Typologies of Religious Organizations - Essay Example

Typologies of Religious Organizations The of the Typologies of Religious Organizations Today’s world is preoccupied by numerous sources of religious beliefs including churches, denominations, sects and cults. So there is a great opportunity at the disposal of people to be a number of a particular religious group or church. Naturally, traditional confessions still exist uniting most people under their teachings. In addition, a great variety of denominations and sects allows human beings to join this or that one according to their faith and convictions. The significant rise of New Religious movements (NRMs) since 1960s has its particular reasons lying in social peculiarities and politic background of the time. In this assignment we will consider them as well as key features of various religious fundamental groups and differences between religious organizations. For the beginning it must be said that churches, denominations, sects and cults have different connotation for people and the government, that is, churches are generally accepted and supported not only by their members but also respected by the state, while denominations are not officially approved but are widely well-regarded. As for the sects and cults, they occupy non-official area of religious organizations and may bear negative perception by men. Indeed, vision of sects is characterized with negative attitude due to the fact that their beliefs are just unclear to people or because of rumors telling various stories of people’s almost hopeless destinies after involvement into a sect. Cults in turn are also represented in people’s minds from a bad perspective, especially after some sad events resulting from humans’ disappointment. Their total negative connotation among men has even caused the birth of a new concept, namely: New Religious movements – in order not to carry analogy over to people’s religious unity from its name. Still, there is a particular way for cults and sects to overcome unacceptable status and to become denominations or even churches. It is all at the possession of time, during which small groups with poor attendance or weak leadership may overgrowth into large religious organizations. It is obvious that scales of spread of church and denomination achieve national or international level whereas in contrast cult and sect have local scope though cult’s extension on non-official level can even reach national or international status. All this accounts for a size of religious organizations’ membership. There is a difference in position of the main leaders: professional clergy in church and denomination, charismatic speaker in sect, and international leader in cult. As for the history of existence, church dominates, for its life span is more than centuries, while denomination counts more than 100 years, sect’s story lasts approximately with one generation, and cult fades away with the death of its leader. Naturally, different religious organizations have different attitude towards state and society. So, church respects social norms and values and cooperates with the national policy, denomination is seen as a unity of non-conformists, while sects have their own views and rules, often separated and even opposed to the state, and finally cult is characterized by special views at everything, including society. As for the commitment, it is a little formal and predicated upon birth for church, denomination has stronger morals, cult’s fellowship is of a flexible nature, and sect has an exceptional membership. There are numerous similarities between representatives of different religious groups. In fact, fundamentalists of various faiths and confessions have particular common beliefs and concepts in their teachings. Just so there is a specific feature of adherence to the past with its aged creeds and opposition to the ideas of the present time. In the concrete, fundamentalists are engaged in attempts to revive primary notions. Moreover, realization of their intensions often bears violent character, as they are radically thinking. Fundamentalists of every group perceive themselves as chosen by higher forces, so their feeling of superiority is not so striking, in this respect. In addition, they manifest the identity to a particular religious group through different specific aspects, such as unique clothes, marks, traditions and ceremonies. Fundamentalists do not accept any notion of doubling religious views, as there is only one highest faith, which is practiced in their church. So they are also against and worry about interference on the part of other religious followers. Members of any fundamental group wholeheartedly believe in their single holly book, which consists of exclusively true teachings. So they do not accept even slight hint on doubt in such a serious aspect. Fundamentalists place faith in God’s origins of the world’s norms and rules due to their perception of people’s authority and law as those subdued by the Lord’s will. They all advocate control of female sexuality in family, society, and so on, with its ultimate closing in boundaries between men and women. Furthermore, people’s sexual behavior is seen by representatives of every fundamental group as a great threat to their faith. Every notion more or less connected with religious conflict on sexual basis is seen by them as a problem of a universal scale. And at last, fundamentalists’ beliefs are closely tied with the concepts of