing the pain of the poor and oppressed in a "heartless world." But like a narcotic, religion failed to cure the oppression.
3 ways that religion is like opium:
Dulls the pain of exploitation rather than dealing with the cause of the exploitation, just like opium dulls the pain of an injury rather than healing the injury itself.
Religion gives a distorted world view; it can offer no solutions to earthly misery, but can offer the promise of an afterlife. Just as Opium can create hallucinations and distort the taker’s perspective.
The temporary high that the followers feel whilst taking part in the rituals mimics the temporary high achieved by taking opium.
Evaluation:
Religion as an ideology:
The beliefs and practices of that religion support powerful groups in society, effectively keeping the existing ruling class, or elites, in power
Religion as a product of alienation:
Marx argued that religion is a form of alienation as individuals create an all-powerful being which has control over them. By doing so, individuals are giving up their right to make decisions, which in turn means they are denying themselves their true humanity
Religion as the opium of the masses:
It reduced people’s immediate suffering and provided illusions which gave them the strength to carry on
Neo-Marxism View of Religion:
Religion is a source of:
Social change
Neo-Marxism agrees with Marxism that:
They share Marx’s analysis of capitalism
Neo-Marxism criticises Marxism for:
They do not share his belief in a communist revolution
Dual Nature of Religion:
Bloch:
Religion often inhibits change, but argues that it can also inspire protest and rebellion. Religion is an expression of ‘the principle of hope’- our dreams of a better life, containing images of utopia
Gramsci:
It has the ability to bring about change
Religion as a Force for Social Change:
Maduro:
Religion has some independence from the ruling class and economic system, which means it can act as a revolutionary force for change
Liberation Theology:
Seeks to apply religious faith by aiding the poor and oppressed through involvement in political and civic affairs
Case Study (Father Camilo Torres):
Camilo Torres Restrepo (3 February 1929) in Bogotá, Colombia – 15 February 1966 in Santander) was a Colombian socialist, Roman Catholic priest, a predecessor of liberation theology and a member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla organisation. During his life, he tried to reconcile revolutionary Marxism and Catholicism. He helped to organise student political protests
Evaluation:
See religion as being socially significant in modern society despite the evidence of secularisation.
Pope John Paul ll rejected the Liberation theory and told priests to focus on their religious responsibilities
Feminist View of Religion:
The main function of religion is:
Maintain the patriarchy and oppress women
Bruce:
Women are more likely to join sects and cults because:
They offer compensators for three forms of deprivation:
Organismic Deprivation – women are more likely to suffer ill health, so they will look to sects and cults for healing.
Ethical Deprivation – Women tend to be more morally conservative and thus more likely to see the world in moral decline and share the views held by sects and cults.
Social Deprivation – Sects and cults tend to attract the poorer groups in society, and women are more likely to be in poverty than men.
Maintain Patriarchy:
Outline & Thinker:
Mary Daly
The Christian tradition of God as father, and the maleness of God and Christ legitimise and reinforce male power in society- something she believed women could and should not identify with
Examples:
Portraying God as a man
Restricting access for women to the top levels of the church.
Depicting women in religious texts as bad influences or impure – e.g. Eve causing the fall from grace, Delilah taking Samson's strength, Mat Magdalene as a prostitute.
Evaluation:
Woodhead – Women use religion as a way to gain greater freedom and respect. She explains how the Hijab, which is seen in the West as a form of oppression, can also be a form of liberation as it allows them to enter the public sphere without fear of being considered immodest.
