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Lecture: New Religious Movements Social Context of New Religious Movements Both cult and sect have specific, neutral meanings: a cult represents a distinct break from established traditions, and a sect is a splinter or subgroup associated with a larger tradition. However, both terms are often used pejoratively; cult in particular may be used to label a group with a charismatic leader whose power is thought to be potentially dangerous to followers. To avoid such negative connotations, many scholars use the term “new religious movements” for groups which may have been labeled as cults. New religious movements may be further classified according to their relation to the society around them and their relation to previous traditions. Stark and Bainbridge proposed the following typology. While a mainstream religion accepts and accommodates itself to the society in which it operates, a sect characterizes the society around it as worldly and unbelieving. A cult is an independent religious tradition which may be in conflict with the surrounding society, and such groups may be further classified by the way they influence their members’ relation to society. Audience cults do not require conversion (e.g. New Age groups in which people may dabble). Client cults offer some sort of service, such as a particular form of therapy or healing (e.g. Scientology). A cult movement is a full-fledged organization requiring conversion and allegiance to the group; it may involve total group allegiance and communal living. Apocalyptic and Millennial Expectations The adjective apocalyptic comes from the Greek word apokalypsis (uncovering, revelation). In religious parlance, apocalyptic frequently refers to religious interpretations of the ultimate end of history and the re-creation of the universe, or the apocalypse. A concept related to apocalypticism in Christianity is that of the millennium, a thousand-year period in which Christ rules the earth. This expectation is expressed in the Biblical book called Revelation. At end of time, a decisive battle between the force of good and evil is depicted. A horrendous war ensues between God and Satan. God wins, and the millennium begins. Some Christians speak of the rapture (an idea developed in the nineteenth century), when Christians will be caught up in clouds to meet Jesus as he returns to earth. As the twenty-first century began, some speculated that the new century would bring changes, and interpreted events such as weather patterns and economic conditions as indicative of a spiritual crisis. Expectations of major world changes can be found in Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and some indigenous religions. Millennial movements anticipate the coming of an age when the faithful will be rewarded. However, whereas established religions may harbor such expectations and be viewed as mainstream, traditional, and normal, other religious movements advocating apocalyptic expectations are frequently labeled as eccentric. This can lead to two manifestations of such movements. Catastrophic millennialism asserts that the world must be destroyed before it can begin again; progressive millennialism takes the view that humans working in concert with the divine can change the world. Catastrophic millennialism Examples of catastrophic millennial groups include the Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose founder Charles Taze Russell predicted that the end of the world would occur in 1873 or 1874. When those dates and further predicted dates passed without the world ending, Russell concluded that Christ had indeed arrived, but was invisible. In recent times, there have been several examples of tragic occurrences associated with catastrophic millennial groups, such as the death of about eighty Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas in 1993, the suicides of seventy-four members of the Order of the Solar Temple in 1994 and 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, and the deaths of over one thousand members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Uganda. In the wake of such events, law enforcement officials and other authorities have sought better understanding of new religious movements. Some believe that members are brainwashed, while others see a psychopathological component to conversion to new religions (an argument which could be made about any religious commitment). The theory of “deviance amplification” suggests that tragedies may be avoided if the surrounding society is not provocative towards new religions in its midst. Religion-related violence is by no means the sole province of new religious movements. Nor are the members of new religious movements necessarily much different from the ordinary citizen. Research shows that the typical convert is a young adult without family commitments, well- educated, middle to upper-middle class, no more psychologically imbalanced than his or her peers, and seeking answers to spiritual questions. How then do such people become violent? One possibility is that the isolationist lifestyle of some groups creates a situation in which seemingly irrational beliefs make sense. The theory of deviance