The relationship between new religious movements (NRMs) and violence has long been a topic of intense public interest--an interest heavily fueled by multiple incidents of mass violence involving certain groups. Some of these incidents have made international headlines. When New Religious Movements make the news, it's usually because of some violent episode. Some of the most famous NRMs are known much more for the violent way they came to an end than for anything else. Violence and New Religious Movements offers a comprehensive examination of violence by-and against-new religious movements. The book begins with theoretical essays on the relationship between violence and NRMs and then moves on to examine particular groups. There are essays on the "Big Five"--the most well-known cases of violent incidents involving NRMs: Jonestown, Waco, Solar Temple, the Aum Shunrikyo subway attack, and the Heaven's Gate suicides. But the book also provides a richer survey by examining a host of lesser-known groups. This volume is the culmination of decades of research by scholars of New Religious Movements.

This authoritative reference work presents a full image of the Prince of Darkness as he appears throughout traditional theology, mythology, art and literature, and popular culture. This nonsensationalist encyclopedia examines contemporary images of the devil and sorts out the many different forms these images take. Although much of the myths relating to Satan derive directly or indirectly from the Christian tradition, the key sources of diabolical images today are horror movies, heavy metal music, and conservative Christian literature. This encyclopedia gives a brief overview depicting the history and transformation of the meaning of the Prince of Darkness, and 300 entries cover subjects like the angel of death, backward masking (messages revealed when songs are played backward), neopagan witchcraft, UFOs, and The Satanic Bible. Extensive appendixes include the l992 FBI study of satanic ritual abuse, the most influential document ever written on the subject, as well as sample satanic scriptures and a satanic wedding ceremony. Satanism Today also includes a chronology, bibliographies, and references.

From religious beliefs and legends to movies and TV shows, from advertising and celebrities to Internet sites and photo ops, this illustrated A–Z encyclopedia makes it easy to locate each topic, and the opportunities for further research assure its timeliness. Is the human race the result of a breeding experiment carried out by ancient astronauts? Are satanists, extraterrestrials—or both—mutilating cattle? Whimsical and fascinating, UFOs and Popular Culture explores a rich facet of Americana and its impact on contemporary society. The UFO phenomenon is put into folkloric and psychological perspective, revealing much about our collective psyche. From religious beliefs and legends to movies and TV shows; from advertising and celebrities to Internet sites and photo ops; this illustrated A–Z encyclopedia is your first stop resource for understanding UFO beliefs and their impact on contemporary America. Topics explored include Music and UFOs, Naked Aliens, Reincarnation, Roswell, Brad Steiger, Heaven's Gate, War of the Worlds, and UFO Conventions.

The study of New Religious Movement (NRMs) is one of the fastest growing areas of religous studies. There are now several journals dedicated to the study of NRMs, as well as an academic association (CESNUR), in addition to a section of the American Academy of Religion devoted to NRMs. This handbook covers the current state of the field and breaks new ground. Its contributors are drawn equally from sociology and religious studies and include both established scholars and 'rising stars' in the field. The core chapters deal with such central issues as conversion, the brainwashing debate, millennialism, and modernisation. Another section deal with NRM subfields such as neopaganism, satanism, and UFO religions. The final section considers NRMs in a global perspective. This book will be indispensible resource for every scholar and student of this field.

A clear, concise overview of the origins and history of the Wiccan and Neopagan movements, with A–Z coverage of concepts, rituals, practices, and practitioners. Witchcraft Today presents a concise survey of this fascinating movement, charts its development, and offers A–Z coverage of Neopagan concepts, rituals, practices, and practitioners ranging from African Religions and Celtic Tradition to Numerology and Theosophy. An excellent and thorough introduction that explains the origin and history of contemporary Wiccan and Neopagan beliefs and a chronology detail the development of these modern religions. A documents section reprints texts important to the central belief system of Wiccans and Neopagans, including the text of Charge of the Goddess, and a bibliography and index complete this timely source. Consult this work whether you need to know the characteristics of Wicca; the difference between Celtic, Alexandrian, and Blue Star traditions; the meaning of "skyclad;" the work of Emanuel Swedenborg; or the origins of Tarot.

