Scholars have not reached a consensus on whether religious groups help induce contentious collective action or help keep social peace and stability. As such three main points are often disagreed on.

1. Do religious doctrines and values make religious groups more or less likely to participate and lunch collective contention? 
2.  Do religious groups reflect and/or reinforce politically-relevant divisions that could affect which party or government group is in charge (possible regime change)?
3. Do religious groups' organizational structures facilitate or prevent contentious collective action?

Religions: Contentious Collective Action

Contentious Collective action is when a group of like-minded individuals are working together to achieve a goal. The goal of the group or the process used to achieve their goal is contentious, controversial, or argumentative. 

Albion College

Collective action is the actions/behaviors of a group of individuals working towards the same goal or common objective. The individuals tend to be like-minded in the way that they believe that the completion of their goal(s) will make their life better.

Collective Action

Tao, Y. Agitators, Tranquilizers, or Something Else: Do Religious Groups Increase or Decrease Contentious Collective Action?. Religions 2018, 9(7), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9070213.
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/7/213


Agitators, Tranquilizers, or Something Else: Do Religious Groups Increase or Decrease Contentious Collective Action?

Social Movement is the collective action of a group of like-minded individuals and/or organizations. The group tends to be closely organized and is focused on creating change according to their ideals. A majority of famous social movements have been focused on creating change and a better place for those who have been marginalized or mistreated.  

Social Movement

Social change is the process in which structures  and features in government change as a result of social movements 

Social change

1. Relative deprivation theory (RDT)
    - perceptions and emotions of group-based injustice
2. Social identity theory (SIT)
    - (politicized) social identification
3. Instrumental cost-benefit analysis
    -  instrumental cost-benefit expectations of available resources 

Collective action theories 

When discussing collective action the low-status group is defined as the group that is at a disadvantage because of the social, political, structural, etc. systems set up and maintained by those who are in the high-status group that discriminates because of a select characteristic.

1. the low-status group needs to have a sense of psychological collective empowerment as that helps elevate the feelings/idea that they can create change. This helps motivate individuals to participate in collective action.


Collective action: Low-status groups

 The high-status group is those who are not disadvantaged as they do not have the negative characteristics.


  -Those who belong to the high-status group tend to engage in oppressive acts. These acts can be something like perpetuating stereotypes, ignoring prejudice, minimizing impact. etc. Members of the high-status group engage in these acts because the acts are normalized through exposure as well as encouraged by other members.


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