old religion new concerns?

Does conflict, or elements of it, remain?

• secularism
• the enlightened individual
• divine domain = seen and unseen cosmos
• evil, hell, anomy = imminent realities

what remains the same

• pillars of monotheism
• dichotomized worldview
• God/G-d/Allah
• stability/order as the drive

prioritization of mainstream

• majority considers its will objective
• “fringe” groups considered “other” (classified with “sinner/outsider”)
• struggle with secular politics increases with size of religious community
• increasingly hostile toward internal competitors (increases with self-confidence)

exciting proposal

On the level of fundamental beliefs, cults are not radically different from those of their mainstream heritage.

under the towering gaze of the mainstream

Numerous tensions between ideals and practical contingencies have been observed. Members of the unification church, for example, find themselves having to part from their parents, their spouses, and even their children in pursuit of the ideal of establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth--a kingdom in which the basic unit is a closely united nuclear family. (Barker)

• “cults” tend to emphasize a radical focus on preservation of the community
• concern for community is often very tangible (with clear connections to the familial structure)
• emphasis upon family structure often includes rewriting biological lines off definition

Given their "newness":

• they often lack a solid institutional structure
• they tend to depend upon the charisma of a leader
• the leader is often viewed as a prophet or a divine incarnation

• dedication to belief is pronounced
• accused of brainwashing but may in fact not
• charisma of leader may in fact effectively tap into core fears and desires of individuals

• “brainwashing” may in fact be a mainstream attempt to rationalize or explain radical dedication to something outside the dominant normative
• permits offensive and defensive strategies to be developed against competing values (e.g. Exodus Ministries in terms of strategy)

• cults tend to share a dogged conservatism with fundamentalism (strict, literal interpretation of text, philosophy, other).
• they differ in their dependence upon a new interpretation rather then a lionized historical one

or not so horrible?

• cult = group of outsiders
• “horrible” often denotes anomy
• new forms of religion test boundaries of permissible behavior
• consequently, “horror” = that which we don't understand
• labelling is an attempt to force/hasten an understanding of something

The horror of Jonestown was compounded by its apparent incomprehensibility. How, it was repeatedly asked, was it possible for adult men and women, at least some of whom were reasonably well educated, to agree to take their own lives at the behest of a man who, in the eyes of most people, was surely nothing but a raving lunatic? (Barker)

What critics often overlook is the dedication to the community that each individual has.

This dedication is coupled with a dramatic belief that the community is the next to last step toward restoration.

• instead of brainwashing, another theory holds that individuals who join new religions/cults are abnormally pathetic or weak
• this theory is used even to explain membership growth in fundamentalist groups

anomy and the contemporary world?

Sociological explanations of cults in relation to the contemporary world:

• movements reflect contemporary concerns (offer solutions)
• movements are reactions to the social-political world (deprivation/shortcoming in society)
• movements encourage an emphasis upon religious “self” in a secular society
• fundamentalist/extremist groups may be described similarly