New religious movements : challenge and response / edited by Bryan Wilson and Jamie Cresswell.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wilson, Bryan R.

Cresswell, Jamie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religions.

Cults.

Sects.

Physical Description:

xviii, 284 p.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

New Religious Movements: Challenge & Response is the most comprehensive, wide-ranging study on the global impact of new religions. * New religions discussed include Hare Krishna, Sikh Dharma, The Unification Church, The Church of Scientology, The Jesus People and Wicca. * Focuses on the rise of new religious movements in Italy, Brazil, United States, Germany and Britain. * The contributors are among the most respected and reputable experts in the field.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Table of Contents

Contributors

Foreword

Abbreviations

Introduction

Notes

Summary of Chapter 1

1 New Religious Movements: Their incidence and significance

Statistical significance

How many NRMs are there now?

Definitions of movements

Numbers of movements

How many members?

Definitions of membership

Double-counting

Turnover

The cultural milieu

Generalising about NRMs

Who joins NRMs?

Temporal differences

Spatial differences

England

Japan

Eastern Europe and the traditionally Christian Former Soviet Union (FSU)

Cultural adaptability

The significance of NRMs for individuals

Members

Members' relations and friends

The significance of NRMs for the rest of society

The NRMs of the Gaps

Media and anti-cultists

The law

Mainstream traditions in the West

NRMs as an indicator of perceived vulnerability

The significance of NRMs for the sociology of religion

Concluding remarks

Summary of Chapter 2

2 The Easternisation of the West

Introduction: a changing vocabulary

Changing beliefs

Spiritual and mystical religion

Easternisation

Why has this happened?

Problems with the thesis

Instrumental activism

Conclusion

Summary of Chapter 3

3 Prosperity and the New Age Movement: The efficacy of spiritual economics

A frame of reference

New worlds: from rejection to affirmation

Prosperity beyond the counter-culture

Specialised trainings, events, businesses, and publications

Less specialised activities and publications

Numerical significance

New Age understanding of the efficacy of prosperity practices

Magical productivity

Management trainings and transformational productivity

Sanctifying capitalism

Matters of efficacy.

1 Magical power: productive or counter-productive?

2 Inner-directed wisdom

3 Transformed character

4 Work ethics

5 Stresses of capitalism

Some broader considerations

Summary of Chapter 4

4 New Religious Movements: The legal dimension

Religious freedom under British law

Freedom of belief and freedom of practice

The secular analysis of religion

Objectivity and New Religious Movements

Summary of Chapter 5

5 The mass media and New ReligiousMovements

Controversial cults

The anti-cult movement

The portrayal of NRMs in the mass media

Conflict and newsworthiness

Conflict as the leitmotiv

Cross-references to conflict

Conflict feeds on stories of conflict

Conflicts, journalists and control

One conflict can hide another

Journalists and academic researchers

Time

Objectivity

Practical and theoretical interests

Summary of Chapter 6

6 New Religious Movements and mental health

Deep theories and empirical studies

The effects on children

Mental health and religion in general

Stress, defence, coping - and religion

Stress and NRMs

Summary of Chapter 7

7 Women in New ReligiousMovements

Gender roles in NRMs

Women in power in the Osho movement

Discipleship: the path of feminine spirituality?

Sexual abuse: the shadow side of the master-disciple relationship

Sexuality and marriage in NRMs

Free love and hedonism as spiritual path

The path of purity and celibacy

Spiritually arranged marriages

Motherhood and community: beyond the nuclear family

Female spiritual leadership in NRMs

A new typology of spiritual needs and values

Summary of Chapter 8

8 New Religious Movements and theChurche s

An example of the challenge.

NRMs are not a new phenomenon

NRMs in theological perspective

Teaching truth

Teaching

Information

Commitment

An acknowledgement of complexity

Parallels

Contrasts

Conclusions

Summary of Chapter 9

9 DamanhurA magical community in Italy

Alternative spirituality in Piedmont

The origins and history of Damanhur

Damanhur's world-view

The Underground Temple

The future of Damanhur

Summary of Chapter 10

10 Japanese New Religious Movements in Brazil: From ethnic to 'universal' religions

The salient features of Japanese NRMs

The response to modernity

The Brazilian context and the Japanese heritage

The process of Brazilianisation

Summary of Chapter 11

11 Anti-cultists in the United States: An historical perspective

From FREECOG to CFF2

Programme and ideology

Jonestown and the revival of anti-cultism

International anti-cultism

The rise and fall of brainwashing

The collapse of the Cult Awareness Network

The revival of anti-cultism in Europe

The future

Summary of Chapter 12

12 The response to New Religious Movements in East Germany after reunificat ion

The background

Labelling theory and the Jugendreligionen

The moral crusade in the former East Germany

Strategies in opinion formation

The case of Scientology

The role of the Churches

Clerical motivations

Summary of Chapter 13

13 Britain's anti-cult movement

Types of opposition

The secular anti-cult groups

Christian anti-cult groups

De-programming

Assessing anti-cult achievements

Effects of the anti-cult movement

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-134-63696-2

0-88946-864-8

9786610329120

1-280-32912-2

0-203-12916-4

0-203-15991-8

9780203129166

OCLC:

310464883