Cults, Sects, and Religious Movements: An Academic Perspective
Advisor: Hal Hansen
Internship Location: MCA
Onsite Mentor: Fuad
The goal of my project is to classify Islamic new religious movements (NRMs) from an academic point of view to understand when scholars of philosophy and religion accept or condemn belief systems. By developing a system of classification for NRMs (into cults, sects, and religions), I hope to clarify academic discussions on religion so that negative stereotypes of NRMs are not unintentionally perpetuated. Classifying NRMs in a new way would revitalize the outdated and confusing vernacular currently used in academia while also opening a fresh new perspective on identifying trends between NRMs that may cause differences in classification and public perception. My project will consist of two major steps: studying a sample of Islamic NRMs (including the Nation of Islam and the Bahai Faith) and classifying each NRM into the categories of cult (extremist), sect (non-extremist and somewhat conforming), and religion (non-extremist and non-conforming). Researching the academia behind Islamic NRMs would open up more detail into factors contributing to how academics currently classify Islamic NRMs and would inform my own classification system.
Project Blog
Post 1: Opening Thoughts Regarding Religion
The impact of religion on society is incalculable; from the rise and fall of empires to a sense of purpose and hope of the common person, religion has touched the lives of many throughout time and space. Sometimes religion has encouraged exploring the natural world around us such as during the Age of Exploration while other times, religion has discouraged learning the truths of our world such as the Catholic Church's negative response to the Scientific Revolution.
Perhaps one of the most interesting ways to study religions is to delve into the topic of New Religious Movements (NRMs). NRMs don't have a concrete definition and are oftentimes stereotyped into pop culture's ideas of cults or spin-offs of "traditional" religions. And oftentimes, how academics use the term "cult" is directly contradictory to what the common person thinks of when they hear the term "cult." Currently, the taxonomy and vocabulary associated with NRMs are not clear, which allows for the spread of negative stereotypes against NRMs and which makes studying NRMs more difficult.
The purpose of my project is to develop a classification system for Islamic NRMs that hopefully can be generalized to NRMs as a whole or inspire change in the classification of NRMs as a whole. By studying a sample of Islamic NRMs and classifying them into categories such as cult (extremist), sect (non-extremist and somewhat conforming), and religion (non-extremist and non-conforming), I hope to also identify factors used to classify Islamic NRMs and ensure my classification improves on the existing taxonomy of NRMs.
Post 2: Classifying Religions as a Whole (Plus a Peak into Islamic Classification)
Before I attempt to create a system of classifying New Religious Movements (NRMs) on my own, I decided to do some research into how religions in general are classified. From a religious perspective, religions may be "true" (what you should believe in) or "false" (what you shouldn't believe in). This idea extends into the concept of believers and disbelievers (or Muslim and Kafir respectively from an Islamic perspective). There is also the concept of "revealed" (originating from God) versus "natural" (originating from Man). A revealed religion is distinct from a true religion, however, because a revealed religion originates from God but could also become corrupted and end up not being true (or the revealed religion could remain uncorrupted and true). Each religion has its own concept of true vs. false and revealed vs. natural, so this form of classification isn't something that can be standardized and easily accessible to all; however this classification is extremely useful to understand the theology of a religion, and the theology of a religion is very important to classifying religions in a standardized way.
Classifying religions based on theology is probably the most well-known way to classify religions. Catholicism vs. Protestantism, Sunni vs. Shia, and Theravada vs. Mahayana Buddhism are all examples of theological classifications of religions. Perhaps even more commonly known is the classification of monotheism, believing in one God, and polytheism, believing in multiple gods. (And just as a note, I will be using God to refer to one, all-powerful being and will be using god to refer to the concept of something being worshiped). Classifying religions based on the being(s) worshiped is extremely useful because the quantity and qualities of being(s) worshiped affects the behavior of followers. Additionally, such classification is relatively objective since how many gods or the qualities of those gods are typically laid out clearly in a religion's theology.
I still have to continue my research into the current classifications of religions since the research I have conducted so far was from a more historical lens, specifically from the early 1900s. Because of how long ago the systems I researched are, there are quite a few issues with them involving political correctness, but I have gained a lot from this research. I have seen very intricate detail in classifying religions (such as fetichism, religions that take "ordinary" objects as sacred, and totemism, religions that associate aspects of the natural world with religious importance). At the same time, too much detail in classification does lead to problems of being too divisive, such as placing religions on different "stages." Another major problem I noticed was that the scope of the classifications was too large and many of the qualities of a religion were not being considered when using one classification over another. For example, calling both Islam and Christianity "instituted religions," which are religions coming from a single person, doesn't take into account the differences the two have in the main religious personalities of both religions.
