One of the reasons why people join new religious movements is because they offer new forms of liberation that are unavailable to them in the mainstream. Those who are outsiders to these groups claim that these groups rob people of their freedom. New religious movements have appealed to and freighted people for centuries. The Oneida Community was a controversial religious group. The group was a communitarian society that was founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848. This community was controversial due to the practice of “complex marriage”. Unlike other communitarian groups during this time, such as the Shakers, with their commitment to celibacy, sexual activity was encouraged in the Oneida Community. The practice of complex marriage was “an alternative
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This apocalyptic group was originally named the Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, and was founded by Charles Taze Russell in 1870. Russell believed that “the true Christian church needed to witness God’s plan to all who would listen, offering them the opportunity to survive the Endtimes and even be raptured to Heaven preceding them” (Ashcraft and Daschke 280). After Russell died in 1916, Joseph Rutherford took on the leadership role and changed the name of the group to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rutherford placed a bigger emphasis on proselytizing to nonbelievers and focused on door-to-door evangelism. Additionally, Rutherford instituted new practices that set the Witnesses apart from mainstream society. For example, members do not celebrate Christian holidays including Christmas and Easter, and they do not celebrate birthdays, as these celebrations are liked to Paganism. Witness are also not allowed to receive blood transfusions, salute the flag, participate in jury duty, or serve in the military. Members only serve one government, the kingdom of God. These practices are clearly different from mainstream society, and has been met with ridicule from outsiders. However, these practices and beliefs have attracted many followers who are looking to liberate from mainstream society as the Witnesses have “more than five million members in about 232 countries and continues to grow” (Ashcraft and Daschke 282). The Jehovah’s Witnesses are another new religious movement that attracts new followers who are looking for new forms of liberation, but also has its
This apocalyptic group was originally named the Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, and was founded by Charles Taze Russell in 1870. Russell believed that “the true Christian church needed to witness God’s plan to all who would listen, offering them the opportunity to survive the Endtimes and even be raptured to Heaven preceding them” (Ashcraft and Daschke 280). After Russell died in 1916, Joseph Rutherford took on the leadership role and changed the name of the group to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rutherford placed a bigger emphasis on proselytizing to nonbelievers and focused on door-to-door evangelism. Additionally, Rutherford instituted new practices that set the Witnesses apart from mainstream society. For example, members do not celebrate Christian holidays including Christmas and Easter, and they do not celebrate birthdays, as these celebrations are liked to Paganism. Witness are also not allowed to receive blood transfusions, salute the flag, participate in jury duty, or serve in the military. Members only serve one government, the kingdom of God. These practices are clearly different from mainstream society, and has been met with ridicule from outsiders. However, these practices and beliefs have attracted many followers who are looking to liberate from mainstream society as the Witnesses have “more than five million members in about 232 countries and continues to grow” (Ashcraft and Daschke 282). The Jehovah’s Witnesses are another new religious movement that attracts new followers who are looking for new forms of liberation, but also has its