Anthropological experiences of religious movements

Abstract

The study presents the terminology within the discourses of religious movements, a brief overview of the standpoints of the research that has been done until present in the respective field. The author’s questions are organized around the understanding of the relationship between the organically linked religious and social elements of this phenomenon. The author, looking through existing theories, aims to discuss the following issues:</p> <p>a.) the nature of the reactions of the traditional religious communities to social conflicts;</p> <p>b.) the social background (structure, dynamics) of the collective religious experience occurring in ordinary situations;</p> <p>c.) society-forming role of the acculturating conflicts: religion/revolutionarism?</p> <p>d.) mobilizing force of the traditional utopias;</p> <p>e.) the effect of the social threats on the formation of responsiveness towards traditional ideologies and transcendent sensitivity