An exploration into why and how Jamaicans become Rastafari in spite of increasing incrimination of the religion So much has been written about the Rastafari, yet we know so little about why and how people join the Rastafari movement. Although popular understandings evoke images of dreadlocks, reggae, and marijuana, Rastafarians were persecuted in their country, becoming a people seeking social justice. Yet new adherents continued to convert to Rastafari despite facing adverse reactions from their fellow citizens and from their British rulers. Charles Price draws on in-depth interviews to reveal the personal experiences of those who adopted the religion in the 1950s to 1970s, one generation past the movement's emergence. By talking with these Rastafari elders, he seeks to understand why and how Jamaicans became Rastafari in spite of rampant discrimination, and what sustains them in their faith and identity. Utilizing new conceptual frameworks, Price explores the identity development of Rastafari, demonstrating how shifts in the movement's identity-from social pariah to exemplar of Blackness-have led some of the elder Rastafari to adopt, embrace, and internalize Rastafari and blackness as central to their concept of self.

For some eighty-five years--between, roughly, 1725 and 1810--the American colonies were agitated by what can only be described as a revolutionary movement. This was not the well-known political revolution that culminated in the War of Independence, but a revolution in religious and ethical thought. Its proponents called their radical viewpoint "deism." They challenged Christian orthodoxy and instead endorsed a belief system that celebrated the power of human reason and saw nature as God's handiwork and the only revelation of divine will. This illuminating discussion of American deism presents an overview of the main tenets of deism, showing how its influence rose swiftly and for a time became a highly controversial subject of debate in the colonies. The deists were students of the Enlightenment and took a keen interest in the scientific study of nature. They were thus critical of orthodox Christianity for its superstitious belief in miracles, persecution of dissent, and suppression of independent thought and expression. At the heart of his book are profiles of six "rational infidels," most of whom are quite familiar to Americans as founding fathers or colonial patriots: Benjamin Franklin (the ambivalent deist), Thomas Jefferson (a critic of Christian supernaturalism but an admirer of its ethics), Ethan Allen (the rough-edged "frontier deist"), Thomas Paine (the arch iconoclast and author of The Age of Reason), Elihu Palmer (the tireless crusader for deism and perhaps its most influential proponent), and Philip Freneau (a poet whose popular verses combined deism with early romanticism). This is a fascinating study of America's first culture war, one that in many ways has continued to this day.

Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture. "Diving into Brian Hoggard's Magical House Protection is a remarkable experience... [It] provides an immersive and fascinating read."-Fortean Times People created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Detailed are the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day. Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks and concealed shoes were all used widely as methods of repelling, diverting or trapping negative energies. Many of these practices and symbols can be found around the globe, demonstrating the universal nature of efforts by people to protect themselves from witchcraft. From the introduction: The most popular locations to conceal objects within buildings are usually at portals such as the hearth, the threshold and also voids or dead spaces. This suggests that people believed it was possible for dark forces to travel through the landscape and attack them in their homes. Whether these forces were emanations from a witch in the form of a spell, a witch's familiar pestering their property, an actual witch flying in spirit or a combination of all of those is difficult to tell. Additional sources of danger could be ghosts, fairies and demons. People went to great lengths to ensure their homes and property were protected, highlighting the fact that these beliefs and fears were visceral and, as far as they were concerned, literally terrifying.

American society is culturally diverse with a variety of religious denominations, sects, cults, and self-help groups vying for members. This volume analyzes nine of these groups, chosen both for their intrinsic interest and because they illustrate a variety of sociological concepts. The groups included in this study are: Heaven's Gate, Jesus People USA, the Love Family, The Farm, Amish Women, Scientology, El Nino Fidencio, Santeria, and Freedom Park. The contributors are social scientists with first-hand knowledge of the groups they examine.

This is an authoritative guide to contemporary debates and issues in the sociology of religion providing a clear examination of classical secularization and the post-secularization paradigm. "Secularization and Its Discontents" provides an illuminating overview of major current debates in the sociology of religion, exploring changing patterns of religious practice in the West during the past 150 years. Examining classical secularization theory as well as modified versions that allow for difference between national and social contexts, Rob Warner also explores the proposed post-secularization paradigm, as well as its close offshoot, rational choice theory. Possibilities for a spiritual revolution and the feminisation of religion are scrutinised, and also theories of the durability of conservative religion. The author goes on to develop a new interpretation of resilient religion from an analysis of 21st century trends in religious participation. These are categorised as entrepreneurial and experiential-therapeutic, before the volume finally focuses upon individual identity construction through autonomous religious consumption. This book provides a clear and penetrating overview of theoretical frameworks and develops a new theoretical synthesis derived from fresh examination of empirical data, and will be of interest to academics and students in religious studies, practical theology and the sociology of religion.

"The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions," wrote Washington Irving in the 1820s. This part of New York, straddling the Hudson River from New York City to Albany, is still rife with stories of the paranormal, including a temperance reformer who haunts the Bull's Head Inn, a floating ball of fire at the College of Saint Rose, the ghost girl of the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, the spirits of West Point, UFOs at Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant, and the phantoms of Smalley's Inn in Carmel.

"Transformed" shares with you spiritual truths learned along the path to spiritual freedom. Earlynn Sheehan takes you along as she transforms her life from deeply religious to deeply spiritual. As her vision of the true nature of God transformed, she left worry, guilt, judgment, and fear behind. "Transformed "can help you uncover your true nature and bring your life into a state of unity, peace, abundance, prosperity, happiness, and joy. Visit Earlynn on the Web at earlynnsjustsayin.org.

