Assess the view that deprivation is the main reason for the growth of NRM's

closely linked, since social changes affect the number of people available as potential followers. Weber provided one of the earliest explanations for the growth of the sects, called the ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ arguing that they were likely to arise within groups that were marginal in society; outside of the mainstream of social life and feeling that they are not gaining the prestige or economic rewards they deserve. Such sects contained theories for their disprivilege through religious explanation and justification to their members. Deprivation is seen by generations of sociologists as the cause of both personal religious commitment and sect and cult formation. Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch were pioneers with regard to the relationships between sect and church membership, and social class and status group. In The Social Sources of Denominationalism H. Richard Niebuhr saw sects as the "churches of the disinherited"; because of their lack of economic and political power. The less privileged needed religion most, and sects and cults could provide their members with compensation for the lack of social and personal success. Wilson pointed out that there were a variety of situations which could lead to marginalization of groups within a society, such as defeat in war, natural disaster or economic collapse, although these are not the only circumstances to encourage sect development. Sects in 1960s America often targeted the marginal and disadvantaged groups, such as Black Muslims aiming to recruit the most desperate blacks. However, most of the world-rejecting new religious movements were drawn amongst the ranks of young, white middle-class Americans and Europeans during the era. Wallis argues that many of these recruits were already marginal; despite their background they were usually hippies, drug users etc.. with their marginality perhaps being increased by arrests for illegal activities. A result of which is the lifestyle offered by sects attracted them. A problem with these theories is that they do not explain why such individuals would join marginal members of society in the first place. ‘Relative deprivation’ can be used to explain this, referring to the subjectively perceived deprivation that they feel. They feel they live in a deprived world that they see is too materialistic, lonely and impersonal, and seek salvation in the sect they join. Stark and Bainbridge use relative deprivation to define sects as organizations that break away from an established church, since they believe it is deprived in certain factors. Wilson argues that not only is it relative deprivation, but that rapid social change causing disruption and undermining of traditional norms, and social relationships lacking consistent and coherent meaning may result in the establishment of sects. An example of which is the rise of Methodism as a response to the urban working class, to the uncertainty and chaos of life in the new industrial areas. Established sects offer support and certain norms and values to such troubled people, and thus are attractive. Steve Bruce used modern societies to show this, indicating that with development in a modern society leading to a decline in traditional sources of authority such as churches, religious pluralism and diversity become increasingly tolerated. Whilst many sociologists have argued that mainstream religious activity and influence has substantially declined, there has been an apparent increase in the number of religious sects. Sociologists have differed in their interpretation of the meaning of this increase in sects. Some have interpreted it as a sign of resurgent religious belief and commitment; others have argued that it is another result of religious decline. Most sociological research and theories tend to focus on the experience in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Religion in other contexts, particularly in developing countries often shows a very different pattern. It seems, in general, that most of the explanations do not apply to society as a whole, and often are based on the circumstances and condition of a specific society. Since the sociologists that argue over the proliferation of sects often focus on the United Kingdom and the United States of America, they often refer to the marginalized individuals that generate influence for the creation of new sects. This is often contributed to by the modern globalized society such individuals live in, which creates what Weber calls the ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ and what Giddens argues is reflexivity and uncertainty. Clearly in modern, reflexive societies where views constantly change, people may join sects, but the theories cannot be applied to every context, as for example in fundamentalist Islam where sects such as the Shi’ites and the Sunnis have been established for generations, and there is little or no undermining of the traditional. In light of the above evidence I am able to conclude that there are many reasons for the growth in New Religious Movements and each individual has a different motivation for joining such movements. However, it seems that deprivation is quite a dominating reason as an explanation to the growth of these movements and it could be argued as a main reason. However it must be taken into account that everyone has personal motivations for their membership in NRM's and therefore we must not rely too much upon deprivation being the best answer to this question. Despina Muka