Examine the view that cults and sects have taken the place of established churches as the most important religious and spiritual movements on today’s society

Churches are large organisations often with millions of members. Sects are usually a break away from a church usually because of disagreement and cults are new religions such as Scientology. The view that sects and cults are more important than the church may be due to the fact there are many of these new religious movements gaining status and becoming well known in certain societies. The reason they may be seen as more important than the church may be due to the fact the church is losing members and attendance is low whereas new religious movements are gaining more members and are becoming more socially accepted.

People these days are now more individualistic due to modernity. They do things that benefit themselves rather than society for example young people believe in spirituality as it aims to improve the individual. Stark and Bainbridge say sects offer other worldly benefits such as a place in heaven and cults offer worldly benefits in this life. This could be a reason that they seem to be more important than church as people rather follow the new religious movements as opposed to the church because they are fulfilling the individuals need to feel they may have a better life now and after death . This could also be showing that people feel so oppressed in this life that they need to follow a new religious movement like a sect as it gives them comfort knowing in the afterlife they will be saved and free of the oppression they are faced with in today’s society.

Another reason new religious movements like sects and cults may be seen as more important than the church may be down to the interpretation of faith. Churches claim a monopoly of truth and so do sects whereas denomination and cults accept