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Cultic Studies Bibliography: 2003
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
Andrew
McMillion
Carmen Almendros
The following is a collection of books, dissertations,
articles, book chapters, and other information published in 2003 and pertinent
to cultic studies, an interdisciplinary area that includes the study of
manipulative influence, ethics, and abuse related to involvement in cults, new
religious movements, sects, mainstream religions, and other groups. The
material was assembled from online searches, data base searches, and materials
that publishers and others sent to AFF. When possible, we give some information
on the contents of the item. Please send us relevant items from 2003 that have
not been added to this list, as well as items from 2004 for a similar list we
plan to compile next year.
We thank Carmen Almendros, doctoral candidate in psychology
at the Autonomous University of Madrid, for preparing a list of recent books
from Spain. Andrew McMillion, a student at the London School of Economics,
contributed to the English language collection.
Supplementing this bibliography and posted separately is
Marie-Andrée Pelland's detailed review in French of recent French literature in
this field.
Books
Beckford, James A.; Richardson, James T. (Eds.).
Challenging Religion. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003.
Chidester, David. (2003). Salvation and Suicide: Jim
Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown; Revised Edition.
Davis, Derek H.; Hankins, Barry. New religious
movements and religious liberty in America. 2nd ed. Waco, TX: Baylor
University Press, 2003, 238 p.
·
Acknowledgments
·
Preface
·
Introduction by Barry Hankins
·
Controversial Christian Movements: History, Growth, and Outlook.
Timothy Miller
·
The Cult Awareness Network and the Anticult Movement: Implications
for NRMs in America. Anson Shupe, Susan E. Darnell, and Kendrick Moxon
·
A Contemporary Ordered Religious Community: The Sea Organization.
J. Gordon Melton
·
Women in Controversial New Religions: Slaves, Priestesses, or
Pioneers? Susan J. Palmer
·
Satanism and Witchcraft: Social Construction of a Melded but
Mistaken Identity. James T. Richardson
·
A Critical Analysis of Evidentiary and Procedural Rulings in
Branch Davidian Civil Case. Stuart A. Wright
·
New Religious Movements and Conflicts with Law Enforcement.
Catherine Wessinger
·
Christian Reconstruction after Y2K: Gary North
·
The New Millennium, and Religious Freedom. Adam C. English
·
A Not So Charitable Choice: New Religious Movements and President
Bush's Plan for Faith-Based Social Services. Derek H. Davis
·
Fighting for Free Exercise from the Trenches: A Case Study of
Religious Freedom Issues Faced by Wiccans Practicing in the United States.
Catharine Cookson
·
The Persecution of West Virginia Jehovah's Witnesses and the
Expansion of Legal Protection for Religious Liberty. Chuck Smith
Dawson, Lorne L. Cults and new religious movements: a
reader. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003.
Fernández Olmos, Margarite; Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth.
Creole religions of the Caribbean: an introduction from Vodou and Santería to
Obeah and Espiritismo. New York: New York University Press, 2003, 262 p.
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Historical Background
- The Orisha Tradition in Cuba: Santería/Regla de Ocha
- The Afro-Cuban Religious Traditions of Regla de Palo and the Abakuá
Secret Society
- Haitian Vodou
- Obeah, Myal, and Quimbois
- Rastafarianism
- Espiritismo: Creole Spiritism in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United
States
Gurko, A. V. (Aleksandr Viktorovich). Novye religii v
Respublike Belarus: etnologicheskoe issledovanie. Minsk : Tekhnalogiia, 2003,
242 p.
Hunt, Stephen J. (2003). Alternative religions A
sociological introduction. University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
·
The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking! Eileen
Barker
·
The Continuum Between “Cults” and “Normal” Religion. James A.
Beckford
·
Three Types of New Religious Movement. Roy Wallis
·
Cult Formation: Three Compatible Models. William Sims Bainbridge
and Rodney Stark
·
False Prophets and Deluded Subjects: The Nineteenth Century.
