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Author: James R. Lewis
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 161592762X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 682
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Book Description
In the late 1980s, the New Age movement became the focus of both media attention and widespread ridicule as some of the more outlandish aspects of the movement, such as channeling and the use of crystals for healing, briefly piqued the public''s curiosity. While the movement was at its height, scholars of religion generally sneered at what was perceived to be a daffy, shallow craze, and ignored it as a subject of serious study. Professor James R. Lewis was among the first to examine this growing religious phenomenon scientifically. In previous books, he has investigated the New Age as the most visible manifestation of a significant spiritual subculture, the roots of which reach back to Theosophy, Spiritualism, and New Thought. The present collection pursues this theme, bringing together some of the best recent scholarship on new religions.Since the height of its popular influence the New Age has declined in strength but has given rise to a plethora of new denominations all shaped by New Age ideas and spirituality. Reflecting the emergence of this new denominational structure, the core chapters of this book focus on specific groups. Other chapters examine the movement''s historical roots. A unique feature of Dr. Lewis''s work is his inclusion of extensive selections from New Age literature, thus allowing readers to experience firsthand the unusual perspectives of the various groups.This is a fascinating examination of a significant and persistent religious and social phenomenon.
Author: James R. Lewis
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 161592762X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 682
Get Book Here
Book Description
In the late 1980s, the New Age movement became the focus of both media attention and widespread ridicule as some of the more outlandish aspects of the movement, such as channeling and the use of crystals for healing, briefly piqued the public''s curiosity. While the movement was at its height, scholars of religion generally sneered at what was perceived to be a daffy, shallow craze, and ignored it as a subject of serious study. Professor James R. Lewis was among the first to examine this growing religious phenomenon scientifically. In previous books, he has investigated the New Age as the most visible manifestation of a significant spiritual subculture, the roots of which reach back to Theosophy, Spiritualism, and New Thought. The present collection pursues this theme, bringing together some of the best recent scholarship on new religions.Since the height of its popular influence the New Age has declined in strength but has given rise to a plethora of new denominations all shaped by New Age ideas and spirituality. Reflecting the emergence of this new denominational structure, the core chapters of this book focus on specific groups. Other chapters examine the movement''s historical roots. A unique feature of Dr. Lewis''s work is his inclusion of extensive selections from New Age literature, thus allowing readers to experience firsthand the unusual perspectives of the various groups.This is a fascinating examination of a significant and persistent religious and social phenomenon.
Author: Joel Beversluis
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1577313321
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 458
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Book Description
Now in its third edition, this is the most comprehensive work available on the rich variety of paths available to today's spiritual seekers. More than an academic reference, it explores how religions can collaborate to help the world. Essays exploring the realm of building an interfaith community add to the book's detailed portraits of the major religious traditions. The Sourcebook also contains essays on spiritual practices as diverse as theosophy, wicca, and indigenous religions. This revised edition of the Sourcebook offers an unparalleled look at where spirituality is headed in the coming millennium.
Author: Daren Kemp
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004153551
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 495
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Book Description
The "Handbook of New Age" is a comprehensive survey of alternative spiritualities: their history, their global impact, their cultural influence and how they are understood by scholars. Chapters by many of the leading scholars of the movement give the latest analysis of contemporary spiritual trends, and present up-to-date observations of the interaction between the New Age movement and many different fields of knowledge and research.
Author: James R. Lewis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 542
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Book Description
The macabre mass suicide by adherents of the Heaven's Gate Cult in 1997 was shocking and difficult to comprehend for most outsiders. Their bizarre mindset, which mixed New Age religion with belief in extraterrestrial visitation, struck many as unique. In fact, as the contributors to this intriguing study show, the belief in alien contact has had religious overtones since the first purported sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) in 1947. Moreover, the religious dimensions of the UFO phenomenon may be the key to understanding the widespread appeal of this modern craze. An expert in new religions, Professor James Lewis has here brought together twenty insightful articles that cover the many variations of UFO-based religions. What the contributors demonstrate is that there are persistent and salient themes underlying the diversity of beliefs centered on the UFO phenomenon. Hearkening back to theosophy, many groups have interpreted UFO sightings and alleged contacts as attempts by alien ambassadors from a more advanced civilization to bring spiritual enlightenment to Earth, where humanity is seen to be floundering in ignorance. The extraterrestrial message is usually channeled through a charismatic human leader, who then mobilizes a group around this New Age "revelation." The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions discusses the histories and beliefs of prominent UFO-based sects; looks at group dynamics and other sociological factors; and presents selections from the unusual literature of the various groups. This revealing and disturbing study shows that there is much more to the UFO phenomenon than simple curiosity about the possibility of life on other planets.
Author: William M. Ashcraft
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313050783
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1500
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Book Description
Most new or alternative religious are gravely misunderstood by members of the religious mainstream. Labeled cults or sects, groups and their members are often ridiculed or otherwise disregarded as weird and potentially dangerous by the populace at large. Despite their efforts at educating the general public, the various anti- and counter-cult activists have in fact promoted much more mis-understanding than accurate understanding of the religious lives of some of their fellow citizens. Consequently, they have helped to create a very hostile environment for anyone whose religious practices do not fit within a so-called mainstream. This set rectifies the situation by presenting accurate, comprehensive, authoritative and accessible accounts of various new and alternative religious movements that have been and are active in American society, and it addresses ways of understanding new and alternative religions within a broader context. Determining what actually constitutes a new or alternative religion is a subject of constant debate. Questions arise as to a new faith's legitimacy, beliefs, methods of conversion, and other facets of a religious movement's viability and place in a given culture. How a religion gains recognition by the mainstream, which often labels such new movements as cults, is fraught with difficulty, tension, and fear. Here, experts delineate the boundaries and examine the various groups, beliefs, movements, and other issues related to new faiths and alternative beliefs. Readers will come away with a fuller understanding of the religious landscape in America today. Volume 1: History and Controversies discusses the foundations of new and alternative religions in the United States and addresses the controversies that surround them. This volume helps readers better understand what makes a new or alternative belief system a religion and the issues involved. Volume 2: Jewish and Christian Traditions explores the various new religions that have grown out of these two Abrahamic faiths. Groups such as the Shakers, the People's Temple, the Branch Davidians, Jehovah's Witnesses and others are examined. Volume 3: Metaphysical, New Age, and Neopagan Movements looks at Shamanism, Spiritualism, Wicca, and Paganism, among other movements, as they have developed and grown in the U.S. These faiths have found new and devoted followers yet are often misunderstood. Volume 4: Asian Traditions focuses on those new and alternative religions that have been inspired by Asian religious traditions. From Baha'i to Soka Gakkai, from Adidam to the Vedanta Society, contributors look at a full range of groups practicing and worshiping in the U.S. today. Volume 5: African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations examines the various traditions linked to the African diaspora such as Rastafarianism, Santeria, and the Nation of Islam, alongside traditions that are truly American incarnations like Scientology, UFO religions, and Heaven's Gate. Some of the new and alternative religions covered in these pages include: ; Shamanism ; Wicca ; Black Israelites ; Santeria ; Scientology ; Elan Vital ; Hare Krishna ; Soka Gakkai ; and many more
Author: Stef Aupers
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004184511
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 286
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Book Description
Religions of Modernity challenges the social-scientific orthodoxy that, once unleashed, the modern forces of individualism, science and technology inevitably erode the sacred and evoke the profane. The book's chapters, some by established scholars, others by junior researchers, document instead in rich empirical detail how modernity relocates the sacred to the deeper layers of the self and the domain of digital technology. Rather than destroying the sacred tout court, then, the cultural logic of modernization spawns its own religious meanings, unacknowledged spiritualities and magical enchantments. The editors argue in the introductory chapter that the classical theoretical accounts of modernity by Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and others already hinted at the future emergence of these religions of modernity
Author: Janet Bishop
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520391969
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 139
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Book Description
"This exhibition catalog accompanies a retrospective exhibition of prolific San Francisco-born painter Joan Brown (1938-1990), the first significant survey of her work in more than twenty years. Joan Brown charts the turns and devotions of a vision that was once dismissed by critics as unserious but was in fact rooted firmly in research and impassioned curiosity that remains uniquely compelling today. Deeply embedded in the Bay Area art scene, Brown drew inspiration from many sources to create a charmingly offbeat body of work that merges autobiography, fantasy, and whimsy with weightier metaphysical and spiritual imagery and themes. Featuring texts by curators Janet Bishop and Nancy Lim as well as essays by Solomon Adler, Marci Kwon, and Helen Molesworth, this lavishly illustrated book establishes Brown's relationship to the self and family, to art history, and to her wider artistic community, while examining the unique materiality of her paintings and exploring her singular vision. In addition, select Brown works will be paired with commentaries by contemporary artists ranging from friends and peers, such as Ron Nagle, to younger artists inspired by her work, such as Woody De Othello"--
Author: Christopher Partridge
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135251592
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 395
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Book Description
The spectre of the UFO, as popularized by shows such as The X-Files, has brought an astonishing slant to the face of modern religious practice. But what motivates the fantastical and sometimes sinister beliefs of UFO worshippers? UFO Religions critically examines some of the fascinating issues surrounding UFO worship - abduction narratives, UFO-based interpretations of other religions, the growth of pseudo-sciences purporting to explain UFOs, and the responses of the core scientific community to such claims. Focusing on contemporary global UFO groups including the Raelian Movement, Heaven's Gate, Unarius and the Ansaaru Allah Community, it gives a clear profile of modern UFO controversies and beliefs.
Author: Jeffrey Brodd
Publisher: Saint Mary's Press
ISBN: 0884898474
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 250
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Book Description
Primary Source Readings in World Religions provides your students with the opportunity to read foundational texts from the major world religions. Through understanding other religions we can create an atmosphere of genuine respect and honest discussion. In doing this we can respond to the invitation Pope Benedict XVI extended to all of us when he said, "I encourage all religious groups in America to persevere in their collaboration and thus enrich public life with the spiritual values that motivate your action in the world" (from Benedict XVI; Meeting with Representatives of Other Religions.) In Primary Source Readings in World Religions you will find portions of the foundational texts and teachings of a wide variety of world religions, including Islam, Shinto, Confucianism, Sikhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, and Buddhism.>
Author: Catherine Wessinger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190611944
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 764
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Book Description
Seventh-Day Adventists, Melanesian cargo cults, David Koresh's Branch Davidians, and the Raelian UFO religion would seem to have little in common. What these groups share, however, is a millennial orientation-the audacious human hope for a collective salvation, which may be either heavenly or earthly. The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism offers readers an in-depth look at both the theoretical underpinnings of the study of millennialism and its many manifestations across history and cultures.
