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Organ. Types
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A Sociology of Religious Organization
(From The Study of Religion in an Age of Global Dialogue by Leonard Swidler, Paul Mojzes)

Church-Denomination-Sect-Cult

Church-Type Organization

How to identify a "Church" (sociologically speaking)

It claims universality so that all members of the society (usually a nation) would automatically be considered members of the church.

Example: The Roman Empire under Constantine; the official religion was Christian.

It tries to maintain a religious monopoly, allowing no competition.

Example: Islam in certain Middle Eastern nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia

It is closely allied with the state and shares responsibilities with it.

Example: Islam in Iran where the highest religious leader has power over the governing body and it’s president.

It is highly organized and bureaucratized. It has a full-time, educated and professional clergy.

Example: The Roman Catholic Church with Pope, Bishops, Priests, and Religious.

It gains members automatically by natural reproduction and socialization of children.

It has more formal worship practices.

It is concerned with both otherworldly (e.g., salvation) and this worldly (e.g., schools, hospitals) matters.

Sect-type Organization

Arises in protest to the church type because the church is seen as having fallen from pristine purity in doctrine, practice, or the like.

It understands itself as the fellowship of the elect.

It stresses spontaneity of expression.

It is deliberately small in size.

It has no trained professional clergy.

It stresses purity of doctrine, usually by a return to the original teachings.

It emphasizes traditional ethics.

It concentrates on otherworldly issues, such as heaven, hell, salvation.

It gains members through conversion.

It comes largely from the lower social classes.

Example: the Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Denomination-Type Organization

This is between the Church- and Sect-type organizations. It does not arise as a protest, but rather comes about because the church loses its dominating position in a country.

As struggling sects are recognized and tolerated in a society, they tend to become one religion among several—that is, to become a denomination.

Characteristics

Like the church, but not like the sect, because it is on relatively good terms with the state, but is distant enough to be critical of the state.

Usually on relatively good terms with other religions

Relies heavily on birth for members, but accepts converts, or may even recruit vigorously

Unlike a sect, it accepts some variation and change in doctrine.

Like a church, it has formal worship practices.

It has an educated, professional clergy.

It is drawn heavily from the middle and upper classes.

It is more like a church than like a sect.

Note: As religious tolerance spreads, church types tend to move in the direction of the denomination type organization, as do some sects.

Cult-type Organizations

Like the sect, the members are in protest, are dissatisfied with the predominant religion and with the society around them.

Different from sect members, cult members do not look to reestablish the original doctrine and practice. They look to a new revelation.

Characteristics

Tend to center on a charismatic leader who has the revelation

Draw their members from urban areas

Stress the individual and supernatural

Have little bureaucratic structure

Are short-lived.

If they survive, they move toward becoming a denomination.

Examples:

Early groups of Christian Science; today a denomination

The People’s Temple, Rev. Jim Jones

Essay: http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_jones.htm

 
STUDY GUIDE FOR FINAL EXAM –PLEASE BRING A BLUE BOOK!!!

RST 101

SPRING 2007

BE PREPARED TO DEFINE THE FOLLOWING:

1.  Theistic religious experience

2.  mysterium    tremendum                              

3.  the Holy                                         

4.  The Bhagavad-Gita             

5.  The Unmoved Mover                     

6.  The “Void” in Buddhism                 

7.  polytheistic deism                            

8.  The transcendent-immanent position

9.  Spirit (Western view)                      

10. Evil                                    

11. Buddhist attitude toward evil          

12. self-transcendence             

13. image of God                                 

14. the essential origin of religion  
                    
15. The Divine (Eastern religions)
                     
16. religion
                                          
17. moksha  
                                                   
18. kami nature   
                                 
19. salvation from Christian viewpoint

20. denomination                                             

Be prepared to write a brief essay on 3 of the 6 following (approximately one page in your blue book).  The instructor will choose the three to be answered. 

1.       There are five ways of conceptualizing images and concepts of the Divine.  List three with their definitions and indicate what one religious group, philosopher, or secular group would fit under each. Example: Polytheistic deism—there are many divine beings.   They belong to the natural order.  Navajo, popular Hindu & Taoism

2.  What is Islam’s conception of evil?

3.      What are the first three steps of Alcoholics Anonymous?

4.  What is healthy shame?  What is unhealthy shame?

5.   List the six stages of faith and one characteristic of each.

6.       What is the ultimate goal or destiny of the human being according to Christianity? of Islam?

 

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Last modified: May 02, 2007