by
Ted Daniels, Ph.D.
Electronic version copyright © Ted Daniels 1997. All rights reserved
Originally published in Millennialism: An International Bibliography
by Garland Publishing New York, 1992. Reproduced here by permission.
URL for this article is http://www.
11. Allan, Graham. "A Theory of Millennialism: The Irvingite Movement as an Illustration." British Journal of Sociology 25, 1974: 296-311.
This was a middle-class millenarianism [hence inherently anomalous, at least in terms of relative deprivation theory]. Relative deprivation is helpful at least in its insistence on an emic point of view. As opposed to Aberle (1962: see item 2), Allan says millennialists experience a lack of total worth, a radical denial of their validating way of life, in which common sense and their world-order are overthrown both at the level of the individual "mazeway" (see item 711) and of the social group's moral order. Millennialism is one result of people trying to make sense of relative deprivation. The new paradigm must include elements of the old [obviously; when has one not? If, inconceivably, it didn't, it would lack authenticity]. The imminence of the millennium is (where the idea of the millennium is traditional) a sort of last resort on the face of ultimate cultural threats. Millennialisms are never illusions but attempts to solve problems in traditional terms; millennialism is a choice where (say) political consciousness is low. The type of millennialism developed depends on the tradition, the specific situation, the individual character of the prophet, and his knowledge and perceptions.
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