Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415267072 ISBN 13: 9780415267076

Publisher: Routledge, 2005

Synopsis

New Religious Movements (NRMs) can involve vast numbers of followers and in many cases are radically changing the way people understand and practice religion and spirituality. Moreover, many are having a profound impact on the form and content of mainstream religion. The Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements provides uniquely global coverage of the phenomenon, with entries on over three-hundred movement from almost every country in the world. Coverage includes movements that derive from the major religions of the world and to neo-traditional movements, movements often overlooked in the study of NRMs.

In addition to the coverage of particular movements there are also entries on topics, themes, key thinkers and key ideas, for example the New Age Movement, Neo-Paganism, New Religion and gender, NRMs and cyberspace, NRMs and the law, the Anti-Cult Movement, Swedenborg, Jung, Teilhard de Chardin, Lovelock, Gurdjieff, al-Banna, Qutb.

The marked global approach and comprehensiveness of the encyclopedia enable an appreciation of the innovative energy of NRMs, of their extraordinary diversity, and the often surprising ways in which they can propagate geographically. The most ambitions publication of its sort, the Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements is a major addition to the reference literature for students and researchers of the field in religious studies and the social sciences. Entries are cross-referenced with short bibliographies for further reading. There is a full index.

About this title

About the Author:

King's College, University of London and University of Oxford, UK

From Booklist:

The press of late hasn't been good for new religious movements (NRMs), cementing a negative view that equates them with cults, sects, or counterculture groups. While violence, brainwashing, and other instruments of control are all part of some new religious movements, they are not the complete story. This new reference work attempts to show that NRMs are a global phenomenon attracting millions and can offer religious innovation to existing traditions, or creative alternatives, whether by integrating the spiritual and the psychological or articulating a new model of authentic selfhood.

Entries are alphabetically arranged, signed, and usually conclude with a couple of suggestions for further reading. Foundational articles, such as After-life beliefs, Healing, New Age movement, and Self transformation, sketch features many NRMs have in common. Coverage is global, as evidenced by the entries for Caodaism, from Vietnam; Godianism, from Africa; Promise Keepers, from the U.S.; and Santo Daime, from Brazil. The dark side is explored in articles on Brainwashing and New religions and violence, with responses in such entries as Anti-cult movement, Deprogramming, and Exit counseling. The articles Gender and NRMs and Women in new religious movements demonstrate that NRMs, like so many other institutions, can be either liberating or patriarchal. There are see references throughout, and the encyclopedia concludes with an index.

Editing is a matter of concern. Although the arrangement of entries is alphabetical, New religious movement comes before New religions and violence. The entry for Blavatsky, Helena incorrectly gives 1975 as the year she founded the Theosophical Society. Most striking, the article on the Peoples Temple contains some five grammatical, typographical, or other errors. Such inattention and sloppiness are inexcusable, especially given the price tag for this work.

The Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements is, nevertheless, a worthwhile addition to reference shelves, offering a good introduction to many NRMs the world over. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Christopher McConnell
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0415267072
• ISBN 13: 9780415267076
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 720
• Editor: Clarke Peter B.