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Cultural Continuity: A Strategy for the Success of New Religious Movements

Isis nursing Horus

The term “cult” has taken on derogatory implications in recent decades, due to the increased prominence of violent or suicidal cults in the media (Dawson 1-2). These implications present difficulty for social scientists in describing small religious movements which have novel beliefs and practices but may be quite benign. To solve this difficulty, scholars have settled upon the phrase “New Religious Movements” (NRMs) to describe cults without derogatory implications (Dawson 2). The formation of NRMs can occur due to unhappy members of one religion branching out to make a new sect, or by the discovery and importation of an existing but unfamiliar religion, or by creating a completely new religion (Stark 133). While many NRMs will be created on this planet, and some will achieve modest success by attracting hundreds of thousands of adherents and lasting a century or more, almost all of them will eventually fail (Stark 133). Rodney Stark theorizes that “New religious movements are likely to succeed to the extent that they retain cultural continuity with the conventional faith(s) of the societies in which they seek converts” (260). Emphasizing cultural continuity may therefore be an effective strategy for the success of benign NRMs.

Although scholars have yet to offer an empirical measure of cultural continuity, it is possible to identify cultural continuity as a characteristic of some NRMs by examining the similarities between the NRM and the surrounding culture (Duke). It is possible, for example, to  compare the socioeconomic status or sexual activity of members of a NRM to the surrounding culture (Duke), and some scholars have examined similarities between the symbolism, teachings, and practices of a NRM and those of a dominant religion (Wortham 112, Chao 201). Rodney Stark explains that a person who was raised Christian, being presented a choice between Hare Krishna and Mormonism, will tend to opt for Mormonism since it does not require discarding all the beliefs of Christianity, but merely to append the new scripture to them (260). James T. Duke points out that there may be cultural continuity between a NRM and one or more subcultures of a society, while that continuity may disappear when the society is taken as a whole. By looking at the ways in which successful religions have maintained cultural continuity with their cultures, we can gain a sense of the effectiveness of cultural continuity as a strategy for the success of NRMs.

One example of a NRM spreading in part because of cultural continuity is the Isis cult of the ancient world, which appears to have prepared the way for the Christ cult in many cities (Wortham 119). In the period from approximately 400 BCE until 400 CE, the Isis cult spread from the cultural center of Alexandria throughout the Hellenic world (Wortham 103). It even reached Rome by about 100 CE, and gained the approval of Roman Emperors from Caligula onward (Wortham 103). The expansion of the Isis and Christ cults has been shown to be intertwined, and the size of cities and their closeness to Rome did not contribute to this growth (Wortham 118), but cultural continuity may have been a factor. Examples of the cultural continuity between the Isis and Christian cults include that both Jesus and Isis were referred to as “Lord” and “Savior”; that Mary is described in Revelation as being clothed with the sun and standing on the moon; and the Roman frescoes depicting Isis wandering and suffering bear a similarity to Paul’s portrait of “Christ crucified” (Wortham 112). Robert A. Wortham explains that while other factors exist which contributed to the growth of both the Isis and Christ cults, like religious pluralism and diverse urban networks, the spread of the Christ cult may have been made easier by these symbolic and religious similarities between the two cults (111-112). He  concludes that “Cultural continuity makes a difference” (119).

In more recent times, Conservative Protestant Christianity has been experiencing some growth among urbanites in Taiwan, where it appears to retain some cultural continuity (Chao 193). In particular, it appears that conversion to Christianity in Taiwan can be directly correlated to religious experiences which have a strong resemblance to traditional religious experiences of Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese folk religions (Chao 196). One example of such a conversion is the case of Pastor Chuang, a man raised in a folk religion whose family was bothered by possession of demonic spirits during his teen years. The family first attempted to solve this problem with the traditional folk methods, and when this did not help, they turned to their Christian friends who brought them to a Christian church, which seemed to solve their problems. Following this, Pastor Chuang converted and attended a Presbyterian seminary (Chao 197). Chinese religion tends to be practical, seeking material rewards for worship, and Protestant Christianity has some features which are in line with this cultural feature (Chao 201). In Hsing-Kuang Chao’s summary and conclusion, he writes that “If Protestant churches adapt their religious culture to the conventional religions, which emphasize gaining practical benefits, prospective members are likely to remain and eventually convert to Christianity” (202).

Another recent example of a NRM growing in part because of cultural continuity is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), which has experienced rapid growth since its founding over 175 years ago (Duke). According to Duke, the teachings of Mormonism retain significant continuity in the cultures of the United States, the Philippines, Samoa, Tonga, and other South Pacific cultures, while in Europe the cultural continuity is weak and in Asia and Africa the cultural continuity is “problematic.” Duke describes many areas of cultural continuity between Mormons and average Americans, including similar socioeconomic status, social and political ideologies, quality of life indicators, and personality factors. Duke also notes the similarity between Mormons and Americans concerning their beliefs in the Bible, their use of contraceptives, and their attitudes and behaviors concerning family.

An even more striking example of a NRM succeeding because of cultural continuity is the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a sect of Christianity which has enjoyed global growth at an extraordinary rate wherever Christianity is dominant (Stark and Iannaccone 133). Moreover, Jehovah’s Witnesses has greater continuity with Christian cultures than Mormonism does, and experiences more rapid growth than Mormonism does in Christian cultures (Stark 261). As Rodney Stark and Laurence Iannaccone have found, Jehovah’s Witnesses have grown more rapidly where there is a larger portion of Christians in the population, and have had less growth where there is a larger percentage of Muslim adherents (142). In some Muslim countries, it is illegal to proselytize and attempt to convert Muslims to other religions, and the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses in these countries remains very small (Stark and Iannaccone 141). In Latin America, on the other hand, where Christianity has a strong dominance in the culture, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses increased by 239% from 1980 to 1994 (Stark and Iannaccone 140).

Cultural continuity has been an apparently effective strategy in NRMs throughout the world for thousands of years. Sects and NRMs alike have often simply added new ideas to the teachings of existing religions and cultural ideologies, thereby maintaining cultural continuity (Stark 260). The Christ cult was able to spread quickly among the cities where the Isis cult had already succeeded, in large part because of the cultural continuity between the two (Wortham 117). Hsing-Kuang Chao has pointed out that NRMs will have greater success if they adapt their teachings and cultures to the populations where they hope to succeed (202). Studies of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, meanwhile, show that these Christian sects have been able to achieve the greatest success where they maintain cultural continuity in Christian cultures (Stark 261). Clearly cultural continuity is an important factor in the success of NRMs.

Works Cited

• Chao, Hsing-Kuang. “Conversion to Protestantism Among Urban Immigrants in Taiwan.” Sociology of Religion 67.2 (2006): 193-204. Ebscohost. Portland Community College, Portland, OR. 26 July 2011.
• Dawson, Lorne L. Comprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
• Duke, James T. “Cultural Continuity and Tension: A Test of Stark’s Theory of Church Growth.” 26 July 2011.
• Stark, Rodney. “Why Religious Movements Succeed or Fail: A Revised General Model.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 11.2 (May 1996): 133-146. 26 July 2011.
• Stark, Rodney, and Laurence R. Iannaccone. “Why the Jehovah’s Witnesses Grow so Rapidly: A Theoretical Application.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 12.2 (1997): 133-157. 26 July 2011.
• Wortham, Robert A. “Urban Networks, Deregulated Religious Markets, Cultural Continuity and the Diffusion of the Isis Cult.” Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 18.2 (2006): 103-123. Ebscohost. Portland Community College, Portland, OR. 26 July 2011.