Since its inception around 1970, the study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) has evolved into an established multidisciplinary field. At the same time, both the movements and the scholars who study them have been the subjects of intense controversy. In this volume, a group of senior NRM scholars who have been instrumental in the development of the field will offer pivotal essays that present the basics of NRM scholarship along with guidance for teachers on classroom use.
The book is organized topically around subjects that are both central to the study of NRMs and likely to be useful to non-specialists. Part I contains examinations of the definitional boundaries of the area of study, varying disciplinary perspectives on NRMs, unique methodological/ethical problems encountered in the study of NRMs, and the controversies that have confronted scholars studying NRMs and the movements themselves. Part II examines a series of topics central to teaching about NRMs: the larger sociocultural significance of the movements, their distinctive symbolic and organizational features, the interrelated processes of joining and leaving NRMs, the organization of gender roles in NRMs, media and popular culture portrayals of the movements, the occurrence of corruption and abuse within movements, and violence by and against NRMs. Part III provides informational resources for teaching about NRMs, which are particularly important in a field where knowing the biases of sources is crucial.
With its interdisciplinary approach, the volume provides comprehensive, accessible information and perspectives on NRMs. It is an invaluable guide for instructors navigating this scholarly minefield.

Religion and the Social Order

Religion and the Social Order

Religion and the Social Order

This volume argues that deviance is a central process in contemporary American religion. It explores ways in which definitions of deviance are negotiated between religious groups and the surrounding culture.

This book updates and adds to the classic Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies, showing how social movement theory has grown and changed_from an earlier emphasis on collective behavior, to the resource mobilization approach, and currently to analyses that emphasize culture, ideology, and collective identity. Top social scientists combine insiders' insights with critical analyses to examine a wide variety of social movements active in the most recent U.S. cycle of protest. Waves of Protest is a must-read for students of social movements, social change, political sociology, and American studies.

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The current controversy surrounding new religions has brought to the forefront the role of apostates. These individuals leave highly controversial movements and assume roles in other organizations as public opponents against their former movements. This volume examines the motivations of the apostates, how they are recruited and play out their roles, the kinds of narratives they construct to discredit their previous groups, and the impact of apostasy on the outcome of conflicts between movements and society.

Religion on the Internet is the first systematic inquiry into the nature, scope and content of religion in cyberspace. Contributors to this volume include leading social scientists engaged in systematic studies of how organizations and individuals are presenting religion on the Internet. Their combined efforts provide a conceptual mapping of religion in cyberspace at this moment. The individual papers and collective insights found in this volume add up to a valuable agenda of research that will enrich understanding of this new phenomenon. Among the contributors are the founders of three of the most important scholarly religion web sites on the Internet: American Religion Data Archive, Religious Tolerance, and Religious Movements Homepage.
Religion and the Internet is essential reading for all who seek to understand how religion is being presented on the Internet and how this topic is likely to unfold in the years ahead.

The internationally renowned group of contributors to this volume focus on the patterns and processes connected with leaving religion. The papers range from theoretical analyses of the dynamics underlying religious exiting to case studies examining specific instances of distancing from and departing from a religious lifestyle. "Leaving Religion and Religious Life" provides a much-needed investigation of the problem and its effect on formal religious institutions as well as the individuals who elect to dramatically alter their religious way of life.

The study of the basis of "authenticity" of any religious tradition is one which has been seemingly neglected by secular, western scholars. Those beliefs and practices deemed "sacred" are assumed to have authenticity, at least by the adherents of the tradition. Also, to many who are not adherents of the tradition, some of the beliefs and practices may appear irrational, foolish or even wicked. This volume addresses this issue, examining the "criteria in use" by both secular and religious groups for deciding on the authenticity of religious beliefs, experiences and practices. Part I of this volume consists of three papers that examine how the insitution of the state has been, and is, active in resolving conflicting claims of authenticity. Parallels are drawn between contemporary reactions to Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrim and the early Medinans who were executed for making jokes about Mohammed. Part II consists of four papers dealing with "authentication" as the process by which three religious groups have sought to define and enforce the legitimate boundaries of an established tradition. Chapters examine the stresses between a Mormon intellectual community and the hierarchical tradition of the church; the contrast between the authentication practice of Old Order Mennonite and Unitarian-Universalist congregations; and the emergence of an evangelical coalition growing out of American fundamentalism. Part III is a set of four case studies each focusing on a "revitalization" movement, whilst Part IV deals with two non-Western traditions - Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. The final section of the book consists of an analysis by Anson Shupe of the processes by which faith in traditional religious institutions is undermined when trust of adherents is betrayed - either through sexual or monetary exploitation. This book explains how governments become involved in mediating religious disputes, how established traditions deal with deviation from orthodoxy and how followers of repressed traditions go about rediscovery of these traditions. It is hoped that this volume will stimulate further examination of how individuals judge authenticity in their religious attachments and how religious traditions develop ways of thinking about and managing claims about other traditions.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, violent episodes involving cults are rare historically. But their potential to affect and disrupt civic life looms large and efforts to manage these incidents involve controversial issues of religious freedom, politics, state intervention, and public security. The interpretive challenge of this book is to provide a social scientific explanation for these rare events. The authors conclude that they usually involve some combination of internal and external dynamics through which a new religious movement and society become polarized.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, violent episodes involving cults are rare historically. But their potential to affect and disrupt civic life looms large and efforts to manage these incidents involve controversial issues of religious freedom, politics, state intervention, and public security. The interpretive challenge of this book is to provide a social scientific explanation for these rare events. The authors conclude that they usually involve some combination of internal and external dynamics through which a new religious movement and society become polarized.