Reasons for the Apparent Rise of New Religious Movements - Assignment Example

The Return of Religion: Reasons for the Apparent Rise of New Religious Movements and their Significance I. Introduction II. When Religion Returns to a Haunted New World Order III. Encountering the Spectre of Returning Religion(s) IV. Conclusion I. Introduction What Samuel P. Huntington portrayed in the last decade of twentieth century as the coming of clash of civilisations has become a real life picture in the very first decade of twenty first century itself. The clash of civilisations, which is essentially grounded in contesting religions, is no more the illusion of an eclectic academician. If the tumultuousness and turbulence prevailed in twentieth century were stemming from radical ideological battles, the irreconcilable conflicts of twenty first century are mostly deriving from religious fault lines (Huntington, 1996, p.30). It could be argued that the materialisation of new religious movements is a concrete example of the rapid changes taking place in the contemporary religious landscape of the world and their (possible) effects in the realms of politics, economics and culture. New religious movements tend to transcend the usual categories of what is categorised as 'liberal' and 'conservative' streams. Starkloff (2008) is of the view that traditions and cults do not describe its appeal to the term 'New Religious Movements', but provides a description where faith is blinded beyond the boundaries of the established churches and culture. It does mean that there is no consensus over what constitutes the 'new' in the new religious movements. The phenomenon behind new religious movements (NRMs) is, arguably, not new, since NRM is concerned with a groups of religious bodies or movements that entails an isolated and particular set of attributes, that have been assigned to the fringes of the dominant religious culture and by elements within the secular culture, in context of a set of religious movements that exist in a relatively contested society as a whole. It has been observed that "[m]any religious movements were born and prospered, either as a development of well-known religious traditions or as the result of a syncretic approach to different religions. In many cases their doctrines and practices differed widely from those of the mainstream religions: moreover, the "closed" structure of some of these groups, the unconventional behaviour of their members, and some tragic events in which they were involved gave rise to considerable social alarm" (Ferrari, 2006, p.2). Thus, the NRMs have in many cases appropriated the anti-systemic feelings in an efficient manner and have successfully channelised into themselves in order to achieve their (un)declared goals vis--vis legitimate social and political institutions. II. When Religion Returns to a Haunted New World Order Interestingly, NRMs are often identified as 'sect' in a number of European languages "("secte" in French, "setta" in Italian, "secta" in Spanish, "Sekte" in German)" (Ferrari, 2006, p.2). Mostly, such sects are formed by a "group of dissenters who separated from a larger religious group" and popularly indicated as a collection of a "narrow-minded and fanatical group of people" (ibid, p.2). New Religious movements, Ferrari (2006) points out, also known as 'socially controversial religious movements', 'unconventional religious movements', 'movements of religious renewal' and so on among sociologists of various hues without consensus over a single appropriate term. About the origins of new religious movements, Szerszynski is of the view that they lie in the great cultural turn of the 1960s and he goes on arguing that "[l]arge proportions of a whole generation seemed to be reacting against the priorities of post-war society, and refusing - or at least hesitating - to take up their expected role in the instrumental, bureaucratised world of late twentieth century capitalism. The 1960s generation, at least for a time, strove for a simple life, less dependent upon material goods and social status, and valuing spontaneity and freedom of expression in new ways" (Szerszynski, 2006, p. 5). In this context, there was all the conditions for new religious movements to enroot because the time was all accepting for whatsoever is alternative, be it of music or religion. Such an emotion was strengthened and enhanced by the collapses of the promises of post-World War II harmony and peace. Thus originated NRMs "had been in existence for some time, but after the disappointment of the failure of the 1960s countercultural movements (either political or cultural) to transform society, and after the broader cultural transformations of which such movements were a manifestation, they found fertile ground for expansion. The NRMs thus became one of the main vehicles for the search for significance in modern life - largely, it has to be said, for the young white middle-classes" (Szerszynski, 2006, p. 5). It is important to note that the social base of the new religious movements by and large limited to the white middle classes. Influential sociologists such as Berger (2007) claim that cults usually emerge as an outcome of controversies in which leaders are involved in issues like deaths, confrontations with the police and sexual misconduct. These controversies usually shape religion as NRMs and are commonly seen as 'cults' that are, in turn, often dangerous and antithetical to culture in particular and society in general. NRM stems from the role secularisation plays in reshaping the society towards a new religious knowledge, which restricts every individual of the society to perceive whatever he or she is presented. Barker identifies a typical participant of a new religious movement is a "generalised self-seeker" who is not really interested in the alternate world view offered by the NRM but tries to substantiate their skill through improvide spiritual skills (Barker, 1983, p.47). Szerszynski (1992) is of the opinion that the reality of NRMs could only be understood in relations to the broader socio-economic changes which occurred in the advanced western countries as the shift from the traditional working class politics to new social movements. The fact is that, according to Szerszynski (1992), NRMs effectively challenge the dominant understanding of religion in contemporary society in multiple and heterogeneous ways, as a result, they are unable to fascinate the section of population which are spiritually starved. It is argued that "the NRMs and the NSMs can be seen as being produced by contradictions and tensions in modern society, particularly between the social logics operating in the public and private spheres. However, they are also involved in the creative use of the vocabularies that contemporary existence provides, such as new understandings of the self, in order to explore how to transform, or to better live with, such contradictions" (Szerszynski, 1992, p.2). People often tend to think that there exist a strict dichotomy between personal and public life. However, in reality, both are not only intertwined but also interrelated. Psychologically speaking, what happens in our personal life could have certain effects in our public life as well and vice versa. The artificial boundaries between personal and public life which created by modernity its instrumental rationality can only