The Economic Strategies of New Religious Movements
This article analyzes the economic strategies of new religious and para-religious movements by comparing them with the economic strategies of traditional religious associations. The article is based on research of several dozen such movements in the Montreal area. It is argued that the economic stra...
| Published in: | Sociological analysis |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1985
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1985, Volume: 46, Issue: 2, Pages: 157-170 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article analyzes the economic strategies of new religious and para-religious movements by comparing them with the economic strategies of traditional religious associations. The article is based on research of several dozen such movements in the Montreal area. It is argued that the economic strategies of religious groups, old and new, closely reflect and influence the overall social policies of these groups, especially their attitudes towards recruitment and the status of participants, who, after all, provide the major sources of economic resources. The paper argues that the economic strategies of contemporary new religious and para-religious movements are distinctive both, (I) because of the prominence many of them give to providing various services for fees or donations to largely transient clients or affiliates and, (II) because of their comparative successes in recruiting core groups of highly committed adepts, who in turn donate extensive unpaid labor. The article observes the relative absence among these groups of financial contributions by regular lay members, by means of dues, titles and pledges. In the conclusion, the article examines the consequences of this configuration and the instability which these financial and organizational strategies produce. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711058 |