Second Class Believers:
Outline & Thinker:
Simone De Beauvoir’s
Religion tricks women into believing that they are equal to men in the eyes of god and will be rewarded for their suffering in the afterlife. She also believes that girls are socialised into worshipping a male god and therefore, are encouraged to unconsciously see men as superior
Examples:
Jean Holm
In segregated places of worship, women are often on the periphery of the place of worship, whereas men hold the central, more sacred places
Women are not allowed to read from more sacred texts or touch them if they are menstruating (Islam)
Evaluation:
In liberal protestant movements such as the Quakers and the Unitarians, there is a commitment to gender equality. For example, 1/3 of Unitarian ministers are female, in the Church of England, over 1/5 of the priests are female
Stained Glass Ceiling:
Outline & Thinker:
Karen Armstrong
Women are often blocked from the top positions in mainstream churches. She studied the Church of England and found what she termed the ‘Stained Glass Ceiling’, meaning that women are blocked from progression to the top of the hierarchy
Examples:
The vote to allow female Bishops in the Church of England was strongly opposed by traditionalists, who were very vocal in their opposition
Evaluation:
El Saadawi
Suggest that it is not the religions that are practical, but the cultures in which they appear. She uses the Islamic religion and Arab culture to show this. In Arab culture, men hold all the powerful positions, which means that they are able to interpret the Qur’an to support their views
Postmodernist View of Religion:
Reflexivity:
The act of a researcher constantly reflecting on the extent to which they themselves are impacting their research and their findings
Disembedding:
A process associated with modernisation in which social relations have become increasingly spread across time and space, associated with a decline in traditional social ties
Giddens
Cultural Amnesia:
A dramatic decline in institutional religion
Pluralist society:
Power is open to everybody, and no one individual or group can have too much of it
Key Concepts:
Lyotard- Monopoly of truth:
There is no accepted monopoly of truth
Lyon- Spiritual Shoppers:
Religion has relocated to the sphere of consumption. While people have ceased to belong to religious organisations, they haven’t totally abandoned religion, instead, they’ve become ‘religious consumers’
Growth of New Age Movements:
They became dominant in the 1980s with a focus on developing spirituality through their belief systems. However, these movements are not as organised as mainstream religions, which can ultimately affect the lifespan of the movement
Lyon- Disembedding:
Religion has become disembedded in postmodern society: it is no longer embedded in religious organisations or in a particular country or culture, and beliefs are not embedded in their original contexts
Hervieu-Leger – Inability to Change:
Religion’s reluctance to change has also led to its unpopularity in today’s postmodern world
Pick and Mix Culture:
Individuals see options from which they can pick and choose the ones that are the best fit for them
Evaluations:
Bruce- Postmodernists have overexaggerated the extent of the decline in traditional religions. NAMs are short-lived and cannot be compared with established world religions
Disembedding has been overexaggerated. For example, for many Muslims, the Mosque is still a big part of their belief system
Religion as a Conservative Force:
Conservative Force:
Religion maintains social stability and prevents the disintegration of society. It promotes value consensus, reducing the opportunity for people to pursue their own selfish interests at the expense of others. It helps people cope with potentially disruptive stresses
Ideological state apparatus:
Institutions that spread bourgeois ideology and ensure that the proletariat is in a state of false class consciousness. Schools and educational Institutions are part of the ideological state apparatus: they prepare working-class pupils to accept a life of exploitation
Agents of Socialisation:
Forces in a person’s life that teach them about the world and their place within it. Family, closely followed by school, peers, and media, are considered the primary agents of socialisation in a child’s life
Theodicy:
Attempts to construct and deal with how belief systems work
Evidence that Religion is a conservative force:
Functionalist Perspective:
Durkheim- Religion is an important institution in maintaining social cohesion and stability. It takes on the role of agent of socialisation as well as a form of informal social control, which helps to maintain the status quo. It does this by providing a cultural basis for the norms and values, and legitimises them
Malinowski- Religion provides explanations for the big question in life, it fulfils a need for emotional security and relieves social stress, which can lead to bitterness, disillusionment and a breakdown in social solidarity
Interpretivist Perspective- universe of meaning:
Burger- The study of human society must go beyond empirical and supposedly objective evidence to include subjective views, opinions, emotions, values: the things that can’t be directly observed and counted. They are phenomena that require interpretation
Marxist Perspective:
Marxism sees religion as an ideological status apparatus that helps to maintain and legitimise the ruling class's power and ideology. Marx suggests that this is achieved by using religion as an ‘opium of the masses’ which clouds them from the oppression and exploitation of capitalist society. This is achieved by promising eventual escape from the hardships in the afterlife and suggesting that hardship in this life is God’s test. The Hindu religion also shows how religion can be used to legitimise social inequality
Feminist Perspective:
Feminists believe that religion is a conservative force because it helps to maintain patriarchy. Religious beliefs justify, reinforce and reproduce inequality based on male domination and control of women. This is achieved by showing women in a submissive way in religious texts, marginalising and restricting women in religious organisations and hierarchy and religious laws and customs which give women fewer rights than men, including things such as divorce and property rights
Religion as a Compensator:
