Assess sociological explanations for the increasing number of religious and spiritual organisations and movements in society today. (33 marks)
In society some people hold religious beliefs without belonging to an organised group, whereas others express their beliefs through membership of a religious organisation. Troeltsch distinguished between two main types of religious organisations – the church and the sect. Churches are large organisations with millions of members, run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of priests, who claim a monopoly of the truth. Churches are universalistic aiming to include the whole of society as they place few demands on their members. However people of the higher class tend to be more attracted as they are ideologically conservative and are often close linked to the state. Sects are small exclusive groups opposed to wider society, expecting a high level of commitment from its members. Sects tend to draw their members from the poor and oppressed, many of the sects are led by charismatic leaders. The only similarity between churches and sects is that they both believe they have a monopoly of religious truth. Sects are often short lived organisations only lasting a single generation or less. As well as churches and sects. Sociologists have identified other types of religious organisations such as denominations and cults.
Niebuhr describes denominations as lying midway between churches and sects. Membership for denominations is less exclusive compared to sects however they don’t appeal to the whole of society like churches. Denominations largely accept society’s values, and they impose minor restrictions on members, like forbidding alcohol. Cults are small groups who share the same interests and themes without a sharply defined belief system. Practitioners or therapists who claim special knowledge usually lead cults, they don’t demand strong commitment from their followers, who are more like customers or trainers rather than members. Many cults are world-affirming, claiming to improve life in this world.
Churches and denominations are seen as respectable and legitimate compared to sects and cults which are seen as deviant by wider society.
Since the 1960s the number of new religions and organisations has increased greatly, some of these include – the Moonies, Transcendental Meditation, the Children of God, and Krishna Consciousness. Wallis classifies the new religious movements into three groups based on their relationship with the outside world – world rejecting NRMs, world accommodating NRMs, and world affirming NRMs. World-rejecting NRMs have several characteristics such as, having a clear notion of God, expecting or seeking radical change, want to achieve salvation, restricted contact with the outside world, and have conservative morals. Some examples of world-rejecting NRMs are the Moonies, Krishna Consciousness, the Manson Family, and the People’s Temple. These vary in size, from a small amount of members to hundreds of thousands. World-accommodating NRMs neither accept nor reject the world, and are usually breakaways from existing mainstream churches or denominations. They focus on religious rather than worldly matters, seeking to restore the spiritual purity of religion. Some examples of world-accommodating NRMs are neo-Pentecostals who split from Catholicism, or Subud – and offshoot of Islam. World-affirming NRMs lack some of the conventional features of religion such as collective worship, and some aren’t much organised. There are several characteristics such as, few demands are made on its members, followers are able to unlock their own spiritual powers and achieve success as well as overcome problems, and they accept the world the way it is. Some examples of world-affirming NRMs include Scientology, Soka Gakkai, Human Potential, and Transcendental Meditation. In Wallis’s studies of the movements, world-affirming NRMs have been the most successful. Scientology had about 165,000 members in the UK in 2005 compared to the Moonies which had 1,200.
Some argue Wallis ignores the diversity of beliefs that exist within an NRM, and it is not clear whether he categorises the NRMs according to individual member’s beliefs or the teachings of the movements. Stark and Bainbridge argue religious organisations should be distinguished using just one criterion – the amount of conflict or tension between the religious group and wider society.
Two kinds of organisations that are in conflict with wider society were identified by Stark and Bainbridge – sects and cults. Sects result from schisms - existing organisations breaking away usually due to disagreements. Stark and Bainbridge see these as offering other-worldly benefits such as a place in heaven to those suffering economically or ethnically. Cults are new religions or ones new to that particular society. These tend to offer this-worldly benefits such as good health to those who are suffering psychic deprivation and organismic deprivation. Stark and Bainbridge subdivide cults into how organised they are: audience cults – least organised with little interaction between members, client cults – based on the relationship between a client and a consultant, and cultic movements – most organised demanding a high level of commitment aiming to meet all its members religious needs.
