What makes a religion "organized?"

[psychoslice]

To me personally I think what makes a religion organized is when it makes its members think alike, without allowing them to think for themselves, and also making them adhere to a set of rules made by the organization, well that's how I see it.

 

[Taylor Seraphim]

To me personally I think what makes a religion organized is when it makes its members think alike, without allowing them to think for themselves, and also making them adhere to a set of rules made by the organization, well that's how I see it.

So I take it you are referring to the Abrahamic religions?

 

[psychoslice]

So I take it you are referring to the Abrahamic religions?

Well it can be any religion or organization, just take your pick.

 

[Taylor Seraphim]

Well it can be any religion or organization, just take your pick.

Well it seems to me that many non-Abrahamic religions do wish for free-thinking.

 

[arthra]

What elements are characteristic of an "organized religion" to you? What about an "unorganized religion?" Looking at the criteria you've created, what religions do you perceive as relatively organized versus relatively disorganized, and why?

At certain stages I believe most religions we are aware of started relatively "unorganized"... There was no "organization" when Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation on Mount Hira... Maybe in the sense that He was commanded by God to recite.. or "read"! When the Buddha was under the Bo tree meditating there was no organization and so on... In time as the revelation is taught then teachers are called on to spread the truths of the religion. Scribes are required to record the revelation. Eventually some order is adopted to represent the new faith in the society and followers adopt certain rules and ordinances.

Of course if the revelations were never recorded..and no body teaches the faith..It remains unknown.

It's also true that organized religion gets a "bad" name for being too organized in time..so vast tomes of laws and council decisions must be preserved and deferred to. A new revelation will then burst on the scene to restore some of the vital initial revelations and upset the more redundant old guard.

 

[psychoslice]

Well it seems to me that many non-Abrahamic religions do wish for free-thinking.

Well that is good news, and good on them for doing so, its sad that many more don't take a leaf out of their book.

 

[Sunstone]

I would think a religion becomes organized when it (1) becomes hierarchical with an unequal distribution of power and authority favoring the upper reaches of the hierarchy. Further evidence of organization might be (2) there exists an assigned division of labor among the adherents.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I associate organisations primarily with hierarchy and purpose.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

To expand on that, might we might say "organized religion" is necessarily a reference to community? I've heard some folks say that for something to be called a religion, it must have more than one member, and in that sense, all religions must be in some sense organized, even if loosely...

yeah, I think I'd go along with that

 

[Sunstone]

To expand on that, might we might say "organized religion" is necessarily a reference to community? I've heard some folks say that for something to be called a religion, it must have more than one member, and in that sense, all religions must be in some sense organized, even if loosely...

Personally I cannot accept as useful a definition of "organized religion" that would put the traditional Lakota religion in the same category as Catholicism. Indeed, I would find such a definition worse than useless -- actually, misleading.

 

[Quintessence]

Not at all. If there are required intermediaries between you and the highest goal, whatever that may be, in that religion, then I call that an organized religion. The highest goal can be a deity, its heaven, nibbana, union with Brahman, acquisition of magickal powers, etc.

If the religion does not require you to approach that highest goal through intermediaries, and instead allows you to approach it on your own, then I consider that an unorganized religion.

Huh. I've never thought about it this way. One thing I'm learning in this topic is that there are so many more different ways of defining what "organized" means in the context of religion than I thought. It means I should ask what the person means by that every single time!

Seems to me that the primary difference is size. Organised religion has some form of standardisation.coordination beyond the local level.

I almost wonder if "regional religion" would be a better term for that? Or rather a set of terms: local religion, regional religion, national religion, and world religion. Though that term "world religion" carries other meanings...

 

[john_c]

You make religion organized.

 

[Jiddanand]

The people who follow up with the Religions make them organized.