Synopses & Reviews
Over the last several years, the scholarly interest in New Religious Movements has grown exponentially. The general public, however, tends to hear about New Religious Movements only when there has been a tragedy, such as the burning of the Branch Davidians' compound in Waco or the Heaven's Gate suicide. The press then lavishes attention on these groups, writing melodramatic stories that play up the oddness of their beliefs and behaviors. This volume offers a scholarly, dispassionate look at those groups that have generated the most controversy. The groups covered are: The Family Unification Church People's Temple Branch Davidians ISKCON (Hare Krishnas) Osho Rajneesh Soka Gakkai Aum Shunrikyo Falun Gong Aumism Scientology Theosophy Order of the Solar Temple Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness Heaven's Gate Raelians White Racist Religions Satanism Each essay provides not only an overview of the history and beliefs of each organization or movement, but also analysis that makes an original contribution to the field. This book will be an invaluable resource for all those who seek a view of New Religions that is deeper than what can be found in sensationalistic newspaper stories or on the six o'clock news.
Review
"This book will be a valuable to scholars and students of American religion, sociology, and psychology of religion, and emergent religions--both as a reference work and as an analytic model." --Choice
Synopsis
This book complements Lewis's O xford Handbook of New Religious Movements. The former provides an overview of the state of the field. This volume collects papers on those specific New Religious Movements (NRMs) that have generated the most scholarly attention. With few exceptions, these organizations are also the controversial groups that have attracted the attention of the mass media, often because they have been involved in, or accused of, violent or anti-social activities. Among the movements to be profiled are such groups as the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, Solar Temple, Scientology, Falun Gong and many more. The book will function as a reference for scholars, as a text for courses in NRMs, and will also appeal to non-specialists including reporters, law enforcement, public policy makers, and others.
Synopsis
This book complements Lewis's O xford Handbook of New Religious Movements. The former provides an overview of the state of the field. This volume collects papers on those specific New Religious Movements (NRMs) that have generated the most scholarly attention. With few exceptions, these organizations are also the controversial groups that have attracted the attention of the mass media, often because they have been involved in, or accused of, violent or anti-social activities. Among the movements to be profiled are such groups as the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, Solar Temple, Scientology, Falun Gong and many more. The book will function as a reference for scholars, as a text for courses in NRMs, and will also appeal to non-specialists including reporters, law enforcement, public policy makers, and others.
About the Author
James R. Lewis is Associate Professor of Religion, University of Tromso, Norway.