Wanting to narrow the scope of research into classification, I began a tangent in my research to study an important aspect of the classification of traditional Islam (Sunni, Shia, and Sufi): historiography, the study of how history is recorded. I will be discussing more of the aspects of Islam that lead to additional factors affecting classification, but I wanted to tease that discussion with a small discussion on the importance of the beliefs in Islamic historiography. One of the main differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims is how they have recorded the history of the Prophet Muhammad (S), the last prophet of Islam. This difference in how history was recorded has led to many theological differences ranging from certain views on the Prophet's family to the belief in predestination. The reason I mention this tangent is because this kind of nuance gets ignored in the macroscopic scale of classifying religions. This is one of the reasons that I am excited to take my current research and start applying it into Islamic NRMs. Next week, I'll share my working classification of Islamic NRMs as well as my continued research into this topic.
Post 3: The Cult: Thoughts on a Definition
The current definition of the cult, simply in my personal experience and the common perception of the masses, has one major issue of always conjuring negative images of violent beliefs. Negative optics and stereotypes have always been associated with cults, leading them to be susceptible to higher rates of police surveillance and negative depictions by the media. Initially, I was going to define a cult to necessarily be extremist and violent in order to play into the public's perception of a cult and separate "cults" from other NRMs, but after talking with my external advisor and doing some further research, I decided to explore a new avenue. After all, any definition of a cult should understand and respect both academia and the layperson.
So, what is a cult? Currently, the definition of a cult is a religious movement that breaks away from the traditional religion while still identifying with the traditional religion. This definition is practically the same as the definition of an NRM, so both are often considered synonyms, yet public perception would consider the word "cult" to be much more negative than NRM. I believe that because of this distinction, some change needs to be made to the definition of the word "cult" to distinguish it from a regular NRM.
Part of the reason cults receive such negative optics is because of the new age of information that we have entered, which exposes cults into the world whether or not they like it. In fact, cults being exposed to society as a whole sometimes cause certain cults to turn violent. If an NRM doesn't have the political/social power or influence to convey its message in a positive light, then that NRM would be considered a cult. Consider this: Mormonism would follow the academic definition of a cult, yet Mormonism isn't considered a cult anymore by the layperson because it has gained influence in media to convey its message in a positive light. Therefore, I believe that, in addition to the current definition of a cult, the aspect of not having the political/social power or influence to convey its message in a positive light is necessary to include to truly define the concept of a "cult."
Post 4: How People Have Rethought Islam
Last week, I posted about the definition of a cult and how one of the major components of that definition is a deviation in beliefs from the mainstream religion. So, the next question I wanted to answer through my research was how NRMs, specifically Islamic NRMs, even come to existence.
Rethinking of Islam has occurred since the beginning. One of the first examples of major rethinking of Islam occurred during the Wars of Apostasy which was sparked because of tribes refusing to pay zakat to the ruler of the Muslims, Abu Bakr. Believing in the necessity of paying the zakat is part of the basic requirements of being Muslim (alongside believing in one God and Muhammad (S) as the final prophet, praying, fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage). Although this rethinking of Islam amounted to tribes essentially leaving it, simply reinterpreting certain texts can keep one in the fold of Islam while making your beliefs stray from the mainstream.
Rethinking Islam has been done in many ways. For example, some groups look at the Quran, the holy book Muslims believe to be the word of Allah (God), through different lenses like humanism or feminism. New interpretations of the Quran can even arise from new scientific facts that have been discovered. Another way Islam has been rethought is through rethinking Sharia, and this can be seen with countries passing laws that don’t strictly adhere to Islam.
Throughout Islam’s history, there have been many interpretations and applications of the Quran and Sharia, and even mainstream Sunni Islam has schools of thought that differ on certain topics. However, not all reinterpretation is created equal. Next week, I will continue this conversation and I will also begin researching case studies of Islamic NRMs.
Post 5: How People Have Rethought the Quran
Last week, I talked about the different ways people have rethought Islam, so I wanted to dive deeper into how people rethink Islam through reinterpretation of the Quran. This background will help us understand more about the theology of the Nation of Islam and other NRMs.
