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One of the most important sociological classification of religious movements is the one derived from the are classifications of cults and new religious movements.


Sociologists have proposed classifications of cults and new religious movements.

The religious scholar John A. Saliba[1] described that many attempts have been made to draw a classification or typology of cults and/or sects, but the divergences that exists in their practices, doctrines, and goals do not lend themselves to a simple classification that has universal approval. He argues that this difficulty is compounded, due to the influx of Eastern religious systems which do not fit within the traditional distinctions between church, sect, denomination and cult. [2]

The sociologists Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge (1985) distinguish three types of cults, classified upon the levels of organizational and client or adherent involvement: [3][4]

  1. audience cults, that have hardly any organization because there is no significant involvement from participants/consumers;
  2. client cults, in which spiritual the service providers are somewhat organized in contrast to their clients. They are linked into moderate commitment social networks through which goods and services are exchanged. The relationship between clients and the leaders of cults is similar to that of patients with therapists.
  3. cult movements, which seek to provide services that meet all of adherents' spiritual needs, although they differ significantly in the degree to which they use mobilize adherents' time, and commitment.

The sociologist Paul Schnabel has argued that the Church of Scientology originated from an audience cult i.e. Dianetics via a client cult to a cult movement.[5]

The sociologist Roy Wallis introduced the distinction upon the movements' views on and relationship with the world.[6][7] [8][9]

  • World-rejecting movement view the prevailing social order as having departed from God's prescriptions and the divine plan. The world, according to this kind of movements, is evil, or at least materialistic. They may be millenarian. ISKCON, the Unification Church and Children of God are given as examples of world-rejecting movements.
  • World-accommodating movements draw clear distinctions between the spiritual and the worldly spheres. They have few or no consequences for the lives of adherents. These movements thus adapt to the world, but they do not reject or affirm it.
  • World-affirming movements may have no rituals, no official ideology. They may lack most of the characteristics of religious movements. They affirm the world and merely claim that they have the means to enable people to unlock their hidden potential. As examples of world-affirming movements, Wallis mentions Erhard Seminars Training and Transcendental Meditation.

The church-sect typology[edit]

Main article: Church-sect typology

The "church-sect typology" is one of the most common classification schemes employed in sociology for differentiating between different types of religions. Sociologists, when speaking technically, will not use these labels interchangeably as they are designations for religions with very specific characteristics.

Cults in this typology are, like sects, new religious groups. But, unlike sects, they can form without breaking off from another religious group (though they often do). The characteristic that most distinguishes cults from sects is that they are not advocating a return to pure religion but rather the embracement of something new or something that has been completely lost or forgotten (e.g., lost scripture or new prophecy). Cults are also more likely to be led by charismatic leaders than are other religious groups and the charismatic leaders tend to be the individuals who bring forth the new or lost component that is the focal element of the cult (e.g., The Book of Mormon).

This scheme has its origins in the work of Max Weber. The basic idea is that there is a continuum along which religions fall, ranging from the protest-like orientation of sects to the equilibrium maintaining churches. Along this continuum are several additional types. Many labels for these types of religion are commonly employed by non-sociologists to refer to religions and tend to be used interchangeably.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Saliba, John S.J. Understanding new religious movements second edition 2003 ISBN 0-7591-0356-9 Altamira press, book flap
  2. ^ Saliba, John A., Understanding New Religious Movements, pp.24-5, (2003), Rowman Altamira, ISBN 0-759-10356-9
  3. ^ Bromley, David. "New Religious Movements". Encyclopedia of Religion and Society edited by William H. Swatos, Jr. Editor. Altamira press. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  4. ^ Saliba, John S.J. Understanding new religious movements second edition 2003 ISBN 0-7591-0356-9 Altamira press, pages 140-141
  5. ^ Schnabel, Paul Tussen stigma en charisma: nieuwe religieuze bewegingen en geestelijke volksgezondheid/Between stigma and charisma: new religious movements and mental health Erasmus university Rotterdam, Faculty of Medicine, Ph.D. thesis, Dutch language, ISBN 90-6001-746-3 (Deventer, Van Loghum Slaterus, 1982), pages 82, 84-88
    "Scientology is een volledig ontwikkelde innovatieve cult movement [...] Scientology is voortgekomen uit een client cult (Dianetics) en een audience cult (de boeken van Hubbard)."
  6. ^ Wallis, Roy (December 1983). "Sex, Violence, and Religion" (html). Update nr. VII 4. pp. 79–99. Retrieved 2007-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) citing Roy Wallis The elementary forms of the new religious life. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1984, pp. 10-39
  7. ^ Bromley, David. "New Religious Movements". Encyclopedia of Religion and Society edited by William H. Swatos, Jr. Editor. Altamira press. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  8. ^ Björkqvist, K. (1990). "World-rejection, world-affirmation, and goal displacement: some aspects of change in three new religions movements of Hindu origin". N. Holm (ed.), Encounter with India: studies in neohinduism. Åbo Akademi University Press, Turku, Finland. pp. 79–99. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  9. ^ Saliba, John S.J. Understanding new religious movements second edition 2003 ISBN 0-7591-0356-9 Altamira press, pages 140-141

External links[edit]


Category:Sociology of religion

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