The Secular Contribution to Religious Innovation: A Case Study of the Unification Church
This article explores the relation of innovative religious movements to their secular host societies. A theoretical review suggests that these movements simultaneously conform to a principle of exclusion — separation from and rejection of elements of their secular host culture, and to a principle of...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1989
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1989, Volume: 50, Issue: 3, Pages: 209-227 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article explores the relation of innovative religious movements to their secular host societies. A theoretical review suggests that these movements simultaneously conform to a principle of exclusion — separation from and rejection of elements of their secular host culture, and to a principle of inclusion — the intensification and radicalization of elements of that same culture; they do not simply renounce their secular host culture. The Unification Church offers an empirical demonstration of the operation of these principles: it has appropriated and even rationalized pivotal elements of the contemporary secular culture of the emotions, and it has forcefully opposed itself to much of secular society. Overall, elements of secular culture are appropriated by innovative religious movements in a dialectical process that simultaneously affirms, denies and transcends secular culture; religious innovation is less a reaction against than an organic growth of secular culture. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711559 |