Sociologists have offered three main explanations for the growth of religious movements: marginality, relative deprivation, and social change. According to Weber sects tend to arise in groups who are marginal to society – these groups may feel they are disprivileged not receiving economic rewards or social status. In his view, sects offer a solution to this problem with a theodicy of disprivileged – a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage. Since the 1960s, sect-like world-rejecting NRMs such as the Moonies have recruited mainly from well-educated young, middle-class whites. Despite their middle-class origins, most were hippies, dropouts and drug users.
Relative deprivation refers to the sense of being deprived –they feel they are deprived or disadvantaged compared to others in some way. In today’s society the middle class people feel spiritually deprived in such a materialistic consumerist world. Wallis argues they have turned to sects for a sense of community. Stark and Bainbridge argues that those who are relatively deprived break away from churches to form sects. They argue that world-rejecting sects offer to the deprived the compensators that they need for the rewards they are denied in this world. They see the privileged as needing no compensators or world-rejecting religions so they are attracted to world-accepting churches that express their status bringing them further success in achieving earthly rewards.
Wilson argues periods of rapid change disrupt and undermine established norms and values producing anomie. Those who are affected by disruption may turn to sects as a solution as it offers a sense of community, warmth, secure norms and values with the promise of salvation. Bruce sees the growth of sects and cults today due to social changes involved in modernisation and secularisation. People prefer cults as they are less demanding and require fewer sacrifices. In Bruce’s view society is now secularised and people are less attracted to traditional churches and strict sects due to too much commitment.
Sociologists have been put forward for the growth of both world-rejecting and world-affirming NRMs. World-rejecting NRMs were attractive as they provided an idealistic way of life. Wallis sees social change as having an impact on younger people, this was because they had less adult responsibilities as more time was spent in education. Bruce argues it was the failure of the counter culture to change the world that led to disillusion youth turning to religion instead. World-affirming NRMs provide both a sense of identity and techniques that promise success in this world. Bruce argues that their growth is a response to modernity, especially the rationalisation of work. Work no longer provides meaning or a source of identity.
Niebuhr argues that sects are world rejecting which come into existence due to schism. He argues that sects are short lived either they die or compromise with the world becoming a denomination. There several reasons for this: the second generation – who are born into the sect and have always consciously rejected the world, the protestant ethnic effect – sects which practise asceticism the members will be tempted to compromise with the world so they will leave or abandon world rejecting beliefs, death of the leader – sects with a charismatic leader either collapse on leaders death or a more formal leader takes over therefor becoming a denomination.
Stark and Bainbridge see religious movements as moving through a sectarian cycle. Deprived members breakaway from churches to found a world-rejecting sect when tension arises between the needs of the privileged and deprived. Sects become more world accepting and tension with wider society reduces. Further schism results when less privileged members break away to found a new sect true to the original message.
Conversionist sects such as evangelicals are likely to grow into more formal denominations through converting a large number of people. Adventists sects such as Jehovah’s witnesses await the second coming of Christ to be saved, they believe they must separate themselves from the corrupt world, this avoids compromising and becoming a denomination. Wilson argues some sects survived over many generations avoiding becoming denominations but instead established sects, having succeeding in socialising children to high level of commitment keeping them apart from the wider world. Globalisation will make it harder for sects to keep themselves separate, however globalisation will enable easier recruiting in the third world where the deprived sense a message of sects as attracting.
According to Heelas there are two common features characterising New Age: self-spirituality and detraditionalisation. Self-spirituality is New Agers seeking the spirituality which is turned away from traditional churches and that is within themselves. Detraditionalisation is the rejection of spiritual authority of external traditional sources, instead it values personal experiences and fins the truth within ourselves.
Drane argues the appeal of the New Age is part of a shift towards a postmodernist society. A key feature of it is losing its faith in meta-narratives or claims to have the truth. Science brought about war, genocide and global warming although it had promised to bring progress in order for a better world. Thereafter this has consequently led to loss of faith in doctors and scientists, and the church which isn’t able to provide a spiritual experience to meet their needs.