"Know, then, my friends, that everything that is recited and practiced in the world for the cult and adoration of gods is nothing but errors, abuses, illusions, and impostures. All the laws and orders that are issued in the name and authority of God or the gods are really only human inventions...."
"And what I say here in general about the vanity and falsity of the religions of the world, I don't say only about the foreign and pagan religions, which you already regard as false, but I say it as well about your Christian religion because, as a matter of fact, it is no less vain or less false than any other."
These are not the words of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, or any other outspoken contemporary atheist. In fact, they are the words of a quiet, modest parish priest named Jean Meslier, who died in early 18th-century France and left behind his copious Testament as a legacy for his parishioners. This obviously controversial work, which influenced such noted thinkers as Baron d'Holbach and Voltaire, and is viewed by some historians as anticipating both the French Revolution and Karl Marx, is now available in English for the first time.
In impassioned tones but with analytical precision, Meslier presents a methodical deconstruction of Christianity and the governments that support it, along with a thoughtful defense of the fundamental human rights of liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. He reveals himself not only as a materialist and unbeliever but also as a man of revolutionary sentiments who firmly opposes the governments of his day, which he maintains keep the common people in ignorance, fear, and poverty through religion. Moreover, he urges his former parishioners to wake up and inform themselves about the truth of their governments and religion.
This fascinating document, which is an early forerunner of many later critiques of religion,
is must reading for freethinkers, skeptics, and anyone interested in the history of religion and dissent.

How does a Vampire Cult differ from a Satanic Cult? How do seemingly "normal" or "ordinary" citizens suddenly find themselves committed to a group whose leader promotes criminal activities and isolation from families and friends? What should you do if a loved one becomes indoctrinated by a potentially dangerous cult? This book focuses on various cults and their often criminal belief systems. Most readers are shocked by stories of mass suicides and ritualized cult killings, but few understand how such crimes come to be committed. Snow, a seasoned police officer with experience working on cult crimes, examines those cults that commit offenses from murder and fraud to kidnapping and sexual assault. By providing specific accounts of dangerous cults and their destructive acts, Snow illustrates how seemingly innocent groups can turn pernicious when under the sway of a charismatic leader with an agenda, or when members take things too far. He offers advice on how to avoid falling victim to cult indoctrination, concluding with chapters on how to identify cults, how to protect yourself and your family, and what to do if a loved one is ensnared by such a group.

"This book illuminates the origins of the great European witch hunts by placing early witch trials in the comparative light of other criminal proceedings in Basel, Lucerne and Nuremberg. The study reveals that the increasingly harsh treatment was paralleled by mounting judicial severity in general, as well as by a keen interest in social control"--

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"Come to us you who thirst for the nature of reality. Come you who yearn for yourself. Come brothers of the breach and broken sisters. Come you who cannot find rest, and who can have no peace." -The Book of Specularis. This is the second book in a trilogy on the Sethian Gnostic tradition of today, and it contains a selection of texts from the Charaxio, the holy book of the organization Sodalitas Sanctum Seth. This collection of modern Sethian writings intends to give new perspectives to those who have stumbled upon an encounter with Metanoia, Our Lady of Unexpected Insight and Perplexity, and thus perceived the shape of the Mystery. Consider this entire book as a projective test. As in the field of psychology, such a test has no meaning in itself: It is you; with your background, opinions, cultural frame of mind and self-understanding that determine what you see, or are shown. As in the previous volume, The Key, it is important to remember that as you read this book, the book is also reading you.

This book is about mindfulness and many other techniques and practices that allow for healing and spiritual evolving to take place. It is about the energetic bodies and how working with these bodies can help us remove our dysfunctions, which exist as energy imprints. It is about the use of physics and metaphysics to assist us in expanding so that we can once again find our own truths. It is about ways we can all participate in the clean-up of ourselves and the planet. It is about simplicity on all levels.

Through in-depth interviews with 22 New Agers and Neo-Pagans, this study proposes a new model of religious identity from a sociological standpoint. The analysis demonstrates that in spite of their great diversity of beliefs and lack of strong organizational ties, a discernible community of alternative spiritualists does exist. This volume will appeal not only to scholars of the sociology of religion, but also to sociologists interested in community building, social movements, and self-identity.

About the Book The Diagram Star is explaining the whole mystery of religious belief. The book is revealing a reconstruction of the world history based on the formula used by the Masters of the past. The main character in this historical and highly political novel, Oskar Karlsen, is in his real life an invalid. He is creating a role play on Internet were he gives him self the title Master and states that his aim is to flood the whole world with knowledge and drown the religious belief. Flooding the world with knowledge will be done by the use of Internet. Oskar conclude that when the formula is used on all the gospel stories in the Bible, they become a total different story. The formula can be used on all the dominating religions and sects in the world. His message to the world is that all the gospel stories are a camouflage over knowledge, and they were the work of the Masters of the past. Oskar Karlsens role play on Internet is threatening the way of life for the richest of the rich people in the world. They depend on the religions, the national borders and the dictating economy to get even richer, while an increasing number of humans dies daily of causes caused by poverty. In order to make the world a better place for all humans, knowledge of the Diagram Star have to return to all people. Then the religious belief will vanish into thin air. Some rich sponsors are giving the invalid Oskar an expensive operation that most likely can cure his disability. Even if he is warned that the sponsors will use the operation to kill him, he is determent to do it and use the interest of the world press to advertise his role play all over the world. Will he succeed? With the use of Internet and your help, he certainly will succeed.