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. |
From inside the book
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Page 5
... authorities . Such opposition can either be active ( for example , the refusal of Jehovah's Witnesses to take part in armed conflict , the celebration of public holidays such as Christmas and Easter , or the acceptance of certain forms ...
... authorities . Such opposition can either be active ( for example , the refusal of Jehovah's Witnesses to take part in armed conflict , the celebration of public holidays such as Christmas and Easter , or the acceptance of certain forms ...
Page 6
... authority ' set up from within the sect's institutional structures , rather than the charismatic authority that gave the movement its original impetus . Weber and Troeltsch spoke of the ' church ' as the entity that contrasted with the ...
... authority ' set up from within the sect's institutional structures , rather than the charismatic authority that gave the movement its original impetus . Weber and Troeltsch spoke of the ' church ' as the entity that contrasted with the ...
Page 8
... authority can be imposed . - It is really the third feature — the lack of proximity to the dominant religion - that characterizes the new wave of NRMs . With the exception of the examples cited by Becker , the older new religions tended ...
... authority can be imposed . - It is really the third feature — the lack of proximity to the dominant religion - that characterizes the new wave of NRMs . With the exception of the examples cited by Becker , the older new religions tended ...
Page 17
... authority becomes ' institutional ' and not simply charismatic , or , following the leader's death , institutional structures determine the succession . Although new in character , the vast majority of new religions have progressed ...
... authority becomes ' institutional ' and not simply charismatic , or , following the leader's death , institutional structures determine the succession . Although new in character , the vast majority of new religions have progressed ...
Page 23
... authority figures , disregard for bodily welfare , communal living , psychological coercion which makes disengagement virtually impossible , and , finally , brainwash- ing a familiar list ! As examples of destructive cults , Shapiro ...
... authority figures , disregard for bodily welfare , communal living , psychological coercion which makes disengagement virtually impossible , and , finally , brainwash- ing a familiar list ! As examples of destructive cults , Shapiro ...
Contents
1 | |
33 | |
3 The old new religions | 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