Religious Sects

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Religious Sects

1 .

Religious Sects; A Sociological Study
by Bryan Wilson. 256 pgs.

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Contents

1: Introduction: Sects in Sociological Perspective

2: The Problem of Definition

3: Sectarian Responses to the World

4: The Early Fundamentalists

5: The Pentecostal Movements

6: Revolutionist Sects

7: Introversionists

8: Manipulationists

9: Thaurnaturgical, Reformist and Utopian Sects

10: Some Exceptional Cases

11: Sects in Two Developing Societies

12: Origins, Functions and Development

Notes

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Index
2 .

Sects, Cults, and Spiritual Communities: A Sociological Analysis
by William W. Zellner, Marc Petrowsky. 182 pgs.

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American society is culturally diverse with a variety of religious denominations, sects, cults, and self-help groups vying for members. This volume analyzes nine of these groups, chosen both for their intrinsic interest and because they illustrate a variety of sociological concepts. The groups included in this study are: Heaven's Gate, Jesus People USA, the Love Family, The Farm, Amish Women, Scientology, El Nino Fidencio, Santeria, and Freedom Park. The contributors are social scientists with first-hand knowledge of the groups they examine.

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Evolution of a New Age Cult: from Total Overcomers Anonymous to Death at Heaven's Gate

Bibliography

Chapter 2: Jesus People Usa

Bibliography

Chapter 3: The Farm

Chapter 4: The Love Family: Its Formative Years

Bibliography

Chapter 5: El NiñO Fidencio and the Fidencistas

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 6: Santería

Bibliography

Chapter 7: Single Women in Amish Society

Bibliography

Chapter 8: The Church of Scientology: a Quasi Religion

Bibliography

Chapter 9: Freedom Park

Bibliography

Index

About the Editors and Contributors
3 .

The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism: Sects and New Religious Movements in Contemporary Society
by Bryan R. Wilson. 300 pgs.

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This wide-ranging collection explores the complex relationships between religious sects and contemporary Western society and examines the controversial social, political, and religious issues that arise as sects seek to pursue a way of life at variance with that of other people. Wilson argues that sects, often subject to negative theological and moral judgements, can be understood only as social entities and as such require a scientifically neutral and unbiased approach to explore their emergence and persistence. He traces the growth and expansion of various movements--including the Unification Church, the Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Exclusive Brethren--relating them to their social context, and indicates the sections of society from which their support is likely to come.

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Preface

Note on Copyright

Contents

List of Tables

1: Sectarian Studies: Assumptions, Sources, Scope, and Methods

Part I: Survival: The Sect Against the World

2: Sects and the State: Some Issues and Cases

3: Sects and Society in Tension

4: Old Laws and New Religions

5: A Sect at Law: The Case of the Exclusive Brethren

Part II: Evolution, Diffusion, and Appeal

6: How Sects Evolve: Issues and Inferences

7: American Sects: Their Impact on Europe

8: Jehovah's Witnesses in a Catholic Country: A Survey of Nine Belgian Congregati ons

9: Becoming a Sectarian: Motivation and Commitment

Part III: Modern Minorities: The New Religious Movements

10: New Religious Movements: Some Preliminary Considerations

11: Factors in the Failure of New Religious Movements

12: Unificationism: The Moonies in Belgium

13: Scientology: A Secularized Religion

Author Index

Subject Index
4 .

Church and Sect in Canada
by S. D. Clark. 458 pgs.

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Preface

Contents

Introduction

Chapter Two The Great Revival in the Maritime Provinces 1783-1832

Chapter Three The Great Revival in Canada 1783-1832

Chapter Four The Break with American Sectarianism 1783-1832

Chapter Six New Frontiers and New Sects 1832-1860

Chapter Seven Rise of the Territorial Church 1860-1885

Chapter Eight The Great Revival of the City 1885-1900

Chapter Nine Church and Sect in the Modern Community

Index
5 .

The Buddhist Sects of Japan, Their History, Philosophical Doctrines and Sanctuaries
by E. Steinilber-Oberlin, Kuni Matsuo. 304 pgs.

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Letters Addressed to the Author by Eminent Japanese Bonzes and Professors

Contents

Illustrations

Introduction

Chapter I the Kusha Sect

Chapter II the JŌ-Jitsu Sect

Chapter III the Sanron Sect

Chapter IV the Hosso Sect

Chapter V the Kegon Sect

Chapter VI the Tendai Sect

Chapter VII the Shingon Sect

Chapter VIII the Zen Sect

Chapter IX the JÔdo Sect

Chapter X the Shinshu Sect

Chapter XI the Nichiren Sect

Chavrer XII in the Margin of Canonical Books

Conclusion

Texts

An Elementary and Annotated Bibliography of Japanese Buddhism
6 .

End-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon?
by Richard Abanes. 438 pgs.

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In this look at doomsday madness--its history, leaders, followers, and dogma--Abanes cites historical antecedents from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and discusses in detail the myriad of popular doomsday prophets, including Japan's Aum Shinrikyo, and other international movements. Illustrations.

