DOBSON, CHARLES. Social Movements: A summary of what works. The Citizen's Handbook: A Guide to Building Community in Vancouver.
Religious beliefs, rituals, and institutions provide rich sources of inspiration for the advancement of social and political movements. What makes religion different from other sources of motivation for social movements? Just how do religious phenomena affect resource mobilization, framing, and political processes and opportunities of social movements and their participants?
“A social movement is a loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society's structure or values. Although social movements differ in size, they are all essentially collective. That is, they result from the more or less spontaneous coming together of people whose relationships are not defined by rules and procedures but who merely share a common outlook on society.”
"Social Movement." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
But is the initiation of a social movement necessarily spontaneous? What is the role of charismatic instigators (of which spiritual leaders are by definition) in inciting civil unrest and mobilizing their constituencies? Perhaps this "common outlook on society" is defined by a specific religion? And religion must facilitate social movements because it provides the collective-- people belong to a certain institution or organization and there is an existing social network of similar minded people with similiar goals (perhaps these goals are defined by the charismatic leader?) who are the existing collective. In Amsterdam, who are the charismatic leaders able to unite and mobilize the collective? For what "social goals?" And who constitutes the "collective" in each instance?
“Religion has long played a central role in many social and political movements. Solidarity in Poland, anti-apartheid in South Africa, Operation Rescue in the United States--each of these movements is driven by the energy and sustained by the commitment of many individuals and organizations whose ideologies are shaped and powered by religious faith. In many cases, religious resources and motives serve as crucial variables explaining the emergence of entire social movements.”
SMITH, C. (1996). Disruptive religion: the force of faith in social-movement activism. New York, Routledge.
World Concern: a Christian humanitarian organization with disaster relief and sustainable development programs in 32 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. We serve the last, the least, and the lost-- people in the displaced person camps of Sudan, people caught in the midst of political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe, those suffering under the military junta in Myanmar... I began working for this organization after hearing a sermon (given by a charismatic church leader) emphasizing Matthew 25:40, "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" The power of religious beliefs is reflected in the proliferation of religiously-motivated non-profits across the world. There are entire social movements-- in this case humanitarian work-- initiated and developed by religious beliefs and institutions. What social movements are inspired by individuals and religious communities in Amsterdam? What behaviors do religious leaders and religious texts encourage? Do religious leaders endorse political leaders? How do they create an atmosphere in which certain phenomena-- for instance, compassion, service, intolerance, hate--flourish? How do they mobilize people towards broader social movements-- what role do religious institutions have in the immigration debate? In fostering intracultural understanding or in creating divisions?
"Mr. Hagee is not a fringe kook but the pastor of a Texas megachurch. On Feb. 27, he stood with John McCain and endorsed him over the religious conservatives’ favorite, Mike Huckabee, who was then still in the race."
Rich, Frank. 4 May 2008. The All-White Elephant in the Room. New York Times.
What effect does this have on McCain's candidacy? This church has one of the largest congregations in the world-- and Hagee has just mobilized the majority of it to vote for McCain....Look at the US evangelical Christian leaders who have inspired and furthered a social movement of conservative Christian values (abortion, gay marriage, etc.) and tied it to a larger political movement? How has this manifested itself in Amsterdam?
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