Table of Contents
Definition of Religious Movement
(noun) A social movement that promotes spirituality in individuals or groups.
Religious Movement Pronunciation
Syllabification: re·li·gious move·ment
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /ri-lIj-uhs mOOv-muhnt/
- British English – /ri-lIj-uhs mOOv-muhnt/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /rɪˈlɪʤəs ˈmuvmənt/
- British English – /rɪˈlɪʤəs ˈmuːvmənt/
Usage Notes
- Plural: religious movements
- The terms “religious movement” and “religious social movement” are used interchangeably in a sociological context.
- Other social movements studied in social movement theory include:
Additional Information
- Religion Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “religious” and “movement” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Quotation
- “Examples of countercultures include the beatniks of the 1950s, the flower children of the 1960s, the drug enthusiasts of the 1970s, and members of nonmainstream religious sects, or cults. Some countercultures such as the Ku Klux Klan, militias, neo-Nazi skinheads, and the Nation of Islam engage in revolutionary political activities” (Kendall 2006:61).
Related Terms
- cosmology
- individual
- mythology
- new social movement theory
- prognostic framing
- religion
- resource mobilization theory
- social action
- social change
Reference
Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Religious Movement
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “religious movement.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved February 9, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/religious-movement/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
religious movement. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/religious-movement/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “religious movement.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/religious-movement/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“religious movement.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/religious-movement/>.