New Religious Movements in the United States / Les Nouveaux mouvements religieux aux États-Unis - article ; n°1 ; vol.83, pg 91-106

Thomas Robbins, David Bromley

Description

Archives des sciences sociales des religions - Année 1993 - Volume 83 - Numéro 1 - Pages 91-106
Les auteurs de cet article présentent - en l'éclairant d'une bibliographie thématique qui fait suite au présent texte - un panorama d'ensemble de la recherche sur les Nouveaux Mouvements Religieux aux Etats-Unis. Ces travaux, extrêmement abondants depuis le début des années 70, s'organisent autour de quatre questions principales : celle des limites du phénomène (qui ne se réduit pas au développement des seuls groupes identifiés comme des cultes) ; celles des processus de recrutement, de conversion et de socialisation des adhérents propres à ces mouvements ; celle de la signification culturelle et sociale de leur émergence dans la modernité séculière américaine ; celle enfin de leur évolution dans la durée et de leur adaptation à leur environnement. A côté de ces grands ensembles d'interrogations, deux thèmes retiennent particulièrement l'attention des chercheurs : la question des rapports et rôles de sexe dans ces mouvements, et la place centrale qu'y occupent les croyances et pratiques ayant trait à la santé, à la maladie et à la guérison. Le rapprochement de ces différents travaux justifie de considérer les N.M.R. comme de véritables laboratoires d'expérimentation sociale, au sein de la société américaine.
Los autores de este articulo presentan - y ilustran con una bibliografia temática que es una continuación del texto - un panorama de conjunto de las investigaciones sobre los Nuevos Movimientos Religiosos en los Estados Unidos. Estes trabajos, extremamente abundantes desde el inicio de los años 70, se organizan en torno de cuatro cuestiones principales: la de los limites del fenomeno (que no se puede reducir únicamente al desarollo de los grupos identificados bajo la apelación de «cultos»); la de los processus de recrutamiento, de conversión y de socialisación de los adherentes caracteristicos de estos movimientos; la del significado cultural y social de su emergencia en la mo-dernidad secular americana; y finalmente la cuestion de su evolución temporal y de su adaptación al entorno. Al lado de estos grandes conjuntos de interrogaciones, dos temas llaman sobre todo la atención de estos investigadores: la cuestion de las relaciones y roles de los sexos en estos movimientos, y la posición central ocupada por las creencias referentes a la salud, a la enfermedad y a la cura. La comparación entre estos diferentes trabajos justifica para considerarse a los N.M.R. como verdaderos laboratorios de experimentación social, en el seno de la sociedad americana.
16 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Archives-des-sciences-sociales-des-religions
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1993
• Nombre de lectures: 44
• Langue: Français
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Thomas Robbins
David Bromley
New Religious Movements in the United States / Les Nouveaux
mouvements religieux aux États-Unis
In: Archives des sciences sociales des religions. N. 83, 1993. pp. 91-106.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Robbins Thomas, Bromley David. New Religious Movements in the United States / Les Nouveaux mouvements religieux aux
États-Unis. In: Archives des sciences sociales des religions. N. 83, 1993. pp. 91-106.
doi : 10.3406/assr.1993.1487
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/assr_0335-5985_1993_num_83_1_1487Résumé
Les auteurs de cet article présentent - en l'éclairant d'une bibliographie thématique qui fait suite au
présent texte - un panorama d'ensemble de la recherche sur les Nouveaux Mouvements Religieux aux
Etats-Unis. Ces travaux, extrêmement abondants depuis le début des années 70, s'organisent autour
de quatre questions principales : celle des limites du phénomène (qui ne se réduit pas au
développement des seuls groupes identifiés comme des "cultes") ; celles des processus de
recrutement, de conversion et de socialisation des adhérents propres à ces mouvements ; celle de la
signification culturelle et sociale de leur émergence dans la modernité séculière américaine ; celle enfin
de leur évolution dans la durée et de leur adaptation à leur environnement. A côté de ces grands
ensembles d'interrogations, deux thèmes retiennent particulièrement l'attention des chercheurs : la
question des rapports et rôles de sexe dans ces mouvements, et la place centrale qu'y occupent les
croyances et pratiques ayant trait à la santé, à la maladie et à la guérison. Le rapprochement de ces
différents travaux justifie de considérer les N.M.R. comme de véritables laboratoires d'expérimentation
sociale, au sein de la société américaine.
Resumen
Los autores de este articulo presentan - y ilustran con una bibliografia temática que es una continuación
del texto - un panorama de conjunto de las investigaciones sobre los Nuevos Movimientos Religiosos
en los Estados Unidos. Estes trabajos, extremamente abundantes desde el inicio de los años 70, se
organizan en torno de cuatro cuestiones principales: la de los limites del fenomeno (que no se puede
reducir únicamente al desarollo de los grupos identificados bajo la apelación de «cultos»); la de los
processus de recrutamiento, de conversión y de socialisación de los adherentes caracteristicos de
estos movimientos; la del significado cultural y social de su emergencia en la mo-dernidad secular
americana; y finalmente la cuestion de su evolución temporal y de su adaptación al entorno. Al lado de
estos grandes conjuntos de interrogaciones, dos temas llaman sobre todo la atención de estos
investigadores: la cuestion de las relaciones y roles de los sexos en estos movimientos, y la posición
central ocupada por las creencias referentes a la salud, a la enfermedad y a la cura. La comparación
entre estos diferentes trabajos justifica para considerarse a los N.M.R. como verdaderos laboratorios de
