Religion and Political Involvement

A Study of Black African Sects

Bibliographic Data

ID2512846
AuthorsRobert J Janosik (corresponding author)
Year1974
Volume13
Issue2
Pages161
Publication date1974-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8294 • E-ISSN: 1468-5906
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1384377
OpenAlexW2322153042
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

Although scholars have assigned an important role to religious organizations in the modernization and development process, they have paid far more attention to the role played by such secular organizations as trade unions and fraternal organizations. This study represents an effort to utilize some of the tools traditionally applied by political scientists in studies of secular organizations to deal analytically with the part religious organizations play in modernization. Specifically, it is an attempt to account for the greater political interest and activity shown by religious sects among the Kikuyu tribe than by sects among the Zulu, a tribe whose milieu during the first half of this century has been similar to that of the Kikuyu. An examination of the development of sects in these tribes suggest that commitment to ideological purity is a key variable in explaining variations in the degree of sectarian political activities. The cases also suggest three major factors which may explain a sect's long-term efforts to preserve its ideological purity: (1) the degree of bureaucratization, (2) the degree to which recruitment is open, and (3) the emphasis its founders place on one or more local customs as the justification for the sect's existence

Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies