The Future of New Religious Movements

The Future of New Religious Movements PDF Author: David G. Bromley
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780865542389
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description

The Future of New Religious Movements

The Future of New Religious Movements PDF Author: David G. Bromley
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780865542389
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description


The Future of New Religious Movements

The Future of New Religious Movements PDF Author: David G. Bromley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description


A Historical Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements

A Historical Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements PDF Author: W. Michael Ashcraft
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351670832
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
The American public’s perception of New Religious Movements (NRMs) as fundamentally harmful cults stems from the "anticult" movement of the 1970s, which gave a sometimes hysterical and often distorted image of NRMs to the media. At the same time, academics pioneered a new field, studying these same NRMs from sociological and historical perspectives. They offered an interpretation that ran counter to that of the anticult movement. For these scholars in the new field of NRM studies, NRMs were legitimate religions deserving of those freedoms granted to established religions. Those scholars in NRM studies continued to evolve methods and theories to study NRMs. This book tells their story. Each chapter begins with a biography of a key person involved in studying NRMs. The narrative unfolds chronologically, beginning with late nineteenth- and early-twentieth century perceptions of religions alternative to the mainstream. Then the focus shifts to those early efforts, in the 1960s and 1970s, to comprehend the growing phenomena of cults or NRMs using the tools of academic disciplines. The book’s midpoint is a chapter that looks closely at the scholarship of the anticult movement, and from there moves forward in time to the present, highlighting themes in the study of NRMs like violence, gender, and reflexive ethnography. No other book has used the scholars of NRMs as the focus for a study in this way. The material in this volume is, therefore, a fascinating viewpoint from which to explore the origins of this vibrant academic community, as well as analyse the practice of Religious Studies more generally.

Cults in Context

Cults in Context PDF Author: Lorne Dawson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135152464X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
In the face of the increasingly variegated ideological landscape of contemporary America, cults have become the focus of public controversy. The growth of new religions has been matched by the development of an organized and vocal opposition, the anti-cult movement. This in turn has prompted an extensive investigation of new religious movements (NRMs) by sociologists and psychologists of religion, as well as historians and religious studies scholars. The readings collected here contribute to the debate about cults by sampling some of the best and most accessible publications from the academic study of NRMs.The contributors address the questions most commonly asked about cults, such as: What brought about the emergence of new religious movements? What is a cult or new religious movement? Who joins new religious movements and why? Are converts to new religious movements brainwashed? Why did the Jonestown and Waco tragedies happen? Are cults inclined to be violent? What does the emergence of so many new religious movements say about our society? What does it say about the future of religion?Cults in Context surveys the descriptive typologies, theories, and data accumulated by sociologists and psychologists studying new religious movements over the last twenty years. It serves to defuse many popular fears and misconceptions about cults, allowing the reader to develop a more reasonable and tolerant understanding of the people who join new religious movements and the functions of these movements in contemporary society.

The Future of Religion

The Future of Religion PDF Author: Rodney Stark
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520341341
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 579

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Book Description
Religion is alive and well in the modern world, and the social-scientific study of religion is undergoing a renaissance. For much of this century, respected social theorists predicted the death of religion as inevitable consequence of science, education, and modern economics. But they were wrong. Stark and Bainbridge set out to explain the survival of religion. Using information derived from numerous surveys, censuses, historical case studies, and ethnographic field expeditions, they chart the full sweep of contemporary religion from the traditional denominations to the most fervent cults. This wealth of information is located within a coherent theoretical framework that examines religion as a social response to human needs, both the general needs shared by all and the desires specific to those who are denied the economic rewards or prestige enjoyed by the privileged. By explaining the forms taken by religions today, Stark and Bainbridge allow us to understand its persistence in a secular age and its prospects for the future,

The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements

The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements PDF Author: George D. Chryssides
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441198296
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements covers key themes such as charismatic leadership, conversion and brainwashing, prophecy and millennialism, violence and suicide, gender and sexuality, legal issues, and the portrayal of New Religious Movements by the media and anti-cult organisations. Several categories of new religions receive special attention, including African new religions, Japanese new religions, Mormons, and UFO religions. This guide to New Religious Movements and their critical study brings together 29 world-class international scholars, and serves as a resource to students and researchers. The volume highlights the current state of academic study in the field, and explores areas in which future research might develop. Clearly and accessibly organised to help users quickly locate key information and analysis, the book includes an A to Z of key terms, extensive guides to further resources, a comprehensive bibliography, and a timeline of major developments in the field such as the emergence of new groups, publications, legal decisions, and historical events.

New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century

New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century PDF Author: Phillip Charles Lucas
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135889023
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
New Religious Movements in the 21st Century is the first volume to examine the urgent and important issues facing new religions in their political, legal and religious contexts in global perspective. With essays from prominent NRM scholars and usefully organized into four regional areas covering Western Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, Russia and Eastern Europe, and North and South America, as well as a concluding section on the major themes of globalization and terrorist violence, this book provides invaluable insight into the challenges facing religion in the twenty-first century. An introduction by Tom Robbins provides an overview of the major issues and themes discussed in the book.

Visioning New and Minority Religions

Visioning New and Minority Religions PDF Author: Eugene V. Gallagher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315317885
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Rather than being ephemeral fads, new religious movements (NRMs) have always been and will always be with us. So will their study. Offering an assessment of the state-of-the-field of the study of NRMs, Visioning New and Minority Religions begins by considering the analytical tools for the study of new or minority religions, drawing on the perspectives of diverse academic disciplines. The second part focuses on individual groups in a variety of geographical settings. Chapters in this section review the histories of particular groups in order to extrapolate future developments. They cover new religions that have persisted well past the first generation, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Christian Scientists, and groups with comparatively shorter histories, such as various forms of contemporary Paganism, Soka Gakkai, and the Diamond Way Buddhist group. This volume will be of interest to scholars from across religious studies and sociology, as well as members of new and minority religious groups and those in "cult watching" groups.

Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements

Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements PDF Author: Lukas Pokorny
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004362975
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 634

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Book Description
The Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements is the first comprehensive reference work to explore major new religious actors and trajectories of the East Asian region (China/Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam).

The Sociology of Religious Movements

The Sociology of Religious Movements PDF Author: William Sims Bainbridge
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415912020
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
The Sociology of Religious Movements represents the culmination of the work begun in the award-winning The Future of Religion and A Theory of Religion, and explains religious movements in the context of political, cultural and social movements.