Cults, religion, and violence / edited by David G. Bromley, J. Gordon Melton.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bromley, David G., editor.

Melton, J. Gordon, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Violence--Religious aspects.

Violence.

Cults.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 249 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Cults, Religion, & Violence

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Summary:

This explores the question of when and why violence by and against new religious cults erupts and whether and how such dramatic conflicts can be foreseen, managed and averted. The authors, leading international experts on religious movements and violent behavior, focus on the four major episodes of cult violence during the last decade: the tragic conflagration that engulfed the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo in Tokyo; the murder-suicides by the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Canada; and the collective suicide by the members of Heaven's Gate. They explore the dynamics leading to these dramatic episodes in North America, Europe, and Asia, and offer insights into the general relationship between violence and religious cults in contemporary society. The authors conclude that these events usually involve some combination of internal and external dynamics through which a new religious movement and society become polarized.

Contents:

Violence and religion in perspective / David G. Bromley and J. Gordon Melton

Dramatic denouements / David G. Bromley

Challenging misconceptions about the new religions-violence connection / J. Gordon Melton and David G. Bromley

Sources of volatility in religious movements / Thomas Robbins

Crises of charismatic legitimacy and violent behavior in new religious movements / Lorne L. Dawson

Public agency involvement in government-religious movement confrontations / Stuart A. Wright

Watching for violence: a comparative analysis of the roles of five types of cult-watching groups / Eileen Barker

Mass suicide and the Branch Davidians / John R. Hall

Occult masters and the Temple of Doom: the fiery end of the Solar Temple / Massimo Introvigne and Jean-François Mayer

Dramatic confrontations: Aum Shinrikyô against the world / Ian Reader

Making sense of the Heaven's Gate suicides / Robert W. Balch and David Taylor

Lessons from the past, perspective for the future / J. Gordon Melton and David G. Bromley.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780511086861

0511086865

9781107117884

1107117887

9781280420801

1280420804

9780511176418

0511176414

9780511048579

0511048572

9780511157233

0511157231

9780511304415

0511304412

9780511499326

0511499329

9780511040610

051104061X

OCLC:

475917291

Publisher Number:

2027/heb30672 hdl