A sense of selfawareness and spiritual sensitivity have found expression in the lives of large numbers of people, especially among youth. Religion in sociological perspective sage publications inc. Barrett covering the origin, history, beliefs, practices and controversies of more than sixty new religious movements, including the family international, international church of christ, osho rajneesh, satanism, new kadampa tradition, wicca. Readings in the study of new religious movements 1996. Some nrms deal with the challenges posed by the modernizing. Ronald enroth is professor of sociology at westmont college in santa barbara, california. The term new religious movement has been applied to all new faiths that have arisen worldwide over the past several centuries. New religious movement nrm, the generally accepted term for what is sometimes called, often with pejorative connotations, a cult. Lorne l dawson tackling popular stereotypes and media portrayals of new religious movements nrms, lorne dawson attempts to replace prejudice, misconceptions, and. Scholars studying the sociology of religion have almost unanimously adopted this term as a neutral alternative to.
Wallis 1984 argues that the last 30 years in the usa and europe have witnessed a rapid growth in nrms. The sociology of new religious movements by dawson, lorne l. A guide to new religious movements intervarsity press. In this book, a group of senior nrm scholars who have been instrumental in the development of the field offer pivotal essays in the form of. Since its inception around 1970, the study of new religious movements nrms has evolved into an established multidisciplinary field. The sociology of religious movements is the culmination of work begun in the future of religion the 1986 award winner of the society for the scientific study of religion and a theory of religion 1993 award winner of the pacific sociological association. Their incidence and significance introduction the subject that i address in this introduction the incidence and significance of new religious movements is enormous, and the necessity to select a few points from the many that could be raised is. New religious movements are revealed as a normal aspect of social life and as. The book contains several fascinating case studies of new religious movements i prefer the shorter sociological term cult, but i understand that the word carries. Social movement theory and the sociology of religion.
Explaining how religion and society transform each other, this book explores such movements as holiness, adventism, religious communes, satanism, new age and democratization. An analysis and comparison of its religious systems and doctrines. Students in this concentration study new religious movements as organizational movements, religious ideas, and distinctive spiritualties that emerged in the nineteenth century metaphysical churches, latter day saints, bahai, occult and esoteric movements and in the upsurge of nontraditional and alternative movements from the midtwentieth century forward western appropriations of. The new age movement is one of the better known examples of nature spirituality. Examines how new religions have originated, survived or died, and sometimes prospered throughout u. The book contains several fascinating case studies of new religious movements i prefer the shorter sociological term cult, but i understand that the word carries negative connotations to laypersons such as the familychildren of god and the process church of the final judgment, as well as on older. The sociology of religious movements is the culmination of work begun in the future of religion the 1986 award winner of the society for the scientific study of religion and a theory of religion 1993 award winner of. Short of a time machine, the study of contemporary new religious movements cults is as close as we are likely to get to witnessing the early beginnings, and evolution, of mature religions.
A 2001 course by lorne dawson at the university of waterloo is designed to serve two ends. While nrs has its roots in a variety of disciplines anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and sociology the discipline of sociology has played a. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the most important theoretical categories in the scope of sociology of religion. Rent comprehending cults the sociology of new religious movements 2nd edition 9780195420098 and save up to 80% on textbook rentals and 90% on used textbooks. Introduction with james beckford new religious movements and society. Meaning and significance of new religious movements. Wilson, emeritus fellow in sociology, oxford university. Roy wallis suggests that some of the new religious movements such as the unification church and krishna consciousness attracted mainly well educated middle class people and suggested that these movements compensated them for psychic deprivation they were disillusioned with their parents capitalist values and turned to these. In other words, the patterns typical of new religious movements are suggestive of how the old religious movements got their start. The book shows how rapid social change gives rise to novel religious. This text will be essential reading for students and researchers in the sociology of religion and in religious studies. Brian wilson argued that many religious and spiritual organisations operating in contemporary society do not fit into categories such as churches and sects.
Entries are crossreferenced with short bibliographies for further reading. The book concludes with a comprehensive bibliography. Cults versus new religions is a matter of perspective, says ori tavor, a senior lecturer in the department of east asian languages and civilizations, who teaches a class on new religious movements. New religions, new religions, new religious movements nrms this concept refers to two separate religious phenomena. In academic studies, they are more often associated with processes of social change and the critique of modernity.
A new religious movement nrm is a religious community or spiritual group of modern origins, which has a peripheral place within its nations dominant religious culture. These are the sources and citations used to research new religious movements. Among his recent books on religious movements are cults, religion, and. The sociology of new religious movements 9780195420098 by dawson, lorne l. New books in new religious movements, 20152018 reading.
While the author does not offer an apologia for cultsin either a religious or a sociological sensehe does attempt to replace suspicion and misinformation with a greater knowledge of the facts as best we know them and a measure of sympathetic understanding. New religious movement, any relatively new religion characterized by innovative responses to modern conditions, perceived counterculturalism, eclecticism and syncretism, and charismatic and sometimes authoritarian leadership. The sociology of new religious movements chapter 1 the. Conversion, brainwashing, and the new religious movements. New religious movements and cults in popular culture. I just finished reading william bainbridges the sociology of religious movements 1997. Lorne l dawson tackling popular stereotypes and media portrayals of new religious movements nrms, lorne dawson attempts to replace prejudice, misconceptions, and speculation with scholarly insight.
