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Sacred Community

Sacred Community. Overview. Religion as a Social System Natural vs. voluntary religions Denominations Monastic communities Sects New Religious Movements (NRMs) Cults. Log in to Blackboard Go to: Extended Learning Institute Telecourses Exploring Society SOC201 video #16 (3.5 – 10.5 min).

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Sacred Community

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  1. Sacred Community

  2. Overview • Religion as a Social System • Natural vs. voluntary religions • Denominations • Monastic communities • Sects • New Religious Movements (NRMs) • Cults Log in to Blackboard Go to: Extended Learning Institute Telecourses Exploring Society SOC201 video #16 (3.5 – 10.5 min)

  3. Religion as a Social System Institutionalized religions maintain aspects common to any social system: Groups: e.g. a church or temple community Roles : religious leaders, lay persons Values: e.g. social justice, the Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments, etc. Norms: expectations for participation, dress, etc. Fulfillment of needs: providing a sense of meaning and purpose, a support group, etc.

  4. Religion as a SocietyThe social structure of sacred communities Natural or Ethnic religions: • Bound by kinship, family, culture, a common history and ancestry • Membership is automatic, through marriage and birth • Do not proselytize nor actively seek converts • Examples: • Judaism (the religion of the Hebrew people) What is Judaism? • Hinduism (the religion of the Indian people) • Shinto (the religion of the Japanese people) • African and Native American tribal religions African Traditional Religions

  5. Religion as a SocietyThe social structure of sacred communities Universal or voluntary religions: • Bound by common belief, doctrine, and/or religious experience • Joined voluntarily through proselytizing and conversion • Begin as breaks from pre-existing ethnic religions: • Christianity broke from Judaism Jewish Origins of Christianity • Buddhism broke from Hinduism • Islam broke from Arab tribal religions • Founded by charismatic leaders: • Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad

  6. Division and Reform movements (Denominations) Division within • Christianity: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant Divisions of Christianity Orthodox & Catholic Christianity • Judaism: Orthodox, Reform, Conservative • Islam: Sunni, Shi’ite Sunni-Shi'ite division • Hinduism: Vaishnava, Shaivite, Shakta, Smarta • Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana Develop during the historical unfolding of the religions

  7. Monastic Communities A legitimized option within a religion • Individuals take vows of celibacy, poverty, obedience to become monks or nuns • Separate out from, but remain associated with the larger religious body of which they are a part: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism • Mepkin Abbey (on tape) • Called to be a Nun(Christianity) • Becoming a novice monk (Buddhism) • Not all religions have monasticism: • Judaism, Islam, Sikhism • These religions live their faith in the world

  8. Sects Breakfrom (further sub-division) • Tend to be smaller than denominations • Tend to be younger breaks from larger denominations • Tend toward more dramatic reforms to the point of being labeled “heresy” by the larger and older groups they broke from • May separate from the larger society (to avoid persecution and/or to divorce themselves from a society they consider to be “evil” or “impure”) • May develop into new religious movements, remain a sub-division of the larger religion, or die out (Shakers) • Examples: • The Amish, Mormons (Christian) • Druze, Ismailis, Ahmadiyah (Islam)

  9. New Religious Movements • All religions were, at one time, “new religious movements” • Independent religions or sects that are less than 100 years old • Often considered with suspicion, especially when the charismatic founder is still living and drawing a large following (may be labeled a “cult”) • Will need to outlive their founders and first generation to prove their worth and develop into full-fledged denominations or independent religions (Mormons) • Examples: • Scientology • Eckankar • New Age Spirituality (on tape)

  10. Cults One person’s “cult” is another’s “religion” Many meanings: • Simply any small religious group centered around a charismatic leader, spiritually innovative (Christianity while Jesus was alive, the Unification Church today) • Not necessarily a bad or destructive group but often the term is used pejoratively against suspect groups (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Falun Gong) • Used especially in reference to new religious groups or sects that “go bad” harming themselves and/or others (Jim Jones’ People’s Temple, Heaven’s Gate, Branch Davidians) Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups:http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm

  11. Explore more on the Web: Overview of the World’s Religions:http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/ Shows divisions of major religions of the world as branching “family trees”, outlining basic history and beliefs of each sub-group Religious Movements:http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/profiles/listalpha.htm provides profiles of over 200 sects, cults and new religious movements Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups:http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm (many of which are also characteristics of most legitimate religions) Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance: Cult Menu:http://www.religioustolerance.org/cultmenu.htm provides definitions and clarification of issues related to this touchy subject

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