Muslims believe the Quran, the word of Allah, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (S) through the angel Gabriel. In the Quran, there are many dialogues between Allah and different groups of people (believers, disbelievers, etc). Because of the high content of dialogues and because the main purpose of the Quran is to teach humanity how they should live their lives, every part of the Quran needs to be read with context. Traditional and liberal scholars of the Quran have differed over how much context impacts the reading and application of the Quran.
One difference between traditional and liberal scholars is the understanding of the importance of historical context on reading and applying the Quran. Traditional scholars tend to default towards verses in the Quran being applicable to any times (with only some exceptions) while liberal scholars tend to emphasize reading the Quran through a modern lense. The context traditional scholars value more than historical context is situational context. For example, liberal scholars would rethink the Islamic ruling of cutting the hand off the thief because it is “barbaric” while traditional scholars would look at each situation of thievery to determine if this ruling should be applied or not.
Another difference between traditional and liberal interpretations of the Quran is the understanding of the use of metaphors. Traditional scholars typically consider the Quran to be literal unless it is obvious a metaphor is being used, while some liberal scholars are more open towards understanding verses of the Quran metaphorically or allegorically to fit some other understanding of our world (such as a “rational” perspective on our world). An example of this would be the belief of some liberal scholars that heaven and hell are states of minds and not actual places (which is the traditional viewpoint).
The reason I mention these two points is that they form the basis of the difference between the ideology of the Nation of Islam (and other Islamic NRMs) from traditional Islam. The belief system of the Nation of Islam stems from Islam, but has components of their belief influenced by Black nationalism, Mu’tazilism (a rationalistic branch off Islam), and other sources. I will be making another post briefly talking about the history and theology of the Nation of Islam.
Post 6: The Nation of Islam
This post will discuss the Nation of Islam (NOI), an Islamic NRM that started in the 1930s under the leadership of W.D. Fard Muhammad. Specifically, I will be analyzing the NOI under the leadership of W.D. Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad.
NOI followers believed that Black people were the chosen people of Allah and the first humans on Earth. They followed the religion of Islam until white colonizers stripped them of their faith during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Elijah Muhammad preached that he was a prophet of Islam guided by Allah who came down in human form as W.D. Fard Muhammad. To truly be successful, NOI taught that Black people would have to separate culturally, socially, economically, and politically from White society.
Many of the teachings of the NOI seem strange and blasphemous to the average Muslim like the manifestation of Allah in a physical form or a prophet after Prophet Muhammad (S). However, followers of the NOI believed that they were Muslims. After all, both followers of the NOI and followers of traditional Islam read the same Qur'an. However, one of the main reasons NOI is considered a cult and not within the fold of Islam is its beliefs about prophethood and Allah. One of the basic tenets of Islam is to believe in Prophet Muhammad (S) as the final messenger and to believe Allah is the only God, who is unique and incomparable to anything else. This contradicts the idea that Elijah Muhammad could be a prophet or that W.D. Fard Muhammad could be an incarnation of Allah. On top of this contradiction, there are other contentions with NOI beliefs such as their beliefs regarding heaven and hell and their racial beliefs. The question then arises as to where the reinterpretation of the Qur'an the NOI has comes from.
Black nationalism which was gaining much power during the time of Elijah Muhammad explains many of the racial beliefs of the NOI, but the origins of other beliefs may not be so clear. Perhaps ideas like the manifestation of God into a human form could be traced back to Christianity, but the rationalistic approach the NOI had in reaffirming their beliefs resembles that of the Mu'tazilites, who pioneered a rationalistic re-reading of the Qur'an that produced divergent ideology. Although a physical manifestation of God would go directly against Mu'tazilite beliefs of God having absolutely no attribute comparable to humans, both the Mu'tazilites and followers of the NOI valued rationality in their readings of the Qur'an.
The NOI of Elijah Muhammad seems to lie clearly in the cult category mostly because of its deviation from the tenet of Islam to believe in a unique God and a final prophet Muhammad (S). The next post will cover how ISIS deviated from Islam to become a cult.
