RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
A Sociological Study of Their Origin and Development in Christianity
Keywords:
RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS, Sociological, Origin, Development, ChristianityAbstract
Social movements (in which religious movements are a special
category) have been the subject of wide interest for social sciences,
particularly sociology, political science and history because
movements provide life and energy for change in social life; and
‘change has been the unchanging law in the society’, as philosopher
Heraclitus remarked long ago. Social movements can be defined as
different types of group actions by usually large informal groupings
of individuals and/or organizations focused on specific political or
social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a
social change. Since religious movements are special types of social
movements, as I noted above, the former also aim at socio-religious
change. The planned change takes place in the structures and/or
functions of the religious group in which the religious movement
emerges. Thus, there have been religious movements within
Christianity itself for bringing about changes in the authority
structure, teachings, practices and rules etc.
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