nationalism. This fact finds its explanation in the essential role of society’s obedience to God’s rule (according to fundamentalists): “The moral life according to the will of God can only be fully lived in a society of fellow-practitioners of the belief” (Godfrey, 2007). Consequently, such a condition appears to be possible only in the context of the whole nation’s shriving of the one faith. As we can see, similar key features of different fundamental groups practiced by their most radically disposed manifest commonness of their views. Considering the specific role of cults or New Religious movements becomes more possible if to analyze their key features. There is a vivid example of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness that is originated from 1966 in New York City, while it lasts for more than 500 years in India. Among its specific characteristics is a world-rejecting model, which aims at replacement of the current world’s beliefs and values by its own ones of easier and more natural way of life. The cult has reached international scope, for it has numerous centers in many countries. Followers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (whose membership is flexible) believe in the highest power of Krishna and essential role of spirituality in people’s life, being based on principles of love for everything in the world. In this respect, human soul is an eternal personality, which has come to the universe for tempering of inner highest essence. The cult is propagated by a charismatic leader not only within temples, but also during street festivals where transcendental pastimes in the name of Krishna take place. EST is another example of NRMs. In particular, it is a cult, advocating physical tortures as a way of spiritual purgation and negotiation of different limits forced by social beliefs and values. EST members’ number increases daily, due to its popularity among people, who become followers listening to a charismatic speaker within temple and watching numerous evidences of his manifestations of soul’s hardening and its submission of human flesh. It is obvious, that the cult peaks up steam and probably may overgrowth to other form of religious groups. There are three sociological explanations for the significant rise of NRMs since 1960s. As a matter of fact, the increase accounts for particular social, political and cultural reasons. Thus, the first explanation represents religious movements as a result of politic defeat, as 1960s are characterized with unchanging political conditions and consequent people’s discontent. All in all, these factors alongside with failure of politicians’ commitments have caused men’s search of another sphere where they can introduce themselves and their abilities to feel and contribute their souls into positive acts, and which will not betray its followers. This is a particular reason of many politic activists’ decision to change their area onto another one. In such a case, appealing to faith within numerous religious groups has generated rise of various religious movements advocating spirituality as a main need of people’s life. Moreover, involvement in NRMs has contributed to the improvement of politics effectiveness, as inner changes directly result in outer changes. In such a way, many politics through their searching of a new area for their activities and the means of professional growth, have found it immediately in new religious movements served as their active members. The second explanation for rise of NRMs sees its understanding in the mixture of a contemporary mainstream of the US and counterculture or the culture of young people. Appearance of numerous new religious movements comes from people’s desire to challenge limited faith and fears of the society. It is the time when tortures of physical body by different means such as, for example, fire walking, have become the manifestation of the connection between flesh and soul, and an ability of the last to subdue physical feelings (in particular, pain) to the highest substance. This is the way in which a personality may become free of different boundaries dictated by social beliefs, prejudices and moral standards of American society. As a result, this aspect additionally serving as a method of self-perception and self-checking of spiritual power, has trigged the burst of NRMs. As for the third interpretation of NRMs’ rise, it deals with spirituality of Yuppie, which is seen as a realization of self-concentration and aspiration for the success establishment and hedonism. It is concerned on the training of people’s awareness and physical torments as a way of spiritual self-perfecting. Thus, passing through material pain and without its perception as abuse, men come closer to their soul tempering. All things considered then faith and religion are of extremely great importance in people’s life, for they provide spiritual support. Recently appearing numerous churches, denominations, cults and sects are available for religious needs of men. Although there are particular differences between religious groups, their fundamentalists have many common key features. Significant rise of New Religious movements since 1960s accounts for some sociological reasons, political background and cultural aspects. References Godfrey, N. (2007). 10 characteristics of religious fundamentalism. Vridar.org, 29 Jun. 2007. Retrieved 26 May from: http://vridar.org/2007/06/29/10-characteristics-of-fundamentalism/ Read More