Controversies related to religion often led to schisms or religious wars, but there was seldom controversy about the actual existence of a God or gods. Until modernity, generations were born into a religious world where belief in a God, gods, or a creator mostly uncontested, and these beliefs formed an integral part of our social world. 518), and it is almost certainly one of the oldest forms of cultural practice amongst human beings. We can understand religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things” (Jary & Jary, 2005, p. In each case, I connect these forces to the cult phenomenon in modernity. I now analyze three forces that have significantly shaped modernity-religion, science, and the economy. This was a key premise in my talk-that cults have adapted to modernity, and that they all share a central message for recruits of an alternative or solution to the disenchantment of human beings resulting from the processes of modern industrial society. They diversified in terms of types of cults on offer and became a much more widespread phenomenon in modern society.
The predicament individuals face in modernity has been described in terms such as disenchantment (Weber), anomie (Durkheim) or alienation (Marx) (Bilton et al., 2002).Ĭults have also transformed in modernity. These crises revolve around the dilemma of coping with a radically transformed human environment in which the certainties and beliefs of premodernity have basically dissolved.
INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY BILTON BONNETT JONES SERIES
Previous historical processes that took hundreds or even thousands of years to unfold now take effect within a matter of years or even months (Giddens, 1990).ĭespite the undoubted progress made during modernity-particularly in the areas of science, health, economic prosperity, and the spread of democracy-it also ushered in a series of crises that have been studied in philosophy and sociology (Bilton et al., 2002). A society emerged that distinguished itself from premodernity by constant and rapid change, with new technologies and market economics as key drivers. This new period is commonly referred to as modernity. A sociological school arose in the 19th century as a result of the new type of human society emerging out of the processes of industrialization and capitalism (Bilton et al., 2002). Sociology focuses on human societies and systems.
With this piece, I intend to enrich this discussion further. The talk, Cults in Modernity, stimulated an interesting exchange of views in the audience about the sociological context of cults. It is carefully structured to cover all the main substantive topics studied at an introductory level within a framework that engages with exciting contemporary debates about modernity, globalisation and social identity.This article is based on the presentation I gave at the 2019 ICSA Annual Conference held in Manchester, United Kingdom. This welcome new edition builds on the strengths of its predecessor in its thematic coherence, clarity of exposition and analytical depth.
Introductory Sociology is one of the most ambitious, scholarly and popular textbooks in its field.