This article reports original research conducted among animal rights activists and elites in Switzerland and the United States, and the nding that activism functioned in activists’ and elites’ lives like religious belief. The study used reference sampling to select Swiss and American informants.Various articles and activists have identied both latent and manifest quasi-religious compo- nents in the contemporary movement. Hence, the research followed upon these data and anecdotes and tested the role of activism in adherents’ lives. Using extensive interviews, the research discovered that activists and elites conform to the ve necessary components of Yinger’s denition of functional religion: intense and memorable conversion experiences, newfound communities of meaning, normative creeds, elaborate and well-dened codes of behavior, and cult formation. The article elaborates on that schema in the context of animal rights belief, elucidates the deeply meaningful role of activism within a ligree of meaning, and concludes that the movement is facing schismatic forces not dissimilar to redemptive and religious movements KEYWORDS: animal rights, activism, religion, belief animalsplatform.org/assets/library/422_s835.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 15:11:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015