Critically examine sociological explanations for the emergence and growth of religious sects in an apparently secular society.

Religion creates division between humans because of the historical values and stories that are pasted down throughout the centuries yet many of the stories have very similar backgrounds. This division begins with the teachings of the religion to its followers and the degree to which they implement the teachings into their own lives. Humans have a distinct internal drive to be on top and in the best groups.

Weber (1922), like Troeltsch, argues that sects tended to be amongst marginal groups in society, that is, people outside the mainstream of social life who felt they weren’t gaining economic rewards from society they deserved. These sects developed a theodicy of disprivilege, which is a religious explanation and justification for their disadvantages, which often promised them salvation in the afterlife. Wilson (1970) also agrees with this explanation as he says that those in situations like defeat in war, natural disasters and economic collapses would lead to these people becoming marginalised and turning to new religions. However this isn’t always the case as most members from sects

Religion and ‘The Study of Religions’ has many approaches which try to investigate the core of what religion is and what it means to the people who practice it. Sociology is one such approach that this essay will be looking at through its founding fathers Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx. Sociology in general looks at people’s dynamics and explains a group’s influence. It demonstrates how religious belief and practices have become so important over time and emphasises their role and significance throughout. Each of these three sociologists has a link to these ideas which will be the main thesis in this essay.

In the Introduction section of the book, The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Israel Galindo states that a congregation is a “corporate relationship organization” (3) and is not an organization. He points out that the hidden life of a congregation would depict the “nature” of a congregation. This further identifies the relationships and faith of the congregation. According to him, the universal principles are followed by the congregations so that “systemic relationships” can work. The leaders learn the roles that they have within the people who are the congregation. The journal will focus on Dr. Fowler’s question “what is the purpose of this gathering we call the church?”

Community can be an isolated form or in conjunction with religion and sensory pleasures. In terms of religion, from my own personal observations and experiences, modern escapes through religion is coupled with relationships you make within your religious community. Growing religious fervor and mysticism characterized the Middle Ages and the relationships with God. St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th century mystic, conformed his life in every act with that of God, abandoning a life of wealth and material satisfaction. As a mystic, his connection to God was direct and substantial compared to the common person. Societies used religion to justify world occurrences. However, as societies evolve, the way in which religion is used to give life meaning evolves as well. With the advancement of scientific knowledge and the evolution of religion, particularly after the Church was accused of corruption and religious hegemony waned – not entirely, but to some degree – many cultures enjoy the Church communities in addition to weekly liturgical practices. With the knowledge that some worldly occurrences are not the direct work of God, but by the doings of nature and science, can people rely less on God for prosperity and instead use religion as a tool to find meaning and solace. Moreover, while developing a relationship with God, one can find themselves forming relationships with those who are attempting to achieve the same objective. Sharing beliefs, in itself, also provides consolation and support amongst the terrors of history, suggesting that those in troubles are not the sole victims of these

1. "So now they and their church found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their

Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).

Millenarians, radicals, mystics, heretics, and all other groups with their own opinions regarding the teachings of the organized church have always existed. In certain points in history, current events have caused spikes in these groups’ abundance. One example of such time periods is the twelfth through fourteenth century. This point in time saw a particular rise for these groups due to the social, political, and religious climate of the preceding centuries.

1. "So now they and their church found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their

Religion is a major foundation for many cultures. It is present all over the world in many different shapes and forms. But all religions have one thing in common, communality. Naturally, with rituals such as congregation people of religion are brought together. This community worships together, but this relationship extends further than the confines of a church. Members of the same church, or religion, have the same core values, and these commonalities result in a community that would not have otherwise existed. When there is a disregard for religion, there is a loss of community and thus a step

The sect-church cycle is an endless cycle, where a group believes the church they're a part of isn't following its initial practices. Or the group believes they could have similar ideas, possibly executed in a different manner, so they will split off and form their own sect. A sect is basically a smaller group following in comparison to a church with the same ideas, but different ideologies. When the sect ends up growing larger and gaining more followers it, in turn, will turn into a church of its own. This church will then have members who will believe it is failing to see the bigger picture or have different ideas. They will then split off and form their own sect, and the cycle will continue. So most religions could possibly be tied back

For thousands of years, our planet has been and still is a home to many living creatures. The emergence of human kind provided very fertile grounds for the evolution of many aspects that define our history and society today - cultures, traditions, world perceptions and religions. Nowadays with all the break-through technology and incredibly advanced lifestyles many people start to lose their spiritual identity and look for a bigger meaning of their lives, the connection to something more and a general sense of belonging. Not surprisingly, very often they find it in religion. It is safe to say that one of the vivid examples would be Jewish people that pride themselves on incredibly significant and rich history, culture and religion. The thousands

According to our text a church is coexist in a general population with similar practices of that population. Additionally the book describe a sect as an organization that does not fit into the norms of society. These sect eventually gain a large amount of followers and turn into churches. A sect-church cycle is the continuous phases of people belong to a church forming their own organization because of difference in beliefs, gaining large amount of followers and that organization becoming a church in with similar beliefs of the society in which it exist.

Because cultic behavior underlies more than extremist religious sects, many psychologists refer to these groups as charismatic groups. "A charismatic group consists of a dozen or more members, even hundreds or thousands. It is characterized by the following psychological elements: members (1) have a shared belief system, (2) sustain a high level of social cohesiveness, (3) are strongly influenced by the group's behavioral norms, and (4) impute charismatic

Religion acts as a central point for many people, in which they can relate to each other in different ways that nobody else can. People who share the same/ similar religious beliefs often feel closer to one and other, in a way that otherwise couldn’t be expressed. The connection that comes about in these religious communities allows these given to form a closer connection and form a larger congregation. In some cases, the individuals in these kinds of communities are very strict about their traditions, behaviors, actions, and in some extreme cases they do not accept any other way of life. There are plenty of religious communities that are down to earth and open to the outside world, they accept challenges to their beliefs because they believe that challenges make their religion stronger and tighter nit. No matter what the circumstance these types of communities have an encouraging amount of strength, and typical only crumble/ fall apart from within. If someone from the religious group starts to question the core values and beliefs of their community, they typical turn against the given individual. We see this represented in My Name is Asher Lev, written by Christian Potok, in which he explores the life of a Hasidic Jew. When one person starts to question within the community, the entire community gets affected. For the better of the community, this individual should be diminished from the community as a whole because it is tearing it apart from the inside out. This may