Post 7: How ISIS Has Deviated from Islamic Values
Today I will be writing my blog about some thoughts on ISIS. Now, you may be thinking what does a terrorist organization have to do with NRMs and the answer is that the religious propaganda pushed by ISIS serves as an interpretation of Islam that deviates so far from the norm that it essentially constitutes its own religion of sorts. ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is a terrorist organization with the goal to create a Caliphate and destroy all disbelievers. For the average observer, ISIS followers may seem to be too serious about Islam to a violent extent, but the truth is that ISIS has deviated far off mainstream Islamic beliefs to a heretical level.
Islamic scholars have called ISIS takfiri and almost khawariji. The description takfiri refers to the quality of unjustly declaring groups of people as disbelievers. Anyone who doesn't support ISIS ideology is deemed a disbeliever (kaafir). The problem with such a stance is that it is highly improbable (and completely unreasonable to say) that most Muslims aren't understanding Islam correctly to such a degree that they shouldn't be Muslims. ISIS backs their tafkiri ideology by claiming that Muslims are obligated to live under a Caliphate (which ISIS claims to be) so any Muslim not supportive of ISIS necessarily would become a kaafir. However, since ISIS has no stability and doesn't follow Islamic law, mainstream scholars do not consider ISIS a Caliphate, which further destabilizes their arguments. Because of ISIS' willingness to shed Muslim blood for their "crimes," Islamic scholars have drawn ties between ISIS and the Khawariji Movement which held beliefs that Muslims who commit major sins leave the fold of Islam and therefore should be killed.
These qualities of ISIS help solidify some aspects of what it means to leave the fold of Islam, but present other questions that I hope to get answered with my research. For example, where do Islamic scholars draw the line when considering a group takfiri or not? Also, how controversial can your beliefs be before they deviate enough from the mainstream that you are not considered a Muslim anymore? Although the 5 Pillars of Islam (Believing in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, fasting in Ramadan, praying, paying zakat, and performing pilgrimage) are the basic requirements to consider someone a Muslim, each of these pillars has their own corollaries that must be explored in order to truly understand what the boundaries of Islamic beliefs are. And with this understanding, I would be able to truly identify what being a cult means from an Islamic and academic perspective.
Post 8: The Babi Movement and the Baha'i Faith
When considering the classification of an NRM, an important specification of that classification is the time period you are looking at. This is something I haven't gotten too much into detail into yet because most of the NRMs I have written blogs about are relatively young, but in this post I will be discussing a religion that was an Islamic NRM close to its founding but now has separated itself from an Islamic identity. This separation in self-identification and a set of teachings completely separate of Islam earns this movement the category of being a completely new religion (as opposed to being a cult). This religion is the Baha'i Faith.
Before talking about the Baha'i Faith, it's first important to briefly go over its precursor, the Babi Movement. This movement, considered a separate religion, was based on the idea of the imminent arrival of a new prophet. The leader of the Babi Movement, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, considered himself to be the Mehdi, an important Islamic figure said to come as a sign of Judgement Day arriving. Baha'ullah, the leader of the Baha'i Faith, claimed to be the prophet that Shirazi and the Babi Movement were waiting for. When I read this history connecting these two movements, I became interesting in learning more about the distinction between claiming to be the Mehdi versus claiming to be a prophet.
Typically, the claim to be the Mehdi is a difficult claim to make since there are multiple requirements necessary to be the Mehdi, from having a specific name to being born at a specific time outlined by various signs. Additionally, part of the claim of being the Mehdi necessitates that another sign, the second coming of Jesus (PBUH), occur soon after. Since the claim of the Mehdi is difficult to make, people may instead believe and claim to be prophets sent from heaven. While most traditional Islamic scholars would immediately label such claims as taking someone outside the fold of Islam (considering no prophets should come after Prophet Muhammad (S)), these religious leaders would take evidence of the second coming of Jesus (PBUH) to mean that prophets can come after Prophet Muhammad (S). Typically, people making such claims believe themselves to either be the second coming of Jesus (PBUH) or some other historic Islamic prophet.
This tangent in my studies of the Baha'i faith was made even more interesting when I discovered that they currently don't even identify as Muslim. The religion has evolved so much from its Islamic roots, enough so that a separate identity has emerged. Part of the working definition of a cult that I made necesitated a sense of shared identity with the traditional religion, which is not present in the Baha'i faith. This is why it is a separate religion and not a cult.
In my next post, I will be discussing the Ahmadiyya faith and how rationalist movements within Islam can affect the development of cults. Thanks for reading!