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Other Books by Richard Abanes

Contents

Introduction

Part One: Apocalypse Now

One: 1990s: Decade of Death

Two: Seers, Sages, and Soothsayers

Three: Thus Saith the Lord

Four: Patriots & Militiamen

Part Two: The Annals Of Armageddon

Five: A Timeless Obsession

Six: Nostradamus

Seven: Miller's Millennial Madness

Eight: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon, Inc.

Part Three: A Return to Sanity

Nine: Signs of the Times Revisited

Ten: The Bible Tells Me So?

Eleven: Millennial Mindsets

Appendix A: The Nde Mystery Solved

Appendix B: Calendar Confusion

Appendix C: Timeline of Doom

Appendix D: Inside Heaven's Gate

Notes

Index
7 .

When Prophets Die: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements
by Timothy Miller, J. Gordon Melton . 248 pgs.

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Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: When Prophets Die: The Succession Crisis in New Religions

1: The Shakers: The Adaptation of Prophecy

2: Postcharismatic Authority in the Amana Society: The Legacy of Christian Metz

Epilogue: The Community After the Death of Landmann

3: American Indian Prophets

Introduction

4: The Latter Day Saint Movement: A Study in Survival

5: They Found a Formula: 450 Years of Hutterite Communitarianism

6: Democracy Vs. Hierarchy: The Evolution of Authority in the Theosophical Society

Conclusion

7: Charisma and Covenant: The Christian Science Movement in Its Initial Postcharismatic Phase

Conclusion

8: When Prophets Die: The Case of the Spirit Fruit Society

The Rastafari of Jamaica

Introduction

10: The Call of the Lotus-Eyed Lord: The Fate of Krishna Consciousness in the West

11: Siddha Yoga: Swami Muktananda and the Seat of Power

Conclusion

12: When the Prophet is Yet Living: A Case Study of the Unification Church

Afterword

Notes
8 .

Heretical Sects in Pre-Reformation England, in History Today
by Greg Walker. 7 pgs.

Magazine Article

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9 .

The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
by James R. Lewis. 544 pgs.

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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.

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Title Page

Acknowledgments

Contents

Contributors

The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements

Overview

References

Chapter 1: An Introduction to New Religions

Notes

Part I: Modernization and New Religions

Chapter 2: Alternative Spiritualities, New Religions, and the Reenchantment of the West

Notes

Chapter 3: The Sociocultural Significance of Modern New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Chapter 4: Science and Religion in the New Religions

References

Chapter 5: New Religious Movements and the World Wide Web

Notes

References

Part II: Social Conflict

Chapter 6: Violence and New Religious Movements

References

Chapter 7: Legal Dimensions of New Religions

Notes

References

Chapter 8: Vicissitudes of Success and Failure

References

Chapter 9: Anti-Cult Campaigns in Western Europe and French Religious Exceptionalism

References

Chapter 10: Satanism and Ritual Abuse

Notes

Chapter 11: Conversion and “Brainwashing” in New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Chapter 12: Disaffiliating from New Religious Movements

References

Part III: Social and Psychological Dimensions

Chapter 13: Psychology and the New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Chapter 14: Millennialism

References

Chapter 15: Function, Reality Construction, and Process

Notes

References

Chapter 16: Women in New Religious Movements

References

Chapter 17: Children in New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Part IV: Neo-Pagans, Ufos, and Other Heterodoxies

Chapter 18: UFO Religions and “Ufological” Themes in New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Chapter 19: Esotericism in New Religious Movements

Notes

References

Chapter 20: Seekers, Networks, and “New Age”

Notes

References

Chapter 21: New Religions in East Asia

Notes

References

Chapter 22: A Review of Current Academic Treatments of Neo-Paganism

References

Index
10 .

Women in a Medieval Heretical Sect: Agnes and Huguette the Waldensians
by Yael Lotan, Shulamith Shahar. 184 pgs.

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Agnes and Huguette were two Waldensian women who were interrogated by the inquisitional court of Pamiers, in southern France, in 1319 and subsequently burnt at the stake for their heretical beliefs. Shahar uses the records of their inquisition as a basis for an examination of the Waldensian sect's attitude towards its women members, and their role within the sect, comparing their lives with women in the Catholic church and in other sects. She finds that in a persecuted voluntary group such as the Waldensians, gender was largely immaterial, subordinate to the fervent religious commitment of the members; nor did the court of inquisition distinguish between male and female, subjecting heretics of either sex to the same horrible punishment.This is the first book-length treatment of women Waldensians, who have been almost written out of studies of the sect, but are here shown to have played a full role within it. It throws light on women and gender in medieval society as well as on one of the main heretical movements in France in the early fourteenth century.SHULAMITH SHAHAR is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History, Tel Aviv University.

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Women in a Medieval Heretical Sect: Agnes and Huguette the Waldensians

Contents

Introduction

1: The Poor of Lyons

2: Women in the Early Days of the Poor of Lyons

3: The Sisters

4: Agnes and Huguette: Two Believers

5: The Female Believers: a Deviation from the Gender Culture of the Age

6: Martyrdom

Appendix: Translation of the Interrogations of Agnes and Huguette

Bibliography

Index

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