Philip Jenkins
·
The New Spiritual Freedom. Robert Wuthnow
·
Who Joins New Religious Movements and Why: Twenty Years of
Research and What Have We Learned? ‘ L. Dawson
·
The Joiners. Saul Levine
·
The Process of Brainwashing, Psychological Coercion, and Thought
Reform. Margaret Thaler Singer
·
A Critique of “Brainwashing” Claims About New Religious Movements.
James T. Richardson
·
Constructing Cultist “Mind Control.” Thomas Robbins
·
The Apocalypse at Jonestown. John R. Hall
·
“Our Terrestrial Journey is Coming to an End”: The Last Voyage of
the Solar Temple. Jean-Francois Mayer
·
Women in New Religious Movements. Elizabeth Puttick
·
Women’s “Cocoon Work” in New Religious Movements: Sexual
Experimentation and Feminine Rites of Passage. Susan J. Palmer
·
Why Religious Movements Succeed or Fail: A Revised General Model.
Rodney Stark
·
New Religions and the Internet: Recruiting in a New Public Space.
Lorne L. Dawson and Jenna Hennebry
Levine, Robert . The power of persuasion: How we're
bought and sold. New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons, Inc (2003). ix, 278
pp.
(from the jacket) Drawing heavily
on both extensive field research and scientific findings, this book offers an
incisive new take on the mindsets of those who prod, praise, debase, and
manipulate others to do things they never thought they would do--and are usually
later sorry they did. Professional persuaders are skilled artisans who often
leave their prey unaware that they've been influenced or even conned. In
researching this book, R. Levine and students went undercover to observe and
expose the tactics of persuasion professionals, from hucksters selling
everything from cosmetics to health, timeshares to kitchenware, as well as
religious and cult leaders and others who use their skills to control others'
lives. The book features vivid testimonies from individuals on the receiving end
of the process, from those who are convinced they've been saved to those who
believe they've been ruined by psychobabbling control freaks. Focusing on the
almost invisible process of effective manipulation, this book exposes many
tricks of the trade and offers rules for protecting one's self from becoming an
unwitting victim of manipulation.
Lewis, James R. (Ed.). Encyclopedic sourcebook of UFO
religions. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2003, 530 p.
Lewis, James R. Legitimating new religions. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003., 272 p.
- Introduction
- PART I: Legitimating New Religions
- Religious Experience and the Origins of Religion
- Native American Prophet Religions
- Jesus in India and the Forging of Tradition
- Science, Technology and the Space Brothers
- Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, and the Satanist Tradition
- Heavens Gate and the Legitimation of Suicide
- The Authority of the Long Ago and the Far Away
- PART II: Legitimating Repression
- Atrocity Tales as a De-Legitimation Strategy
- Religious Insanity
- The Cult Stereotype as an Ideological Resource
- Scholarship and the de-Legitimation of Religion
- Conclusion
- Appendix A: Satanist Survey
- Appendix B: Ex-member Survey
- Bibliography
- Index
Martin, Walter Ralston. The kingdom of the cults.
(Ravi Zacharias, general editor). Rev., updated, and expanded ed. Minneapolis,
MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2003, 704 p.
- The Kingdom of the Cults
- Scaling the Language Barrier
- The Psychological Structure of Cultism
- Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
- Christian Science
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)
- Spiritism
- The Theosophical Society (Gnosticism)
- Buddhism
- The Baha'i Faith
- Unitarian Universalism
- Scientology
- Unification
- Eastern Religions
- New Age
- Islam
- The Cults on the World Mission Field
- The Jesus of the Cults
- Cult Evangelism--Mission Field on Your Doorstep
- The Road to Recovery
- Appendix Section
- Appendix A: The Worldwide Church of God: From Cult to Christianity
- Appendix B: The Puzzle of Seventh-day Adventism
- Appendix C: Swedenborgianism
- Appendix D: Rosicrucianism
- Bibliography
- Subject Index
- Scripture Index
Mbuy, Tatah H. (Tatah Humphrey). Sects, cults & new
religous movements in contemporary Cameroon : the challenge of religion in a
pluralistic society. N.W. Province, Cameroon: Copy Printing Technology,
Archdiocese of Bamenda, 2003, 192 p.
