Religiousorganisations include, but not limited to, churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, nondenominational ministries, interdenominational, ecumenical, mission organisations, faith-based social agencies and other entities whose principal purpose is the study, practice, or advancement of religious.
Religious organisations play an active role in shaping beliefs; may invest time and effort in advocating certain kinds of messages while censoring others.526 It is assumed that an individual‟s affiliation with a religious organization endows him with religious beliefs.Religion in Nigeria plays a major role in the life of the people, to some, it is their candle light, to gives them insight, wisdom, knowledge and faith is increased through the study of scripture, books and prayers.
The world is filled with many different faiths. Religion is a source of strength to many people, especially during tough times. Religion can also be the source of friction between people of different faiths. Regardless of the actual beliefs of the religion in question, organized religions all have associated organisations to help them advance their goals.
15 Ibid
16 Ibid
17 One example of censorship is the index Librorumprohibitorum (“list of prohibited Books”) (from1529 to 1966 which listed publications prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church. Also, “Pro & Con Arguments:
should Churches (defined as Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues, etc) Remain Tax Exempt?”, available athttps://www.chuurchesandtaxes.procon.org,accessed 20 January, 2015.
122 3.5 Types of Religious Organisations
Many types of religious organisations exist in modern societies. All religious organisations involve communities of believers. Religions organize themselves – institutions, practitioners, and structures- in variety of fashions. These among others include;
(a). Church; The Ecclesia and Denomination
The Church is a large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that is closely integrated into the larger society527. Two types of Church organisations exist. The first is the ecclesia, a large, bureaucratic religious organization that is formal part of the State and has most or all of a State‟s citizens as its members. As such, the ecclesia is the national or State religion. People ordinarily do not join an ecclesia; instead they automatically become members when they are born. A few ecclesia exist in the world today including, the Catholic Church in Spain, the Lutheran Church in Sweden, the Anglican Church in England528 and Islamic Communities (E.g. Ahmmadu-yya Moslem Community in the United Kingdom)
As should be clear, in an ecclesiastic society, there may be little separation of church and State, because the ecclesia and the State are intertwined. In some
ecclesiastic societies, such as those in the Middle East, religious leaders rule the State or have much influence over it, which in others, such as Sweden and England, the have little or no influence. In general, the close ties that ecclesiae have to the State
527Ibid.
528Ibid.
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help ensure they will support State policies and practices. For this reason, ecclesiae often help the State solidify its control over the populace.529
The second type of Church organization is the denomination, a large,
bureaucratic religious organization that is closely integrated into the larger society but is not a formal part of the State. In modern pluralistic nations, several denominations coexist. Most people are members of a specific denomination because their parents were members. They are born into a denomination and generally consider themselves members of it in rest of their lives, whether or not they actively practice their faith, unless they convert to another denomination or abandon religion altogether.530
The Mega Church
A relatively recent development in religious organization is the rise of the so called Mega Church, a church at which more than 2,000 people worship every weekend (or Sunday in particular) on the average. Several dozen have at least 10,000
worshipers531, the largest US Mega Church in Houston has more than 35,000 worshipers and is nicknamed a “Giga Church”. There are more than 1,300 Mega Churches in the United States, a steep increase from the 50 that existed in 1970, and their total membership exceeds 4million. Also, in Nigeria, from late 1990 till date, there has been rise of mega churches ranging from Living faith Church (aka Winners Chapel) which has more than 50,000 worshipers in a single service, Redeemed
529Ibid.
530Ibid.
531RJ Priest, et al, Religion Matters; What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World, (Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall, 2011.
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Christian Church of God, DunamisInternational, Christ Embassy, Chosen Church of God, et cetera. These mega churches also have strong television and radio ministries.
Compared to traditional, smaller churches, mega churches are more concerned with meeting their member‟s practical needs in addition to helping achieve religious fulfillment. Some even conduct market survey to determine these needs and how best to address them. As might be expected, their buildings are huge by any standard, and they often feature book stories, food courts, sports, and recreation facilities. They also provide day care, psychological counseling and youth outreach programs. Their services often feature electronic music and light shows.
Although, mega churches are popular, they have been criticized for being so big that members are unable to develop the close bonds with each other and with members of the clergy characteristic of smaller houses of worship. Their supporters say that mega churches involve many people in religion who would otherwise not be involved.532
Sect
A sect is a relatively small religious organization that is not closely integrated into the larger society and that often conflicts with at least some of its norms and values.
The Amish, who live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other States are perhaps the most well-known example of a sect in the United States today533. In Nigeria, we have classical example of the Jehovah Witness, Grail Centre, Eckankar, et cetera.
532Ibid.
533Ibid.
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A sect is a relatively small religious organization that is not closely integrated into the larger society and that often conflicts with at least some of its norms and values. Typically, a sect has broken away from a larger denomination in an effort to restore what members of the sect regard as the original views of the denomination.
Because sects are relatively small, they usually lack the bureaucracy of denominations and ecclesiae and often also lack clergy who have received official training.534
Their worship services can be intensely emotional experiences, often more so than those typical of many denominations, where worshipers tends to be more formal and restrained. Members of many sects typically proselytize and try to recruit new members into the sect.535 If a sect succeeds in attracting many new members, it
gradually grows, becomes more bureaucratic, and ironically, eventually evolves into a denomination. Many of today‟s protestant denominations began as sect, as did the Mennonites, Quakers, and other groups. The Amish in the United States are perhaps the most well known example of a current sect.536
Cult
A cult is a small religious organization that is at great odds with the norms and values of the larger society. Cults are similar to sects but differ in at least three respects.
First, they generally have not broken away from a larger denomination and instead originate outside the mainstream religious tradition. secondly, they are often secretive and do not proselytize as much. Thirdly, they are at least somewhat more likely than
534Ibid.
535Ibid.
536Ibid.
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sect to rely on charismatic leadership based on the extraordinary qualities of the cult‟s leader.537
Although, the term cult today raises negative images of crazy, violent, small groups of people, it is important to keep in mind that major world religious including Christianity, Judaism and denominations such as the Mormons began as cults.
Research challenges several popular beliefs about cults, including the idea that they brainwash people into joining them and that their members are mentally ill538. In study of the unification church (Moonies) it was found that there was no more signs of mental illness among people who joined the Moonies than those who did not.539 It was also found there was no evidence that people who joined them had been
brainwashed into doing so.540
Another image of cults is that they are violent. In fact, most are not violent.
However, some cults have committed violence in the recent pass. In 1995, the AumShinrikyo(Supreme Truth) cult in Japan killed 10 people and injured thousands more when it released bombs of deadly nerve gas in several Tokyo subway lines541. Two years earlier, the branch Davidian Cult engaged in an armed standoff with federal agents in Waco and Texas when the agents attacked its compound, a fire broke out and killed 80 members of the cult, including 19 children; the origin of the fire remains unknown.542
537Ibid.
538E Barker, The making of a Moonie: Choice or brainwash (New York; Oxford University Press, 1984”.
539Ibid.
540Ibid.
541Ibid.
542SStrasser et al,“A Cloud of Terror and Suspicion”Newsweek, April 3, 1995, pp36-41.
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The term cult is sometimes used interchangeably with the term New Religious Movement(NRM). In its pejorative use, these groups are often disparage as being secretive, highly controlling of members‟ lives, and dominated by a single, charismatic leader.543