The vast majority of the thousands of small and unorthodox religious groups that exist around the world today are not dangerous to their members or to the rest of society. World rejecting new religious movements revisesociology. Meaning and significance of new religious movements oxford. Nrms may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as christianity, in which case they will be distinct from preexisting denominations. For many years he has taught a large course on new religious movements, and recently published five articles in the field and edited the book cults incontext. Bromley is professor of sociology at virginia commonwealth university. Most of his publications deal with matters of theory and method in the study of religion and sociology. This has led to the development of typologies of cults and other new religious movements. Encyclopedia of new religious movements peter clarke download. Teaching new religious movements oxford scholarship. Long the focus of controversy, cults, what sociologists prefer to call new religious movements have been studied by scholars for years. Jun 26, 2005 ronald enroth is professor of sociology at westmont college in santa barbara, california. New religions studies nrs, an emerging area of specialization in the academic study of religion, has as its primary mission the study of new religious movements nrms.
At the same time, both the movements and the scholars who study them have been the subjects of intense controversy. Nrms can be novel in origin or part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from preexisting denominations. A new religious movement nrm is a faithbased community, or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of recent origin. Comprehending cults, second edition, provides a sociological interpretation of the phenomenon of new religious movements. New religions studies nrs, an emerging area of specialization in the academic study of religion, has as its primary mission the study of new. A survey of sects, cults, and alternative religions, is a book by david v. World rejecting movements typically demand high levels of commitment from members. The study draws from the disciplines of anthropology, psychiatry, history, psychology, sociology, religious studies, and theology. Some still use the term cult for groups they believe to be extremely manipulative and exploitative. With this caveat in mind, students can expect to experience. Social movement theory and the sociology of religion jstor.
Sociologists dislike the term cult because of its negative connotations, prefer new religious movement nrms often have high levels of tension with dominant religious norms however, nrms may become mainstream religions reform social movement seek to change limited aspects of a society but do not seek to alter or replace major social institutions. Violence and new religious movements oxford handbooks. The new age movement is a loosely defined pantheistic worldview in. Dawson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Comprehending cults the sociology of new religious.
The term new religious movements has been employed to refer to a number of distinguish able but overlapping phenomena, not all of which are unambiguously new and not all of which are, by at least some criteria, religious. Though minority religions had regularly populated the fringes of western culture throughout history, a host of new religious movements had appeared in north america at the end of the 1960s and incited public controversy. Academic study of new religious movements wikipedia. New religious movements and rapid social change sage. Nrms may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, in which case they will be distinct from preexisting denominati.
Hannigan university of toronto despite a similar genesis in the classic nineteenth century theories of social change, scholarly analyses of religious and social movements have frequently addressed different problems and formulated separate paradigms. Many books and articles have been written and many studies have been conducted with regard to nrms. New religious movements are often popularly referred to as cults or sects. Millenarianism also millenarism, from latin millenarius containing a thousand, is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which all things will be changed. Eileen barker noted that there are five sources of information on new religious movements nrms. The most important first that this book achieves is its bold questioning of the whole intellectual apparatus of the sociology of religion as it has been. David koresh told his followers that only he understood the book of. New religious movements sociology of religion iresearchnet. For classes in religion or the social sciences, or for interested individuals, understanding new religious movements offers the most objective introduction possible.
Academics identify a variety of characteristics which they employ in categorizing groups as new religious movements. New religious movements are sometimes pejoratively referred to as cults. Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes a transformation. While the number of people involved in new religious movements nrms is small, the attention they have received in the popular media and academic discourse suggest a greater significance. Cults, converts and charisma is a university edition of the authors trend report in current sociology volume 36. The sociology of new religious movements by lorne l. Drawing on the literature on patriarchal charismatic movements, the chapter explores the dynamics of physical and sexual abuse that characterized leaderfollower relationships across a diverse number of religious groups. Short of a time machine, the study of contemporary new religious movements cults is as close as we are likely to get to witnessing the.
First, there are the new religious movements o sociology of religion, religion, sociology of the study of the relationship of religion to social structures and social processes. This chapter provides an overview of the study of abuse in new religious movements. Since the mid1960s, new religious movementssome exotic, some homegrownhave burgeoned all over the united states. This book is undoubtedly the best introduction to new religious movements nrms as sociological phenomena. New religious movements graduate theological union. A new religious movement nrm is a religious, ethical, or spiritual group or community with practices of relatively modern origins. Lorne l dawson this book summarizes, synthesizes, and assesses the results of thirty years of research into new religious movements by historians, sociologists, and psychologists of religion. An article on the categorization of new religious movements in u. In the 1970s a new subfield in academia developed around the study of what was termed new religions. It presents studies by several sociologists of new religious movements on the role played by apostates described as individuals that leave new religious movements to pursue opposition against their former group.
A new religious movement nrm, also known as a new religion or alternative spirituality, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its societys dominant religious culture. The academic study of new religious movements is known as new religions studies nrs. The role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements is a 1998 book edited by david g. New religious movement is a new term from academic discourse, and is applied to religious movements from the 19th century onwards. Sep 19, 2018 key features of world rejecting new religious movements their religious ideology tends to be highly critical of mainstream society and possible mainstream religions within that society.
Case studies are used to illustrate the types of violence that were reported by devotees. The new second edition has been updated and revised throughout and includes a new foreword by noted historian of religion, j. A guide to new religious movements christian book distributors. 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.
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