Bruce argues the growth of the New Age is a feature of the latest phase of modern society and not post modernity. Modern society values individualism which is also a key principle of New Age beliefs. New Age appeals most to those in the ‘expressive profession’ such as social workers or artists. Bruce notes New Age beliefs are softer versions of much more demanding and self-disciplined traditional eastern religions that have been watered down to make them palatable to self-centred Westerners. Bruce sees the New Age ‘pick and mix spiritual shopping’ as typical of religion in late modern society. Heelas sees the New Age and modernity as linked in four ways. A source of identity in modern society, the individual has many different roles but there is little overlap between them, which results in a fragmented identity. Consumer culture creates dissatisfaction as it never delivers the perfection it promises. Rapid social change in modern society disrupts established norms and values resulting in anomie. Decline in organised religion modernity leads to secularisation, thus removing the traditional alternatives to New Age beliefs.
Different social classes are attracted to different religious organisations. When it comes to religious belief and participation there are clear gender differences. Although in most religions men are priests, more women participate in religious activities. Miller and Hoffman found that women express greater interest in religion and a stronger personal commitment in which they attend church more. Bruce estimated that there are more women than men involved in sects. Heelas and Woodhead were found that 80% of participants in the holistic milieu were female. This may be connected to the differences in the way men and women view God – the God of power and control, or the God of love and forgiveness.
Sociologists have come up with several explanations for gender differences in religious belief and practice. According to Miller and Hoffman women are more religious due to them being socialised to be passive, obedient and caring. Men who have these qualities are more likely to be religious. Women tend to have more time to participate in religious activities due to them more likely to be working part-time. Davie argues that women’s closer proximity to birth and death through child-bearing and caring for elderly and sick relatives, brings them to ultimate questions about the meaning of life.
Women may be more attracted to New Age movements compared to men due them being associated with ‘nature’. Bruce argues that after women experience child-rearing this makes them less aggressive and more caring and cooperative, whereas men wish to achieve, this fits the expressive emphasis of the New Age. As New Age emphasises the importance of being authentic rather than acting out gender roles, this may be what attracts women more. Brown argues New Age self-religions emphasise subjective experience rather than external authority appeal to women’s with for autonomy. However some women may be attracted to fundamentalism due to the certainties of a traditional gender role that it prescribes for them.
Glock and Stark and Stark and Bainbridge argue that people participate in religion due to the compensators for social, organismic, and ethical deprivation that it offers. Glock and Stark argue these forms of deprivation are common among women. Social deprivation is explained as women may be poor, which is why they are attracted to sects. Organismic deprivation is that women may suffer from ill health therefore seek healing through religion. Ethical deprivation is about women being morally conservative who are likely to regard the world as being in moral decline which is why they are attracted to sects. Brierley notes the drastic decline in women attending church, with a fall in Sunday church attendance too, he suggests this may be due to pressures of home and work life. Brown argues that women have abandoned traditional gender roles which has led to the rejection of traditional religion.
The UK is multi-ethnic, multi-religious society with significant numbers from religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. There are clear ethnic patterns in religious participation where most minority ethnic groups consider religion as more important than to how White Christians would. Modood found throughout all ethnic groups there was some decline for the importance of religion, especially among the second generation.
There have been several reasons suggested for the ethnic differences within religiosity. Most ethnic minorities originate from poorer countries with traditional cultures which produce higher levels of religious belief and practice. The impact of their experiences as immigrants and minorities in a new society may give religion a new role as cultural defence and cultural transition. Bird notes religion among minorities can be a basis for community solidarity, a way of keeping ones culture and language and also a way of coping with oppression in a racist society. Religion can be a means of easing the transition into a new culture by providing support and a sense of community for minority groups in their new environment. Bruce sees where religion has provided a focal point for minority ethnic groups trying to fit in. However one a group has made the transition into wider society religion may lose its role and decline in importance.
Religious participation is usually mostly by the elderly, however there are two groups who contribute to the pattern of religious participation– the under 15s and the over 65s. The under 15s are more likely to go to church as they are told to by their parents. The over 65s are more likely to be sick or disabled which unables them to attend church. Voas and Crockett identify two explanations for age differences in religious participation: the ageing effect and the generational effect. The ageing effect is the view that people turn to religion and become more spiritually interested as they get older. The generational effect is the view that as society becomes more secular, each new generation is less religious than the one before.
In conclusion the increasing number of religious and spiritual organisations and movements is due to many different reasons which sociologists identify, such as, age; gender; ethical; and social differences within religiosity.