Okonkwo, John M. Taming a three-headed monster : how and
why Nigerian students should stay away from secret cults, drug abuse and
HIV/AIDS infection. Enugu: Snaap Press, 2003.
Richardson, James T.
Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe. 2003, Kluwer
Regulation of minority faiths varies greatly around the globe, with some
countries allowing them considerable freedom to exist, recruit new members,
raise money, and use public facilities. Other societies are more closed to the
presence of such groups, either native or foreign. The pattern of reactions to
minority religious movements is not easily explained by reference to usual
terms. Knowledge of historical factors in the various countries, coupled with a
use of selected theories from sociology of religion and sociology of law, can
assist understanding of the situation in various countries. Explicating these
complex relationships is the challenge of this volume.
Saliba, John A. Understanding new religious movements, 2nd
ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2003., 293 p.
- Preface
- Introduction by J. Gordon Melton
- The New Religious Movements in Contemporary Western Culture: An Overview
- The History of New Religious Movements in the West
- The New Religious Movements in Psychological Perspective
- The New Religious Movements in Sociological Perspective
- The New Religious Movements in the Law Courts
- The New Religious Movements in Christian Theological Perspective
- Counseling and the New Religious Movements
- Index
Siskind, Amy B. The Sullivan Institute/Fourth Wall
community: The relationship of radical individualism and authoritarianism.
Westport, CT, US: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc (2003).
viii, 170 pp.
(from the publicity materials) In
this comprehensive study of the Sullivanian movement, Amy Siskind examines the
historical and social processes that resulted in the creation of the Sullivan
Institute/Fourth Wall Community and its subsequent development into a totalistic
community. Over a 35-year span (1957-1992), the Institute developed from a
radical experiment in therapeutic practice, with patients and therapists living
together in an innovative community on Manhattan's Upper West Side, into a
totalitarian society wherein leaders and therapists maintained enormous
institutional and personal power over the lives of patients and group members.
In The Sullivan Institute/Fourth Wall Community: The Relationship of Radical
Individualism and Authoritarianism, Siskind explores generally the development
of cults based on 20th century social and psychoanalytic theory, and then
investigates the particulars of this one community in great detail. The result
is a unique exploration of how a movement originally intended to liberate
individuals from a repressive society became, over time, more repressive than
mainstream society itself.
Snow, Robert L. Deadly cults : the crimes of true
believers. Westport, CN: Praeger, 2003, 237 p.
Stein, Stephen J. Communities of dissent : a history of
alternative religions in America. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press,
2003, 159 p.
Books from Latin America
Erdely, Jorge (Ed). (2003). Sectas
Destructivas: Un Análisis Científico. Publicaciones Para el Estudio
Científico de las Religiones. Ciudad de México.
Includes chapters by Drs. L. J.
West, Jorge de la Pena, Michael Langone, Cesar Mascarenas, Elio Masferrer,
Margaret Singer, John Hochman, Jorge Erdely. For more information:
raer_mx@yahoo.com.mx.
Erdely, Jorge; Arguelles, Lourdes.
(2003). La Nueva Jihad: Mitos y Realidades Sobre el Pan-Islamismo.
Publicaciones Para el Estudio Científico de las Religiones: Ciudad de México.117
pages.
El fracaso de
la CIA y del FBI para evitar los sucesos del 11 de septiembre de 2001 se debió a
una condición psicosocial conocida como negación interpretativa. Esta fue
producto de Análisis de informacion deficientes, basados en métodos y modelos
teóricos con fuertes perjuicios occidentals. Por ello, los avatars de la
tecnología y del capital fallaron en comprender la profundidad de la propuesta
de Jihad o Guerra Sagrada de Al-Qaeda.
Guerra, Manuel. Diccionario
Enciclopédico de las Sectas. Editorial: EUNSA (Pamplona). Año: 2003. Págs.:
304.
Tercera
edición con más de 1000 páginas, ha hecho un gran esfuerzo de síntesis de la
información para ofrecer una guía completa y muy interesante, que será útil a
todo el mundo para buscar cualquier secta. Aquí va la ficha que proporciona la
editorial en su Web: Título: las sectas y su invasión del mundo hispano: una
guía. Autor: Manuel Guerra Gómez. ISBN: 84-313-2083-4.
