Cracks in the Network Conversion Paradigm
One of the standard generalizations about new religions is that people convert to NRMs primarily through preexisting social networks. The present paper examines data on a variety of new religions which demonstrates that social networks are not always the dominant point of contact for new converts. A...
| Published in: | International journal for the study of new religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
equinox
2012
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| In: |
International journal for the study of new religions
Year: 2012, Volume: 3, Issue: 2, Pages: 143-162 |
| Further subjects: | B
New Religious Movements
B Social Networks B Paganism B Hare Krishna Movement B Conversion B Longitudinal Approaches |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | One of the standard generalizations about new religions is that people convert to NRMs primarily through preexisting social networks. The present paper examines data on a variety of new religions which demonstrates that social networks are not always the dominant point of contact for new converts. Additionally, recruitment patterns change over time so that different factors become dominant at different points in a movement’s development. Two reasons why this variability has escaped the attention of most researchers is an unconscious tendency to assume that the sociological profiles of members of different NRMs are essentially similar, and the fact that such groups are typically studied synchronically rather than diachronically. |
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| ISSN: | 2041-952X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal for the study of new religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/ijsnr.v3i2.143 |