Since the early 1970s, alternative religious movements known as cults have been the focus of ever-increasing controversy in America. "Cults in America: A Reference Handbook" compares present-day cults to events in earlier American history, focusing on cults as a contemporary phenomenon. The key issue of mind control is covered, overviews of the most controversial churches, and biographies of their leaders are prominent features of this book. Legislative efforts and court decisions, particularly those surrounding the issue of religious liberty, are covered in detail.

"Cults in America" features a directory of organizations in both the United States and Europe, a selected bibliography, print and nonprint resources, a chronology with the dates of religious events in American history, and coverage of events such as the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate incidents.

Facing issues of violence and conflict, authors of textbooks for Religious Education (RE) choose a range of different strategies. While some try to write as non-controversially as possible about such issues, other authors choose to leave them completely out. Even in the academic study of religions, a well-established perspective is that religion is primarily something good, and important for societies as well as for human development. Such basic presumptions/perspectives are often nurtured by an apologetic orientation to the representation of religion. In some cases, religious violence and conflict are therefore considered disruptive forces that destroy what is "true," "authentic" and "valuable" in religion.Textbook Violence offers critical perspectives on how textbooks deal or not deal with issues of conflict and violence in religions. The volume's contributions provide examples from textbooks for university level as well as from RE in schools, and include discussions of conflict and violence in a range of different religious traditions. The contributors bring issues of religious violence and conflict into focus through such questions as: In what way is violence and/or conflict treated? Who are the authorial voices? What are their aims? Who is the reader being addressed? How are the representations of religions framed by value judgments?Beyond certain obvious ideological considerations (e.g., nationalism; the interests of religious pedagogues who contribute to textbooks in some countries), there are a number of different factors shaping representations of religions in textbooks - from commercial considerations and statutory stipulations to situations where publishers and national examination boards work closely together to produce textbooks with contents keyed to national exams. This means that authors have to face different expectations and considerations when writing textbooks. Textbook Violence will also include reflections on the choices such authors are facing.

This volume investigates "alternative" spiritualities that increasingly cater for the mainstream within the secularized society of Norway, making Norwegian-based research available to international scholarship. It looks at New Age both in a restricted (sensu stricto) and a wide sense (sensu lato), focusing mainly on the period from the mid-1990s and onwards, with a particular emphasis on developments after the turn of the century. Few, if any, of the ideas and practices discussed in this book are homegrown or uniquely Norwegian, but local soil and climate still matters, as habitats for particular growths and developments. Globalizing currents are here shaped and molded by local religious history and contemporary religio-political systems, along with random incidences, such as the setting up of an angel-business by the princess Martha Louise. The position of Lutheran Protestantism as "national religion" particularly impacts on the development and perception of religious competitors.

This volume is the first English-language anthology to engage with the fascinating phenomena of recent surges in New Age and alternative spiritualties in Israel. Contributors investigate how these New Age religions and other spiritualties-produced in Western countries within predominantly Protestant or secular cultures-transform and adapt themselves in Israel. The volume focuses on a variety of groups and movements, such as Theosophy and Anthroposophy, Neopaganism, Channeling, Women's Yoga, the New Age festival scene, and even Pentecostal churches among African labor migrants living in Tel Aviv. Chapters also explore more Jewish-oriented practices such as Neo-Kabballah, Neo-Hassidism, and alternative marriage ceremonies, as well as the use of spiritual care providers in Israeli hospitals. In addition, contributors take a close look at the state's reaction to the recent activities and growth of new religious movements.

The label 'Suicide Cults' has been applied to a wide variety of different alternative religions, from Jonestown to the Solar Temple to Heaven's Gate. Additionally, observers have asked if such group suicides are in any way comparable to Islamist suicide terrorism, or to historical incidents of mass suicide, such as the mass suicide of the ancient community of Masada. Organizationally and ideologically diverse, it turns out that the primary shared trait of these various groups is a common stereotype of religion as an irrational force that pushes fanatics to undertake acts of suicidal violence. Offering a valuable perspective on New Religious Movements and on religion and violence, Sacred Suicide brings together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars of sociology, religious studies and criminology.