be effectively transcended by one or another transcendental force. The allocation of an appropriate transcendental force vis--vis the crude forces of materialism lies in the heart of crass modernity is what precisely being done by new religious movements ( Brainbridge, 1992: Ferrari, 2006: Szerszynski, 1992). Social theorist like David Martin (1978) elucidates NRM contrary to the expectations of twentieth-century and blames modern society for failing to bring the thorough-going secularisation that would undermine widespread religious belief (Hall et al, 2000, p. 4). The question that arises before us is that who are the people behind NRM or let it say like who are the followers of NRMs There are people who are in spiritual and social support need continue to turn to religion in huge numbers, those who are anxious to get involved for the reason they are rejected or ignored by the society. Cousineau (1998) points out that a high level of 'tension' exists between a NRM and society which tends to invite repression and stigmatisation, whereas low tension may result in attrition or secularisation (Cousineau, 1998, p. 141). Stark and Bainbridge (1985) argue that secularisation creates fertile grounds for sect and cult development which in part is a response to early stages of weakness and acts as catalysts by the conventional churches. Cult formation actually occur whenever there is a tendency of erupting church weakness and when large sectors of the population starts drifting away from all organisational ties to the prevailing faiths. Since cults possess the potential to transform into cult movements, which can, in turn, evolve into churches, Stark and Bainbridge (1985) after analysing group processes occurring during the transition from cult to church argue that basic mechanisms involved in the transformation are mostly related to regression toward any means or goals thus can be applied to sect and cult movements. III. Encountering the Spectre of Returning Religion(s) As the presence of NRMs increasingly felt even in distantly related material spheres ranging from national security to women rights, it becomes necessary pose two vital questions: "Are these movements real religions and: Are they dangerous to individuals and society" (Ferrari, 2006, p.2). These questions are vital because they cannot be answered unless the relationship between law and religion in Western Europe is examined from the standpoint of the established notions of separation of religion and politics. NRMs possess the potential for violence and however, such enumerations do not allow us to predict the future of such movements which involve militant sects and esoteric cults in episodes of mass suicide, or mass murder, or in violent confrontations with authorities. Some examples of NRMs sharing the same characteristics include Peoples Temple, the Branch Davidians, Aum Shinrikyo and Heaven's Gate (Melton & Bromley, 2002, p. 58). Unfortunately, many other movements that have been nonviolent also share many of these elements and even share some of the combinations of elements that have been identified in certifiably turbulent groups. Lofland and Skonovd's (1981) model of conversion motifs explain the complexities of the way people get attracted into new religious movements. They argue that there are normative and descriptive approaches in order to define conversion. It is argued that "[w]ithin the normative approaches, conversion is formulated according to the theological convictions of a particular tradition, whereas the descriptive approaches seek what actually happens in conversion processes" (Lofland and Skonovd, 1981, p. 376). Moreover, Lofland and Skonovd (1981) present six motifs of conversion: intellectual, mystical, experimental, affectional, revivalist and coercive. Undoubtedly, the conversion model proposed by Lofland and Skonovd is highly useful in identifying the different experiences and themes of various types of conversion within the study of NRMs. IV. Conclusion From 1970s onwards, Szerszynski (1992) rightly points out that there has been a constant rise in the influence of new religious movements world wide as they found their stronghold in the Western industrialised societies. In the same period, there have occurred tremendous changes especially in the realm of culture and politics, which are closely connected to the phenomenon of the rise of new religious movements. Social factors contributing to NRMs involve structural and organisational patterns such as patterns of leadership, communal structures and social control practices. Cultural factors pertain mainly to ideological modalities, that is, group beliefs and attitudes which points out the distinction between social (or structural) factors and cultural (or ideological) factors as not incontrovertible. For example, charismatic leadership and its constitutive messianic-prophetic mystiques may entail both structure and culture, beliefs are also entailed in social control. New religious movements, same as the new social movements, challenges the mainstream religions in particular and the mainstream society in general thorough the medium of symbolic but meaningful opposition. Such opposition is symbolic because they do not go to the extent of capturing political power in order to bring about the changes which they aspire for. On the other hand, it is meaningful because it diverts the repressed spiritual feelings of the people who directly or indirectly involve in the movement. Even when the actions of the followers are not representing the founding ideas of the new religion, it could be seen as a response to the established religious and social order. Therefore, the significance of NRMs is considerable as it could pose a threat to the social harmony. Bibliography Barker, E. (1983). 'New Religious Movements in Britain: The Context and Membership', Social Compass, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 33-48. Barker, E. (1989). New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction, London: HMSO. Huntington, S. P. (1996).The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, New York, Simon & Schuster. Berger, A. H, (2007). 'The New Religious Movements Experience in America', Sociology of Religion. Volume: 68. Issue: 2, pp. 225-35. Cousineau, M. (1998). 'Religion in a Changing World: Comparative Studies in Sociology'. Praeger: Westport, CT. Ferrari, S. (2006). 'New Religious Movements in Western Europe'. Accessed on 03/03/09. Available at: http://religion.info/pdf/2006_10_ferrari_nrm.pdf Hall, R. J, Schuyler D. P. & Trinh, S. (2000). 'Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe, and Japan'. London: Routledge. Lewis, R. J, (2004). 'The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements'. New York: Oxford University Press. Melton, J. G. & Bromley, G. D. (2002). 'Cults, Religion and Violence'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: Szerszynski, B. (1992). 'Religious Movements and the New Age: Their Relevance to the Environmental Movement in the 1990s'. Accessed on 02/03/09. Available at: http://csec.lancs.ac.uk/docs/szerszynski_NRM.pdf. Stark, R. and W. S. Bainbridge. 1985. The future of religion: Secularization, revival and cult formation. Berkeley: University of California Press. Starkloff, F. C, (2008). 'New Religious Movements in the Catholic Church', Theological Studies, Volume: 69. Issue: 1, p. 230. Read More