Beliefs in Society- Organisations, movements and members
Troeltsch
Church and Sect
Churches are large organisations, often with millions of members such as the Catholic Church, run by bureaucratic hierarchy of professional priests, and they claim a monopoly of the truth.
They are universalistic, aiming to include the whole of society, although they tend to be more attractive to the higher classes because they are ideologically conservative and often closely linked to the state.
For example, the British sovereign is head of both the state and the Church of England. They place few demands on their members.
Sects are small, exclusive groups.
Unlike churches, sects are hostile to wider society, and they expect a high level of commitment.
They draw their members from the poor and oppressed.
Many are led by a charismatic leader rather than a bureaucratic hierarchy.
The only similarity with churches is that sects too believe they have a monopoly of religious truth.
Niebuhr
Denominations such as Methodism lay midway between churches and sects.
Membership is less exclusive than a sect, it they don’t appeal to the whole of society like a church.
Like churches, they broadly accept society’s values but are not linked to the state.
They impose some minor restrictions on members, such as forbidding alcohol, but are as demanding as sects.
Unlike both churches and sects, they are tolerant of other religious organisations and do no claim a monopoly of the truth.
Cult- highly individualistic, loose- knit and usually small grouping around some shared themes and interests, but usually without a sharply defined and exclusive belief system.
Cults are usually led by “practitioners” or “therapists” who claim special knowledge.
Like denominations, cults are usually tolerant of other organisations and their beliefs.
Cults do not demand strong commitment from followers, who are often more like customers or trainees than members.
They may have little further involvement with the cult once they have acquired the beliefs or techniques to offers.
Many cults are world- affirming, claiming to improve life in this world.
Similarities and Differences
Churches and sects see themselves as claiming that their interpretation of the faith is the only legitimate or correct one, whereas denominations and cults accept that there can be many valid interpretations.
Churches and denominations are seen by wider society as respectable and legitimate, whereas sects and cults are seen as deviant.
However, sociologists argue that some of the above descriptions of religious organisations do not fit today’s reality.
Bruce argues that Troeltsch’s idea of a church as having a religious monopoly only applies to the Catholic Church before the 16th Century Protestant reformation.
Since then, sects and cults have flourished, and religions diversity has become the norm.
Today, churches are no longer truly churches in Troeltsch’s sense because they have lost their monopoly and been reduced to the status of denominations competing with all the rest.