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Assess the View That New Religious Movements Are Mainly for the Middle Classes and the Young.

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Assess the view that new religious movements are mainly for the middle classes and the young.

A new religious movement is a spiritual organisation founded after world war 2. They do not only have their name 'new' because of this but also due to the way they present themselves as alternatives to traditional religions. I will begin to explore the view that these new religions are designed to appeal to the middle classes and the young. Movements set up before this time were either sects or cults. Although the definitions of these terms have developed over the years to result in different meanings and connotations, many sociologists have attempted to distinguish between the characteristics of each organisation. In 1981, Troeltsch said that the characteristics of a sect include attracting those from the lower classes and that young children cannot usually directly enter a sect. These aspects are already deemed to be contrasting with those of a NRM. A cult,,, on the other hand, has no single definition accepted by sociologists but are described by Bruce as being 'a loosely knit group organised around some common themes and interests but lacking any sharply defined and exclusive belief system.'
Wallis arranged new religious movements into three categories; world rejecting, world accommodating and world affirming. World rejecting new religious movements are known for being critical of the outside world and therefore actively seek change. An example of a NRM that rejected the world was People's Temple (1931-1978.) This NRM ended at 914 of its members were killed or committed suicide in a mass panic before the predicted nuclear war that would end the world. This movement was surprisingly inter-racial especially for its time and location, it was also a popular family religion so appealed to those of all ages. This suggests that these modern movements are not solely aimed

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