Books from Spain
Arroyo Menendez, Millan (2003). Cambio
cultural y cambio religioso: tendencias y formas de religiosidad en la España de
fin de siglo. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Servicio de
Publicaciones. 1 CD-ROM. ISBN 84-669-1204-5.
Climati, Carlo (2003). Los jovenes y el
esoterismo. Magia, satanismo y ocultismo: la patraña del fuego que no quema.
Madrid: Ciudad Nueva, 240 p. Persona y Familia. ISBN 84-9715-030-9
Galayo Macías, María del Carmen (2003).
Sectas, ¿asesinas de la mente? Madrid: Proyectos y Producciones Editoriales
Cyan. ISBN 84-8198-468-X
Guerra Gómez, Manuel (2003). Las sectas
y su invasión del mundo hispánico: una guía. Pamplona: Eunsa; Ediciones
Universidad de Navarra, 295 p. ISBN 84-313-2083-4
Mariscal Parella, Ramón (2003). En las
ramas. Saldes: Abadia Editores, 125 p. ISBN 84-933159-3-1
Moyano, Antonio Luis (2003). Sectas,
amenazas en la sombra: cómo actúan, quiénes son y cómo defendernos. Madrid:
Nowtilus; MEDIASAT, 239 p. ISBN 84-9763-005-X
Pascual, Roger (2003). L’ombra de les
sectes. Guía básica de grupos de manipulación mental. Barcelona: Llibres de
l’índex, 159 p. Descoberta, 32. ISBN 84-95317-59-1
Vazquez Borau, José Luis (2003). El
hecho religioso. Madrid: San Pablo, 152 p. ISBN 84-285-2564-1
Books from CESNUR.Org
Hogan, Jane Williams. Swedenborg e le chiese
swedenborgiane. Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2004, pp. 136.
Introvigne, Massimo.
Fondamentalismi. I diversi volti dell’intransigenza religiosa
Piemme, Casale Monferrato (AL) 2004, 240 pp.
Introvigne, Massimo. Hamas.
Fondamentalismo islamico e terrorismo suicida in Palestina.
Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 128.
Lopez Jr., Donald S. Il buddhismo
tibetano. Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 88.
Kranenborg, Reender . L’induismo.
Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 96.
Sedgwick, Mark. Il sufismo. Elledici, Leumann
(Torino) 2003, pp. 176.
Squarcini, Federico; Fizzotti, Eugenio. Hare Krishna
(Studies in Contemporary Religions). Signature Books; (February 2004). 100
pages.
Stark, Rodney; Introvigne, Massimo. Dio è tornato.
Indagine sulla rivincita delle religioni in Occidente.
Piemme, Casale Monferrato (AL) 2003, 160 pp.
Warburg, Margit. Baha'i. Signature Books;
(February 2004). 00 pages.
Dissertations
McKibben, Jodi Beth Aronoff . Sex and cult affiliation
biases in the diagnosis of dependent and narcissistic personality disorders: An
empirical investigation. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B:
The Sciences & Engineering. Vol 64(5-B), 2003, 2396.
Numerous research investigations
have been conducted to assess if the sex of either the client or the clinician
has an influence on clinicians' assessments of mental health disorders
(specifically, personality disorders). The present study seeks to evaluate
whether or not a client's sex and/or cult affiliation status has an effect on a
clinician's formulation of correct diagnoses. In other words, would an
assessment sex or cult affiliation bias be detected? Eighteen hundred male and
female members of the American Psychological Association were each presented
with a case study describing either a male or a female who was either a cult
member, a cult leader, or had no cult affiliation status. Further, the case
study described symptoms meeting the diagnostic criteria for either dependent
personality disorder (DPD) or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), and no
other disorder. The clinicians were asked to evaluate various diagnoses
regarding the extent of their applicability to the case presented. A total of
472 useable surveys were returned. The results indicated that both the sex and
the cult affiliation status of the case affected the percentage of correct
diagnoses assigned for both the DPD and NPD cases. The assignment of the correct
diagnosis for the NPD cases was also affected by the sex of the respondent. As
expected, the results showed that when cult affiliation was not a factor,
females were more likely to be assigned a DPD diagnosis than were males, and
that males were more likely to receive a NPD diagnosis than were females. The
specific findings for the cult affiliation cases, however, were far more
complex. This study has provided evidence for assessment sex and cult
affiliation bias for both DPD and NPD. As such, factors aside from the client's
symptoms appear to affect diagnostic decisions and a stronger adherence to the
DSM, perhaps through the use of semistructured interviews and self-report
inventories, is recommended. Furthermore, future research should be conducted to
further understand the nature of such biases.
