Comparative Religion is deeply rooted in historical-philological studies, but since the inception of the discipline in the late nineteenth century, a continual development has taken place. Since that time, the discipline has moved into many different areas of the social, humanistic, psychological and biological sciences, and debates on theory and method are as intense as ever. As scholars of religion get to grips with some aspects of the phenomenon in question, new problems arise, and new challenges must be met. At the same time, however, the virtues of the past should not be forgotten, and a double orientation, back and forth, becomes necessary. Rather than pursuing a systematic discussion of how to go about such problems, this volume celebrates the diversity and multi-methodological approaches in comparative religion by including empirical, as well as theoretical, approaches.The authors, among whom are many of the world's leading scholars, have been asked to contribute essays on the current state of comparative religion, and thanks to their efforts the reader is offered a pathway to exciting, but quite diverse, examples of the discipline, from the well-known to the most recent academic frontiers.

The scholarly study of new religious movements focuses on the contemporary period, but religious innovation is nothing new. This Element explores a historical epoch characterized by a multitude of emergent religious concepts and practices – the Hellenistic and Roman periods. A precondition for the intense degree of religious innovation during this time was a high level of cultural exchange. Religious elements crossed porous cultural borders and were adapted to suit new purposes. The resulting amalgams were presented in a vast corpus of texts, largely produced by a literate elite. Charismatic leaders played a particularly important role in creating new religious options and were described in genres that were infused with ideological agendas. Novel religious developments were accepted by the Roman authorities unless suspected of undermining the social order. The rise of one of the many new religions of the period, Christianity, ultimately changed the religious landscape in profound ways.

In quite a few corners of the academic world, the study of religion has not emancipated itself entirely from religious, especially Christian theological, perspectives and agendas. In this book a number of prominent scholars present their ideas of how religion should be perceived from a non-religious (secular), academic and scientific point of view, how the studies should be undertaken and what role, if any, the scholar of religion can or should play in public debates. This book is primarily directed to students in classes of theory and method and to scholars engaged in the current debate and the emancipatory efforts. It is the hope of the editors that the present volume can help pave the way for more critical and more analytical studies of religion.

This volume presents a selection of papers read at the CESNUR 1997 conference in Amsterdam. The articles are divided into four sections each with its own relevance to the study of new religions in contemporary society; esotericism, millennialism and eschatology, religious leaders, and, more broadly, social aspects of the new religions. The contributors work in the fields of sociology, sociology of religion, history of religion, anthropology and theology, thus reflecting the well established tradition for interdisciplinary efforts in the study of new religions. The contributors are Judith Coney, Jean Duhaime, Robert Ellwood, Liselotte Frisk, Massimo Introvigne, Constance A. Jones, Reender Kranenburg, Albertina Nugteren, David Piff, Mikael Rothstein, Mark Sedgwick, Jan A.M. Snoek, Cristine Steyn and Margit Warburg.

New religions emerge as distinct entities in the religious landscape when innovations are introduced by a charismatic leader or a schismatic group leaves its parent organization. New religious movements (NRMs) often present novel doctrines and advocate unfamiliar modes of behavior, and have therefore often been perceived as controversial. NRMs have, however, in recent years come to be treated in the same way as established religions, that is, as complex cultural phenomena involving myths, rituals and canonical texts. This Companion discusses key features of NRMs from a systematic, comparative perspective, summarizing results of forty years of research. The volume addresses NRMs that have caught media attention, including movements such as Scientology, New Age, the Neopagans, the Sai Baba movement and Jihadist movements active in a post-9/11 context. An essential resource for students of religious studies, the history of religion, sociology, anthropology and the psychology of religion.

New religions emerge as distinct entities in the religious landscape when innovations are introduced by a charismatic leader or a schismatic group leaves its parent organization. New religious movements (NRMs) often present novel doctrines and advocate unfamiliar modes of behavior, and have therefore often been perceived as controversial. NRMs have, however, in recent years come to be treated in the same way as established religions, that is, as complex cultural phenomena involving myths, rituals and canonical texts. This Companion discusses key features of NRMs from a systematic, comparative perspective, summarizing results of forty years of research. The volume addresses NRMs that have caught media attention, including movements such as Scientology, New Age, the Neopagans, the Sai Baba movement and Jihadist movements active in a post-9/11 context. An essential resource for students of religious studies, the history of religion, sociology, anthropology and the psychology of religion.