RE265 Lecture 48: RE265 All Lectures.docx
Document Summary
Reading the account of non members and members of nrms and comparing them can give us an idea what the religion is about. Nrms insiders aren"t given epistemological weight in world religions it is between insiders (theologians) and outsiders (social scientists) but. Nova religo: the journal of alternative and emergent religions- Gordon melton- have failed to define nrms on shared group characteristics, they share common deficiency, pushed to fringes of society by dominant group. Eileen barkers- sees being antagonized not a defining feature but a consequence, attempts to define by their newness, limits definition of new religions to those made up predominantly of first generation believers. Neither of these definitions ascertain which nrms are religions only if they fit as nrms. Many nrms are committed to an ongoing synthesis between different religious traditions. Many nrms committed to synthesis with religious and secular worlds. Peter berger- suggests the demise of religion in modern societies.