In October 1994, fifty-three members of the Order of the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Quebec were murdered or committed suicide. This incident and two later group suicides in subsequent years played a pivotal role in inflaming the cult controversy in Europe, influencing the public to support harsher actions against non-traditional religions. Despite the importance of the Order of the Solar Temple, there are relatively few studies published in English. This book brings together the best scholarship on the Solar Temple including newly commissioned pieces from leading scholars, a selection of Solar Temple documents, and important previously published articles newly edited for inclusion within this book. This is the first book-length study of the Order of the Solar Temple to be published in English.

Over the past dozen years or so, an increasingly disproportionate percentage of new religions scholars have arisen in Nordic countries, which now teach at universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Nordic New Religions, co-edited with Inga B. Tollefsen, surveys this rich field of study in this area of the world, focusing on the scholarship being produced by scholars in this region of northern Europe.

The label 'Suicide Cults' has been applied to a wide variety of different alternative religions, from Jonestown to the Solar Temple to Heaven's Gate. Additionally, observers have asked if such group suicides are in any way comparable to Islamist suicide terrorism, or to historical incidents of mass suicide, such as the mass suicide of the ancient community of Masada. Organizationally and ideologically diverse, it turns out that the primary shared trait of these various groups is a common stereotype of religion as an irrational force that pushes fanatics to undertake acts of suicidal violence. Offering a valuable perspective on New Religious Movements and on religion and violence, Sacred Suicide brings together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars of sociology, religious studies and criminology.

Scientology is arguably the most persistently controversial of all contemporary New Religious Movements. The Church of Scientology has been involved in battles over tax issues, a ten-year conflict with the Food and Drug Administration, extended turmoil with a number of European governments, and has even been subjected to FBI raids in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
Negative publicity, however, has not prevented the Church from experiencing remarkably steady growth. Official national census figures indicate that the number of Scientologists grew significantly in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia throughout the 1990s, and studies show that the Church gained 10,000 members in the United States during that decade. This has led Scientology to begin referring to itself as "The World's Fastest Growing Religion." But despite its highly public profile, recently enhanced by celebrity spokespersons like Tom Cruise and Isaac Hayes, little has been published about the Church, its history, theology, and mission.
The present volume brings together an international group of top scholars on New Religious Movements to offer an extensive and even-handed overview and analysis of all of these aspects of Scientology, including the controversies to which it continues to give rise. The book's six parts take a detailed look at the Church through its similarities to and differences from other religions, conflicts with various groups, overseas missions, and its theology, history, and sociology.
James R. Lewis has assembled an unusually comprehensive anthology, incorporating a wide range of different approaches. This volume is a welcome and long-overdue resource for scholars, students, and others interested in this controversial and little-understood religious movement.

Although speech is the most natural form of communication between humans, most people find using speech to communicate with machines anything but natural. Drawing from psychology, human-computer interaction, linguistics, and communication theory, Practical Speech User Interface Design provides a comprehensive yet concise survey of practical speech user interface (SUI) design. It offers practice-based and research-based guidance on how to design effective, efficient, and pleasant speech applications that people can really use. Focusing on the design of speech user interfaces for IVR applications, the book covers speech technologies including speech recognition and production, ten key concepts in human language and communication, and a survey of self-service technologies. The author, a leading human factors engineer with extensive experience in research, innovation and design of products with speech interfaces that are used worldwide, covers both high- and low-level decisions and includes Voice XML code examples. To help articulate the rationale behind various SUI design guidelines, he includes a number of detailed discussions of the applicable research. The techniques for designing usable SUIs are not obvious, and to be effective, must be informed by a combination of critically interpreted scientific research and leading design practices. The blend of scholarship and practical experience found in this book establishes research-based leading practices for the design of usable speech user interfaces for interactive voice response applications.

Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research, Second Edition, provides practitioners and researchers with the information they need to confidently quantify, qualify, and justify their data. The book presents a practical guide on how to use statistics to solve common quantitative problems that arise in user research. It addresses questions users face every day, including, Is the current product more usable than our competition? Can we be sure at least 70% of users can complete the task on their first attempt? How long will it take users to purchase products on the website? This book provides a foundation for statistical theories and the best practices needed to apply them. The authors draw on decades of statistical literature from human factors, industrial engineering, and psychology, as well as their own published research, providing both concrete solutions (Excel formulas and links to their own web-calculators), along with an engaging discussion on the statistical reasons why tests work and how to effectively communicate results. Throughout this new edition, users will find updates on standardized usability questionnaires, a new chapter on general linear modeling (correlation, regression, and analysis of variance), with updated examples and case studies throughout.

Volume 14, Number 1, 2002. Contents: J.R. Lewis, Introduction. ARTICLES: D.J. Gillan, R.G. Bias, Usability Science 1: Foundation. H.R. Hartson, T.S. Andre, R.C. Williges, Criteria for Evaluating Usability Evaluation Methods. R.E. Cordes, Task Selection Bias: A Case for User-Defined Tasks. M. Hertzum, N.E. Jacobsen, The Evaluator Effect: A Chilling Fact About Usability Evaluation Methods. J.R. Lewis, Evaluation of Procedures for Adjusting Problem-Discovery Rates Estimated From Small Samples. M. Hassenzahl, The Effect of Perceived Hedonic Quality on Product Appealingness.

Cults examines the history and current status of cults across the United States, Europe, and East Asia. Focusing on the principal controversial religions and movements that have attracted major media attention, the book also includes profiles of hundreds of minority religions, from Jesus People and Rastafarians to voodoo practitioners and the human-cloning Raelians. All the issues central to the practice and the fear of cults are examined - apocalypticism, deprogramming, social isolation, cults and the media, the use and threat of violence, child custody, libel, tax evasion, solicitation, and the techniques of persuasion and conviction - as are the many charismatic cult leaders. Cults presents a comprehensive and authoritative reference, offering a balanced view of the controversy surrounding these new religious movements, assessing the movements themselves as well as the legal and governmental responses to them, including attempts to quantify membership.

Cults examines the history and current status of cults across the United States, Europe, and East Asia. Focusing on the principal controversial religions and movements that have attracted major media attention, the book also includes profiles of hundreds of minority religions, from Jesus People and Rastafarians to voodoo practitioners and the human-cloning Raelians. All the issues central to the practice and the fear of cults are examined - apocalypticism, deprogramming, social isolation, cults and the media, the use and threat of violence, child custody, libel, tax evasion, solicitation, and the techniques of persuasion and conviction - as are the many charismatic cult leaders. Cults presents a comprehensive and authoritative reference, offering a balanced view of the controversy surrounding these new religious movements, assessing the movements themselves as well as the legal and governmental responses to them, including attempts to quantify membership.

The relationship between new religious movements (NRMs) and violence has long been a topic of intense public interest--an interest heavily fueled by multiple incidents of mass violence involving certain groups. Some of these incidents have made international headlines. When New Religious Movements make the news, it's usually because of some violent episode. Some of the most famous NRMs are known much more for the violent way they came to an end than for anything else. Violence and New Religious Movements offers a comprehensive examination of violence by-and against-new religious movements. The book begins with theoretical essays on the relationship between violence and NRMs and then moves on to examine particular groups. There are essays on the "Big Five"--the most well-known cases of violent incidents involving NRMs: Jonestown, Waco, Solar Temple, the Aum Shunrikyo subway attack, and the Heaven's Gate suicides. But the book also provides a richer survey by examining a host of lesser-known groups. This volume is the culmination of decades of research by scholars of New Religious Movements.