experimentación social, en el seno de la sociedad americana.Arch de Sc soc des Rel. 1993 83 juillet-septembre) 91-106
Thomas ROBBINS
David BROMLEY
NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
IN THE UNITED STATES
The study of New Religious Movements NRMs has been institu
tionalized in the United states as standard subarea of both the sociology of
religion and religious studies monograph really an extended-review
essay by Robbins cites over 800 books and papers primarily works of
sociologists magisterial bibliographical volume Social Science and
the Cults contains over 2200 citations By the mid-SOs however number
of confusions and ambiguities began to bedevil this area
NRMs The boundary problem
The concept of new religious movements emerged in the 1970s as
scholars in religious studies and the sociology of religion eagerly began to
direct their attention toward group of often controversial movements gener
ally labelled cults such as the Children of God Hare Krsna The Unification
Church Transcendental Meditation the Love Family and Scientology The
NRM concept was partly shaped by the recent controversy over cults 4)
and has even been typified by some critics as legitimating construct for
sinister groups In any case number of limitations and ambiguities of this
concept have now become apparent
NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS each term of this tripartite construc
tion embodies certain ambiguities which create uncertainties as to the scope
and boundary of the construct For example does the concept of movement
presuppose discrete organized group or community or is it the notion prop
erly applicable to novel theological currents or to diffuse subcultural milieux
such as the contemporary New Age Movement the Human Potential Move
ment which was frequently discussed in the 1970s and early 80s and the
earlier Jesus Movement
Perhaps more important is the question of what may be properly desig
nated as new religion or religious movement Certainly the newness of
91 ARCCHIVES DE SCIENCES SOCIALES DES RELIGIONS
certain cultural transplants such as Hare Krsna or Zen and Tibetan Budd
hism is problematic although it is arguable that Americanized Hindu
and Buddhist groups are different entities from seedbed Asian traditions
It is also debateable as to whether the NRM label is properly applicable
to new churches fellowships ministries and theological currents emerging
within the broad context of American Protestant evangelical and pentecostal
revival Indeed the term New Religious Movement is often applied by
scholars outside of the USA to denote growing pentecostal and evangelical
groups in Latin America and elsewhere The boundary issue is all the
more significant because new pentecostal groups such as the Vineyard Fel
lowship are growing rapidly in the USA while many of the well-known
esoteric cults of the 1970s and 80s such as Hare Krsna are declining It is
also worth noting that some scholars have identified significant convergences
between evangelical currents such as neo-pentecostalism or Christian Recon-
structionism and the New Age movement 9)
Finally there is the vital issue of the religiousness of some groups which
have been studied under the NRM rubric and which are often labelled cults
As some scholars have noted in modern or post-modern society the locus of
the Sacred is increasingly unclear such that religious attributions are in
creasingly contested The problem of religious authenticity thus becomes
problem not only for theologians and sociologists but also for officials con
cerned with social policy 10 It is therefore vital that the study of modern
religion and particularly the investigation of new religions entails an analy
sis of the way in which religion as social category is produced reproduced
and transformed 11)
Challenges to religious credentials arise from various sources
including church-state legal issues and tax litigation It is notable that tax
privileges and regulatory exemptions provide incentives for various move
ments and organizations to seek official recognition as churches Such privi
leges and exemptions are conditional upon demonstrations of religious
authenticity Conflicts between NRMs and the state therefore tend to widen
out into more general conflicts centering on the definition of authentic re
12 State agencies officials and law courts find themselves obliged
to define what is to count as religion for legal purposes 13 Also signif
icant here is the twentieth century American cultural premise that religion
is good From this standpoint the religious status of bad religion may
not be popularly accepted e.g. such spiritual group may appear to be less
religion than pseudo-religious cult
Such confusions may underlie the recent emergence of growing dis
course on quasi-religions 14 or quasi-religious movements Such groups
are situated on the margins of the sacred They include groups such as Scien
tology which lays claim to the status of church but has been described
as largely commercial movement 15 which however needs religious
legitimation On the other hand Transcendental Meditation disavows re
ligious status and claims scientific secularity which is functional in terms
of facilitating the teaching of T.M in schools prisons and military institutions
Also included under the quasi-religious rubric may be religioeconomic cor
porations 16 New Age practices utopian communities apocalyptic politi
cal sects and various religious therapy and rehabilitation religiotherapy
groups including 12-step groups patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous
92 NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
It appears to be increasingly evident that the line separating religion and
non-religion is becoming blurred such that assignments of particular groups
to either side of the imaginative divide are often strongly contested New
marginal deviant or unconventional groups are more likely to be caught up
in religious authenticity conflicts
Conversion and recruitment
As several sociologist