Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1987. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-138).

The purpose of this thesis is to examine both the philosophy and realization of lIinisterial education of the brotherhood of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) during a period extending from 1900 to 1915.

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Sects as a Threat Sects are both a social and religious phenomenon in contemporary society. We often hear about religiously motivated violence. Therefore, the phrase Sects as a threat is not a very suprising term. Often, there appears a situation in which sects threaten not only their members but also the whole society. Based on that, it is important to characterize them and determine where religiously motivated violence or extremism could be seen. In the introduction of the theoretical work I mention the basic terminology, explain the nature of religion and differentiate the basic religious faiths. Next, the new religious movements follow. Related to that is the legislation of churches and religious societies, their registration, rights, obligations and the like. Followingly, the religious movements which could represent a potential threat or raised public awareness by their controversial affairs are described. Despite the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are a registered church, the thesis includes also them. I have mentioned them because the majority of respondents believe that they actually are a sect. A similar situation is with Satanism. Even they have church associations. At the same time, there sometimes happen situations, when extremist groups refer to satanism, for example after an act of violence. This phenomenon appears in far more religious movements. The next step is to sketch the negative influences of new religious movements on both an individual and society as a whole. After that the term Sect is described in detail. This part contains information on the features of particular sects, psychical manipulation methods and the ways of recruiting new members. Nevertheless, even the characteristics of sect leaders is included. What we cannot forget is the prevention of affecting of these dangerous groups and also help for the sect members who want to escape them. In the last part of the theoretical work I concentrate on The Czech Republic as a state. I describe the attitude of the state to churches and religious societies. Next, I aim at the religion policy of the state and how different govermental and nongovermental organizations participate in the problem. The thesis also deals with the rate of participation of different governmental offices, such as Home office and Culture office and also with the rate of participation of Police. The main goal of the thesis is the evaluation of the activity and threats of religious groups active both in the area of The Czech Republic and foreign countries as well. I have also dealt with a statistic qantitative research strategy using the questionaire research in both non-professional and professional public. The questions were asked in the areas possibly threatened by sects and mainly concerned the security risks of The Czech Republic related to the activities of sects. Next, the statistic evaluation of differences between non-professional and professional public awareness of the issue followed. The thesis also dealt with the analysis of available literature sources on the issue of sects. The result of the research shows a considerable difference between non-professional and professional public awareness. The thesis could be possibly used as a summary of possible risks originating in sects and can also serve as a source of information of the problem of religious groups.

Bien que la Colombie ait longtemps été dominée par une culture catholique conservatrice, elle expérimente aujourd’hui une transformation rapide de son univers religieux. Ce processus est caractérisé par l’entrée en scène d’une multitude de nouvelles organisations religieuses. La présente étude vise à comprendre à la fois les causes de ce processus, et ses effets dans d’autres champs sociaux, notamment les champs politique et culturel. Cette recherche a été guidée par de nombreuses questions : Quelles ont pu être les causes du processus de pluralisation religieuse, et quels sont les facteurs - économiques, politiques, démographiques, culturels - qui lui sont associés ? Comment se manifeste la pluralisation religieuse dans les contextes ruraux, urbains et indigènes ? Quel a été l’impact de la pluralisation religieuse dans les champs culturel et politique ? La présente thèse cherche à établir la sécularisation et la modernisation de la société colombienne comme les principales causes de la pluralisation religieuse. Cette pluralisation suit les affinités et les inerties culturelles : la plupart des fidèles qui désertent l’Église catholique émigrent vers des mouvements religieux similaires ou analogues, principalement au bénéfice du mouvement pentecôtiste. La pluralisation religieuse favorise la montée en puissance d’entrepreneurs religieux indépendants de type charismatique. Les leaders religieux qui réussissent le mieux voient dans le capital religieux accumulé un capital rentable dans d’autres champs sociaux, en particulier le champ politique. Ainsi, la pluralisation religieuse a ouvert les portes du pouvoir politique à de nouveaux acteurs sociaux. / While Colombia has traditionally been dominated by a conservative Catholic culture, its religious milieu has gone through a rapid transformation characterised by the growth of many new religious organisations. This study will aim to more deeply understand the causes of this transformation and its effects in other social fields, notably in the political and cultural field. A large multitude of questions have shaped the research: Which causes have contributed and driven this religious pluralisation and which factors —political, economic demographic or cultural— are associated with it? How has this religious pluralisation manifested itself in rural, urban and indigenous contexts? What has been the impact of the religious pluralisation in the cultural and political fields?The present thesis will outline the ways in which the processes of secularisation and modernisation on Columbian society are the principle causes of this religious pluralisation and how this pluralisation involves different cultural affinities and forms of cultural inertia. Furthermore, most of the believers who abandon the Catholic Church integrate themselves within similar or related religious movements preferring above all the Pentecostal movement. Moreover, this pluralisation leads to an increased promotion of religious entrepreneurs of an independent and charismatic nature. The best performing religious leaders identify in their accumulated religious reputation a form of capital profitable in other social fields, particularly the political field. Consequently, religious pluralism has opened the doors of political power of new social actors.