Stark and Bainbridge’s theory of religion is similar to that of Berger as they examine the meaning and function of religion. They see religion as meeting the needs of the individual when their sense of social order is disrupted. They argue that religion helps to make sense of the disorder and chaos and acts as a compensator (a belief that if the individuals act in a certain way, they will eventually be rewarded). Stark and Bainbridge, therefore, argue that by acting as a compensator, it is contributing to the maintenance of stability in social life
Religion as a Force for Social Change:
Social Action Theories:
They are interpretivist approaches which look at the meanings behind an action
Asceticism:
One of the main beliefs identified by Weber regarding Calvinism, which encouraged followers to lead a frugal lifestyle without indulging in life’s pleasures
Protestant Ethic:
It emphasises that a person’s subscription to the values espoused by the Protestant faith, particularly Calvinism, results in diligence, discipline and frugality
Normative Condition:
The general norms concerning the system of social decision-making, but also ideal individualistic norms or values
Material Conditions:
What influences our desires and intellectual development? In changing these conditions, our desires and ideological perspectives will adjust accordingly
Calvinist Beliefs:
Predestination:
God decides who will enter the kingdom of heaven before birth. These people were known as ‘the elect’
Divine Transcendence:
God was so far above and beyond this world and so incomparably greater than any mortal
Vocation or Calling:
The idea of a calling or vocation meant constant, methodical work in an occupation, not in a monastery
Calvinism led to Capitalism because:
Calvinists become anxious about being part of the elect, so to overcome this anxiety, they devote themselves to their work, often acquiring vast amounts of wealth in the process. Calvinists take this wealth as a sign of God’s favour, which COULD mean they are part of the elect. Calvinists do not believe in squandering or spending their wealth; instead, they reinvest it into their businesses, helping them to grow
Evaluation:
Kautsky: He disagrees with Weber’s analysis of the role Calvinism played in the development of capitalism already existed prior to the development of Calvinism. Therefore, the only purpose of Calvinism was to justify the reasons why the ruling class controlled the means of production and thus continue the myth of divine inequality
McGuire (2001) and Robinson (2001)- Factors which determine if religion is a conservative force or a force for social change:
The Nature and Extent of Religious Belief:
If most people in society hold religious beliefs and these beliefs have a strong moral code which conflicts with some features of the existing society, then religion is likely to lead to criticism of society and an attempt to change it
The significance of religion in society:
If religion is a central part of the culture and everyday life of a society, then religion is more likely to be used as a justification for social change.
The extent of the social involvement of religion:
In societies where religious leaders are close to those in power, such as politicians and heads of state, they are more likely to influence social change.
The degree of central authority in religious organisations:
In societies where religious organisations have a strong central authority, religion is in a much better position either to promote change or prevent it.
Religion and Social Protest:
Bruce- Religion as an ideological resource:
Taking the moral high ground:
Pointing out hypocrisy and having moral indignation about the behaviour of those in power
Channelling Dissent:
Religion provides channels to express political dissent in a safe and protected way
Acting as an honest broker:
Churches can provide a context for negotiating change because they often have the respect of both sides and are seen as being above mere politics. They can also hold positions which allow for this negotiation to take place
Case Studies:
American Civil Rights Movement:
The American Civil Rights movement is one of the most successful examples of religion as social protest. Its aim was to end social segregation and gain equal rights for the black community in America. It was led by Rev Martin Luther King, who used Christian values to unite people and find common ground. This allowed the movement to gain legitimacy and followers from across the country
Bruce believes that this movement was successful because it was peaceful, gained public support and negotiated with the opposition and shamed those in power using their own religion
The Christian Right:
The main aim of the New Christian Right is to resist the changes that have occurred in American Society over recent generations, such as the liberalisation of homosexuality, divorce, abortion, and Sex education in schools. They wish to return to a system which more closely reflects the values of the Bible
Bruce believes that the New Christian Right has been unsuccessful in promoting social change so far because they have an overly negative tone to their message, which polarises people rather than unites them and because they do not cooperate with others who have similar values, instead alienating themselves from them
Liberation theology:
In South America in the 1960s and 1970’s Catholic priests developed the liberation theology as a response to the failure of the Vatican to deal with the poverty and oppression they were faced with. The priests encouraged their followers to force change upon their society and even use violence when necessary in order to overthrow the dictators who were the cause of the poverty and oppression
This movement was successful in overthrowing Somoza in Nicaragua in the Sandinista Revolution
Millenarian movements:
Millenarian Movements believe that the existing society is evil and sinful and otherwise corrupt, and that a supernatural or extra-worldly force will completely destroy the existing society and create a new and perfect world order. Examples of these movements include the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate Cult
These movements have been unsuccessful in changing society because they are world-rejecting and fail to unite people to their message. They are often seen as abnormal and outside normal society
Religious Organisations:
Church:
Size: Large
Characteristics:
They have hierarchical and bureaucratic structures, with a clergy (a group of formal leaders within a religious organisation). Each member of the clergy is paid a certain salary and is subject to rules. However, churches pose very few, loose demands on their members.