The study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) is one of the fastest-growing areas of religious studies. This Handbook covers the current state of the field and breaks new ground. Its contributors are drawn equally from sociology and religious studies and include both established scholars and "rising stars" in the field. The core chapters deal with such central issues as conversion, the brainwashing debate, millennialism, and modernization. Another section deals with NRM subfields such as neopaganism, Satanism, and UFO religions. The final section considers NRMs in global perspective. CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2005

In October 1994, fifty-three members of the Order of the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Quebec were murdered or committed suicide. This incident and two later group suicides in subsequent years played a pivotal role in inflaming the cult controversy in Europe, influencing the public to support harsher actions against non-traditional religions. Despite the importance of the Order of the Solar Temple, there are relatively few studies published in English. This book brings together the best scholarship on the Solar Temple including newly commissioned pieces from leading scholars, a selection of Solar Temple documents, and important previously published articles newly edited for inclusion within this book. This is the first book-length study of the Order of the Solar Temple to be published in English.

The study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) is one of the fastest-growing areas of religious studies, and since the release of the first volume of The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements in 2003, the field has continued to expand and break new ground. In this second volume, contributors from the fields of sociology and religious studies address an expanded range of topics, covering traditional religious studies topics such as "scripture," "charisma," and "ritual," and also applying new theoretical approaches to NRM topics. Other chapters cover understudied topics in the field, such as the developmental patterns of NRMs and subcultural considerations in the study of NRMs. Divided into five sections, the first part of this book examines NRMs from a social-scientific perspective, particularly that of sociology. In the second section, the primary factors that have put the study of NRMs on the map, controversy and conflict, are considered. The third section investigates common themes within the field of NRMs, while the fourth examines the approaches that religious studies researchers have taken to NRMs. As NRM Studies has grown, subfields such as Esotericism, New Age Studies, and neo-Pagan Studies have grown as distinct and individual areas of study, and the final section of the book investigates these emergent fields.

Satanism is a complex and controversial phenomenon co-existing in many social and rhetorical contexts. Some consider it the root of all evil in the world. Others see it as a juvenile proxy for rebellion or as a misapplication of serious esoteric beliefs and practices. Then again, some consider it a specific religious or philosophical position serving as a personal and collective identity. This book, written by three experts in the field of Satanism studies, examines Satanism as a contemporary movement in continuous dialogue with popular culture, aiding as a breeding ground for other new religious movements. Shifting the focus from mythology to meaning-making, this is a book about the invention of Satanism among self-declared religious Satanists. Like all ideologists and believers, Satanists incorporate, borrow, and modify elements from other traditions, and this book explores how traditional folklore and prior strands of occultism were synthesized by Anton LaVey in his founding of the Church of Satan and the creation of the Satanic Bible. Later chapters examine contemporary Satanist subcultures from various perspectives, also demonstrating how Satanism, despite its brief history as an organized phenomenon, continues to reinvent itself. There are now numerous Satanisms with distinctive interpretations of what being a Satanist entails, with some of these new versions deviating more from the historical "mainstream" than others. In this fascinating account of a seemingly abstruse and often-feared movement, Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen demonstrate that the invention of Satanism is an ongoing, ever-evolving process.

When it became evident that the People's Republic of China (PRC) was on the verge of banning the Falun Gong movement, Li Hongzhi, the movement's founder, and his family escaped China, relocating permanently in the United States. Subsequently, the dramatic crackdown on Falun Gong in 1999 made international headlines. From the safety of his new home, Master Li encouraged his followers left behind in the PRC to vigorously demonstrate against the Chinese government, even if it meant imprisonment or even death. Further, Master Li actively discourages his followers from telling outsiders about his esoteric teachings; rather, he explicitly directs them to say that Falun Gong is just a peaceful spiritual exercise group being persecuted by the PRC. Not only has Falun Gong succeeded in propagating their side of the story in the media but the group will vigorously protest any news story that disagrees with their point of view. In more recent years, Falun Gong has attempted to silence critical scholars, including two of the contributors to the present volume. Enlightened Martyrdom: The Hidden Side of Falun Gong provides a comprehensive overview of Falun Gong: the movement's background, history, beliefs and practices. But whereas prior treatments have generally tended to downplay Falun Gong's 'dark side, ' in Enlightened Martyrdom, we have made an effort to include treatments of the less palatable aspects of this movement.