There are two main parts in this thesis. In the first one, we are focused on different approaches to the relationship of religion and government. We point out the influence of religion (both positive and negative) on individual. These issues are viewed from the perspective of some famous theories. For example: G.S. Becker's Accounting for Tastes, F. A. Hayek's theory of spontaneous order, H. Bergson's philosophy or M. Weber's sociology of religion. The second part analyses situation in Czech Republic and compares it to situations in Austria and Sweden. There are appendixes, which can be used as bases for new research.

As a cultural staple, the Christian faith has been a defining characteristic of the United States for generations. Religion has moved from the spiritual and become integral to many parts of this society’s social gatherings, artistic outlets, and even businesses. Often rooting itself in conservative values and interpretations of The Bible, Evangelicalism’s beliefs regarding damnation and hell contradicts its sola scriptura theological view. Yet, with The Bible’s near silence on hellish matters when looked at as a whole, the human need to have these gaps filled allowed for literary portrayals of hell and explanations of damnation to become part of this subsect of Christianity. Lining sermons with bits and pieces of Faustus’s lost soul, a new tradition was born. Filling churches with paintings of unique layers of hell from Dante’s Inferno, this tradition took on new life. This thesis analyzes how Evangelicalism has bypassed The Bible in favor of Doctor Faustusand Inferno as well as how Christianity in the United States influences literature and biblical interpretations.

Significant and influential sociologist Max Weber was one of the earliest scientists to conduct studies and establish a definition of a sect. The main characteristic of a sect is a religious and rebellious movement that defies the current and ruling societal norms and values. The study examines three focal points through a qualitative method with a deductive approach; how research defines sects, psychological factors that encourage an individual to pursue a membership and the recruitment process.Using empirical data collected from two documentaries; Jonestown: Terror in the jungle and Wild Wild Country, a total of 9 hours 19 minutes of empirical data have been processed in order to critically review sects. Results demonstrated that members who seek out sects come from a wide range of social classes and backgrounds. The common denominator is the pursuit of safety, love and community in a bid to fulfill a void and feelings of meaningless brought on by hard times. Previous members of sects describe a wide range of factors, such as marital problems, a modernized world, war, poverty and racial tensions. The weakened state of the individual during difficult times is used and exploited by members of a sect in order to attract a new member.

The idea of sects has been something observed from a distance, which creates a mystery regarding what occurs in these selective religious groups. In today's media cults is often depicted as mystic groups, but is that a correct portrayal of cults, or is in fact misleading? The purpose of this thesis is to create an overview regarding the mental health by former sect members by the usage of Heider Fritz interpretation of attribution theory. The issue that will be leading this thesis is “How can attribution theory be used to understand sect defectors regarding their mental health?”. This work will be analysed with thematic analysis, due to it being more fitting, regarding to the material based on peoples own stories about their experiences, as well as the usage of theory functioning like framework while reading and later analysing the material. The theory that will function as a base for the work is as mentioned, Attribution theory describe people under the impression that events outside of logical explanation is caused by God. In a religious perspective the roles between God and humans are mentioned several times throughout the Bible. The result of this thesis shows that people in Swedish sects develop mental illness due to the strict image of God and the pressure put on members by parish leaders, that functions as a form om degradation. Although it is important to underline that one cannot generalize the members of a sect, due to the complex individuality prerequisites that each person obtain. The prerequisites vary from person to person and therefore establish the psyche of every individual and the risk of developing a mental illness. / <p>På grund av Covid-19 har opponeringen av uppsatsen skett utanför universitetes lokaler, via Zoom</p>

This research project is a study of 227 Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana. These 227 churches were identified by the Regional Office of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana as being fully cooperative with the work within the Region. The project was conducted in two parts or phases. Phase 1 was a study of the churches based upon statistical data which the churches reported to the Yearbook. Phase 2 was a study of the attitudes of selected leaders within these 227 churches. It should be noted in the beginning that this study does not tell the complete story of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana. Any such attempt to tell all the story must take into account the churches which have withdrawn from the relationship with the Regional and National ministry. This study concerns only the 227 churches currently involved and seeks to tell the story of these churches. This report seeks to be descriptive in character. One section in Chapter 2 dealing with anomia is analytical. The funds for this project were made available by Christian Theological Seminary with money provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. 1