Attitude to wider society:
World Accommodating
Types:
Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox Christianity, with Orthodox Christianity being divided into Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East.
Examples:
Denomination:
Size: Medium
Characteristics:
A formal organisation structure with a hierarchy of paid officials, but as an organisation it is smaller than a church. Generally, they would be accepting of wider society drawing in a variety of members from differing social backgrounds but their appeal is not universal.
Attitude to wider society:
World Accommodating
Types:
Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, Catholic, and Seventh-day Adventist are all Christian denominations
Examples:
Sect:
Size: Small
Characteristics:
Small, exclusive organisations that have 'broken away' from a larger one. Expect a high level of commitment from their members. Recruit members from lower, marginalised classes such as the poor and oppressed. Often led by charismatic leaders instead of bureaucratic hierarchies.
Attitude to wider society:
World Reject
Types:
The conversionist (such as the Salvation Army), the Adventist or revolutionary sects (for example, Jehovah's Witnesses), the introversion or pietist sects (for instance, Quakers), and the gnostic sects (such as Christian Science and New Thought sects).
Examples:
Cult:
Size: Small
Characteristics:
Described to possess belief systems that do not usually involve a God or gods, and often will tolerate and accept alternative belief systems. However, many cults lack clear guidelines and demands of followers due to the poor structure many possess.
Attitude to wider society:
N/A
Types:
A mystically-oriented illumination type; an instrumental type, in which inner experience is sought for its effects; and a service-oriented type, which is focused on aiding others.
Examples:
New Religious Movement:
Size: Small
Characteristics:
Seek to offer their members spiritual enrichment. They often do not include belief in a God and generally make few demands on their members. Instead, they offer personal fulfilment, meditation and ways to turn individuals into “better people”, unlocking their “hidden potential”.
Attitude to wider society:
N/A
Types:
World-affirming, World-rejecting and World-accommodating
Examples:
New Age Movement:
Size: Small
Characteristics:
Self-spirituality and detraditionalisation. Examples of New Age Movements are crystal healing, meditation, yoga, astrology, Tarot reading, reincarnation and belief in UFOs and Earth mysteries.
Attitude to wider society:
World Affirming
Types:
Crystal healing, meditation, yoga, astrology, Tarot reading, reincarnation and belief in UFOs and Earth mysteries
Examples:
Yoga: A practice that combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to promote physical and mental well-being.
Reiki: A healing practice that involves the transfer of energy through touch to promote healing and relaxation.
Meditation: A practice that focuses on mindfulness and concentration to cultivate inner peace and reduce stress.
Crystal Healing: A belief that crystals possess healing properties and can be used to balance energy and promote well-being.
Paganism: A diverse group of beliefs and practices that often involve the worship of nature and ancient deities.
Shamanism: A practice that involves interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness.
Growth of New Religious Movements:
Practical and Pragmatic reasons:
Thinker:
Heelas, Wallis and Barker
Overview:
Heelas:
NRM appeal to more affluent and highly educated individuals who feel that something is missing from their lives. They seek these groups to fill that gap and