Exploring New ReligionsBloomsbury Publishing, 1999 M12 1 - 416 pages An objective, well-researched history of contemporary new religions and cults.New religious movements - popularly known as cults - arouse strong public opinion and most books on the subject are polemical, giving hostile reaction rather than informed exploration. Exploring New Religions provides an account of a wide variety of new religions, focusing on their origins, beliefs and practices, which are set out in a dispassionate way, leaving readers to form their own value judgements. George Chryssides provides important analysis of the killer cults-the Jonestown People's Temple, Waco, the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate-examining the factors that made their followers willing to die for their cause. Older groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are discussed, and Chryssides traces the development of a variety of strands of spirituality, ranging from New Thought, Spiritualism and Theosophy. Subsequent chapters include the Baha'i, the Family (formerly Children of God), the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), the Jesus Army, the Rastafarians, the Church of Scientology, Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Unification Church ('the Moonies'). Lower profile groups are also discussed including: EST (Erhard Seminar Training), the New Kadampa Tradition, Brahma Kumaris, Sai Baba, Subud and the Western Buddhist Order. A study of the New Age phenomenon, and an account of societal responses to new religions at religious, societal and political levels is also included. |
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Page 14
... worship , the sacraments , a whole way of living , and means of salvation that offers hope of a life to come . www . For reasons such as this , many sociologists of religion operate with a ' functional ' definition of religion : the ...
... worship , the sacraments , a whole way of living , and means of salvation that offers hope of a life to come . www . For reasons such as this , many sociologists of religion operate with a ' functional ' definition of religion : the ...
Page 22
... worship . Since sound - recording is a recent invention , we have no way of establishing whether glossolaliation has a long or a lost tradition , or whether it is really something new . No doubt Pentecostalists have escaped inclusion ...
... worship . Since sound - recording is a recent invention , we have no way of establishing whether glossolaliation has a long or a lost tradition , or whether it is really something new . No doubt Pentecostalists have escaped inclusion ...
Page 29
... worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments , which proscribes worship of any being other than Yahweh , or was it merely an innocuous folk practice ? ' Worship ' , of ...
... worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments , which proscribes worship of any being other than Yahweh , or was it merely an innocuous folk practice ? ' Worship ' , of ...
Page 36
... worship , Jim and Marceline continued their work with the poor and disadvantaged , even using their own home as a nursing home , providing accommodation for various people of mixed race , with a basement restaurant , where free food was ...
... worship , Jim and Marceline continued their work with the poor and disadvantaged , even using their own home as a nursing home , providing accommodation for various people of mixed race , with a basement restaurant , where free food was ...
Page 46
... worship and rest , and the expectation of the imminent return ( ' advent ' ) of Jesus Christ . The movement originated with William Miller ( 1782-1849 ) , who proclaimed in 1831 , at Dresden , New York 46 EXPLORING NEW RELIGIONS.
... worship and rest , and the expectation of the imminent return ( ' advent ' ) of Jesus Christ . The movement originated with William Miller ( 1782-1849 ) , who proclaimed in 1831 , at Dresden , New York 46 EXPLORING NEW RELIGIONS.
Contents
1 | |
33 | |
77 | |
4 The New Christian movements | 120 |
5 New religions in the Hindu tradition | 164 |
6 New forms of Buddhism | 204 |
7 Independent new religions | 244 |
8 The Human Potential Movement | 278 |
9 New Age witchcraft and Paganism | 315 |
10 The countercult movement | 342 |
Statistical data | 366 |
Compendium | 370 |
Bibliography | 377 |
Index | 392 |
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Common terms and phrases
anti-cult Applewhite avatar Baba Baba's Baha'i Baha'u'llah baptism became become believed Bible body Brahma Kumaris Britain Buddha Buddhism ceremony Christ Chryssides Church of Scientology claim counter-cult cult Dalai Lama death devotees Dianetics disciples divine doctrines Dorje Shugden Erhard evangelical example existence faith Family Findhorn followers founder-leader Glastonbury God's gohonzons groups Hindu Hinduism Holy human important ISKCON Jehovah's Witnesses Jesus Army Jesus Fellowship Church Jones Jonestown Jouret known Krishna latihan Latter-day Saints leader lifestyle living Maharishi mainstream Christianity Mambro mantra marriage means meditation membership messiah mind mission Mormon Nichiren Nichiren Shoshu NRMs offer one's organization original Osho physical powers Prabhupada practice priesthood problems prophet Rajneesh Rastafarians regarded relationship religion religious movements Revelation Sangharakshita sannyasins scripture sect seminars sexual Society Soka Gakkai Solar Temple soul spiritual Subud Subuh taught teachings Tibetan tradition truth Unification Church Wicca worship