SOCIAL PROCESSES IN THE RISE OF CELL-GROUPS" IN SINGAPORE CHURCHES"

Abstract

In this academic exercise, I will endeavour to study the political action behind the institutionalization of a new structure, namely the "cell group" phenomena into a "traditional" church (Church A) which inevitably, will be at odds with the status quo. According to Shibutani (1986: p349), “any change is made at someone's expense .... people will have to change some of their habits." However, I will argue that not only will habits have to change, but the social movement calls for the whole transfer of leadership and power, and even bringing about structural and normative changes. In my study, I will attempt to draw mainly on Blumer's (1967) conception of "social unrest" and his mechanism of social movement growth and organization to help reveal the phases of political action involved. I will also draw on Carden's (1986) conception of factors that influence organization willingness towards social movements to analyze the features of Church A. A single-case study design was used for the research. The "complete participant" field research method was conducted for the main case - Church A. Three other churches were chosen to substantiate the data from Church A.