Religion - Types of Religious Organizations (SOCI 1306 Sociology)

Religion SOCI 1306 Types of Religious Organizations Religions arrange themselves—their organisations, practitioners, and structures—in a variety of styles. For instance, when the Roman Catholic Church developed, it adopted many of its organizational concepts from the ancient Roman military and changed senators into cardinals, for example. Sociologists use diverse terminology, such ecclesia, denomination, and sect, to define these sorts of groups. Scholars are also aware that these definitions are not static. Most religions change through several organizational periods. For example, Christianity originated as a cult, turned into a sect, and today survives as an ecclesia. Cults, like sects, are new religious groupings. In the United States , this phrase generally contains derogatory overtones. However, practically all faiths began as cults and ultimately developed to levels of greater scale and structure. The term cult is sometimes used interchangeably with the phrase new religious movement (NRM). The new phrase may be an attempt to diminish the stigma that the term ‘cult’ has acquired. Controversy occurs over whether some groups are cults, probably due in part to media sensationalism over groups like polygamous Mormons or the Peoples Temple adherents who died at Jonestown, Guyana. Some groups that are controversially regarded as cults nowadays include the Church of Scientology and the Hare Krishna movement. A sect is a tiny and relatively new group. Most of the well-known Christian denominations in the United States today originated as sects. For example, the Methodists and Baptists revolted against their parent Anglican Church in England, much as Henry VIII protested against the Catholic Church by founding the Anglican Church. From “protest” derives the name Protestant. Occasionally, a sect is a breakaway group that may be in confrontation with greater society. They might claim to be returning to “the fundamentals” or to question the reality of a certain belief. When membership in a sect expands over time, it may evolve into a denomination. Often a sect develops as an offshoot of a denomination, when a number of followers decides they should separate from the main organisation. Some sects do not grow into denominations. Sociologists term these established sects. Established sects, such as the Amish or Jehovah’s Witnesses come halfway between sect and denomination on the ecclesia–cult continuum because they contain a blend of sect-like and denomination-like features. A denomination is a major, mainstream religious group, but it does not claim to be official or state supported. It is one religion among many. For example, Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, Catholic, and Seventh-day Adventist are all Christian denominations. The term ecclesia, originally referred to a political assembly of people in ancient Athens, Greece, today refers to a congregation. In sociology, the word is used to indicate to a religious group that virtually all members of a community belong to. It is considered a nationally recognized, or official, religion that enjoys a religious monopoly and is closely associated with governmental and secular forces. The United States does not have an ecclesia by this criteria; in fact, this is the sort of religious institution that many of the earliest colonists came to America to avoid. There are several nations in Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Africa that are deemed to have an official state-church. Most of its population hold similar ideas, and the state-church has strong influence in national institutions, which includes controlling the conduct of individuals with other belief systems. The state-church of England is the Church of England or the Anglican Church created in the 16th century by King Henry VIII. In Saudi Arabia, Islamic law is enforced, and public manifestation of any other faith is forbidden. Using this definition thus, it can be claimed that the major Abrahamic systems of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are ecclesia; in certain countries, they are regarded a state-church.