The Role of Religious Organizations in Social Movements

This collection of essays analyzes the impact of religious organizations on social movements in the United States. The contributors detail religious support for political sanctuary, gay and lesbian rights, peace, and moral majority themes, emphasizing how religious institutions help communicate the core ideas of these movements. Among their findings: religious organizations become significant communication vehicles for certain movements whose ideologies are consistent with their religious tenets. Drawing from cultural pluralism and communications theory, these essays focus on communications networks and how they facilitate the spread of core ideas of social movements. Two questions are examined: why do religious organizations become involved in particular social movements?; and what are the implications of this involvement? The authors find that movements experience a significant increase in legitimacy and endurance when they are supported by the communications resources of religious groups. This book is valuable to scholars of social movements, government and religion.