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 8
... one's approbation . This does not occur within any institutional organized structure ; it is , rather , up to each individual to decide the exact form in which to express one's devotion . A cult in this sense , however , is very ...
... one's approbation . This does not occur within any institutional organized structure ; it is , rather , up to each individual to decide the exact form in which to express one's devotion . A cult in this sense , however , is very ...
Page 12
... one's scope to Britain , or even the west , and this limited scope does not in fact reflect the work of scholars like Barker and Clarke . Clarke in particular has done much important work on new religions in Brazil , and movements like ...
... one's scope to Britain , or even the west , and this limited scope does not in fact reflect the work of scholars like Barker and Clarke . Clarke in particular has done much important work on new religions in Brazil , and movements like ...
Page 21
... one's categories . Opus Dei , for example , often regarded as a ' cult ' by its critics , nonetheless consists of members of the Roman Catholic Church , and hence is not ' outside the mainstream ' . Is it an NRM any ―― more than the Sea ...
... one's categories . Opus Dei , for example , often regarded as a ' cult ' by its critics , nonetheless consists of members of the Roman Catholic Church , and hence is not ' outside the mainstream ' . Is it an NRM any ―― more than the Sea ...
Page 27
... one's spiritual life . Wallis cites Neo - Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Renewal Movement as examples of world - accommodating forms of spirituality . While phenomena such as glossolaliation and prophecy are not features of secular ...
... one's spiritual life . Wallis cites Neo - Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Renewal Movement as examples of world - accommodating forms of spirituality . While phenomena such as glossolaliation and prophecy are not features of secular ...
Page 29
... one's previous life . One example which has typically aroused controversy is ancestor veneration , often called ' ancestor worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments ...
... one's previous life . One example which has typically aroused controversy is ancestor veneration , often called ' ancestor worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments ...
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