amplification further suggests that when members perceive a threat from the outside world, their belief that they are not of this world may be intensified, and death or suicide may seem like a good option (as e.g. was the case with the members of Heaven’s Gate who committed suicide in 1997). Progressive millennial movements Two examples of progressive millennial movements seeking to usher in a new world age are the Rastafari movement and the Unification Movement. Rastafarianism is a Jamaican movement that has entertained millenarian expectations in the prophecies of Alexander Bedward (1895) and Marcus Garvey. In its vision, blacks have a special role in the coming new era. Some interpreted a prophecy attributed to Garvey as applying to the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, and hoped that black Jamaicans would be given free passage to Africa. Rastafarians wear dreadlocks as a protest against industrialized society, and some view marijuana or ganja as sacramental. Interestingly, women are not considered capable of Rastafarian awareness except through their husbands. The movement has spread to the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The Unification Movement was founded by Sun Myung Moon, who has announced that he and his second wife Hak Ja Han are jointly the messiah. Moon offers an unconventional interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve, and teaches that Jesus' mission on earth was left unfinished. Moon and his wife are the True Parents of humankind who seek to establish families in which God’s love may be manifest, hence the focus on mass wedding ceremonies. Supernatural Powers and Revelations Many new religious movements ground themselves in the supernatural realm, and may be led by women with shamanistic powers. Miki Nakayama, a nineteenth-century founder of the Tenrikyo movement, reported that she was possessed by ten spirits who proclaimed through her. It is said that she composed some 1711 poems under divine inspiration, which became this movement’s sacred scriptures. The Mahikari movement was founded in 1959 by Sukui Nushi Sama in Japan. He believes he is the successor to the Buddha and Christ as God’s viceroy on earth. Mahikarians are taught that science and medicine are ignorant superstitions. Rather than use such measures, they are further taught to transmit light for healing, bringing peace to ancestral spirits, and for spreading divine civilization throughout the world. Spiritualism refers to a United States Christian context in which communication with the spirits of the dead is emphasized. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches defines Spiritualism as “the science, philosophy, and religion of continuous life.” Its liturgy has similarities with Christian worship; however, it does not focus on sinfulness or Jesus. The Unification Movement also has a spiritualist component. Offshoots of Older Religions The Mormon Church, formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, differs from more mainstream forms of Christianity in that it accepts both the Christian Bible and The Book of Mormon. Early Mormons faced persecution in the United States and after the death of founder Joseph Smith, several separate groups developed. The largest, led by Brigham Young, settled in Salt Lake City, Utah where they sought to build “Zion in the Wilderness” and restore what they considered true Christianity. The Mormons consider other forms of Christianity to be apostasy (abandonment of principles). The Mormon lifestyle is austere. As an outgrowth of Sikhism in India, the leaders of the Radhasoami movement often have Sikh backgrounds. Whereas orthodox Sikhs believe in a succession of ten gurus, Radhasoamis believe in an ongoing succession of living masters. Today, this movement has branched into thirty groups, each with its own guru. The Punjabi branches are known as Sant Mat, a collective term meaning Path of the Masters. The lineage of Perfect Masters includes prior teachers such as the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. The most popular branch of the movement is the Rashasoami Satsang Beas. Combinations of Older Religions Syncretism refers to the process of a seemingly new religion developing through the intermingling of normally differing beliefs. Caodaism, established in Vietnam in 1926, asserts that religious leaders such as Moses, the Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus were all inspired by God to start religions, but these religions became distorted by local customs. Varying religions kept people from living harmoniously. Caodaism thus developed as a syncretism of multiple faiths, who anticipate a Third Era of Religious Amnesty. Santeria is a mixture of Catholic and African traditions practiced in the Caribbean and Latin America (some prefer the term Lukumi). It stresses contact and cooperation with the spirits. The name literally means the way of the saints; devotion to deities from various African traditions (e.g. the orisa) may be linked to Catholic saints. Santeria practice seeks to keep the energy ashe flowing properly. When a town in Florida outlawed rituals of animal sacrifice practiced in Santeria, the United States Supreme Court overruled