Wolfson, Linda Bruger . A study of the factors of
psychological abuse and control in two relationships: Domestic violence and
cultic systems. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities &
Social Sciences. Vol 63(8-A), Mar 2003, 2794.
This study explored the factors
of psychological abuse and control, as it exists in different types of abusive
relationships. A review of the literature reveals that this type of abuse has
been noted in such relationships as domestic violence, cultic systems, prisoners
of war and hostage detainment (Boulette & Anderson, 1986; Herman, 1992; Ward,
2000; West, 1993). However, although evidence regarding these factors of control
across groups of abusive relationships is reported in the literature, it is only
noted on a clinical basis without any empirical support. This study focused on
the presence of these factors of abuse and control across two groups, victims of
domestic violence and cultic systems. The first part of the research involved
the development of an instrument, Across Groups Psychological Abuse and Control
Scale (AGPAC), to measure psychological abuse and control in these two
populations. A Factor Analysis derived three factors in the new scale, Verbal
Abuse, Isolation and Activity Control and Emotional Abuse, each with a high
degree of internal consistency. The second part of this study involved
administering the AGPAC to 98 ex-cult and 100 domestic violence participants in
order to determine how each of these groups related to the factors of
psychological abuse and control. In addition, participants in the study were
given a questionnaire on anxiety, the Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire
(Reynolds, 1999), a frequently noted consequence of abusive relationships
(Herman, 1992; Jones, 1994; Singer, 1992; Walker, 1979). Both groups were
profiled as experiencing the factors of psychological abuse and control while in
their respective relationships. However, the domestic violence participants were
profiled as severely anxious while the ex-cult participants were mildly anxious.
This study indicated that there are also differences in both groups as they
relate to the subscales of the AGPAC, which warrants further investigation. This
research has just begun to explore the similarities and differences in
psychological abuse and control as experienced in two different types of abusive
relationships. Additional investigation into a more universal understanding of
this abusive behavior should provide important information for a society
struggling to better serve victims of abuse.
Willey, Frank Tilghman . The quest for "personal freedom"
among the apprentices of nagual Miguel Ruiz: A participant-observer
phenomenology. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities &
Social Sciences. Vol 63(10-A), 2003, 3594.
The researcher studied the
experience of "personal freedom" within a North American community of spiritual
practitioners gathered around a contemporary nagual from Mexico named Miguel
Angel Ruiz. The research objective was to describe and evaluate the structure,
meaning and social value of this lived experience, one central to a contemporary
New Religious Movement whose members claim to be following ancient Toltec
traditions. The study was based on participation and observation and
methodologically organized through a constructive exercise in philosophy of
method. In the course of his own participation-observation and in-depth
interviews with twelve apprentices, the researcher generated a
hermeneutical-phenomenological description of "personal freedom" and its
psychosocial locations, including and especially as it appeared within his own
consciousness. In order to refine his attestation of "personal freedom" the
researcher concluded the study with critical reflections upon the psychosocial
locations of the phenomenon, associated problems related to knowledge, truth and
human suggestibility, and the social value of the apprentice's quest. "Personal
freedom," was found to be a subjective, interior state of consciousness.
Accomplished through a particular psychospiritual program, "personal freedom" is
experienced as a multiplication of options for living, a liberation and
realization of one's "true self," and an openness to explore avenues of
realities previously unknown. Moreover, as a religious, spiritual and/or
transcendental experience, "personal freedom" refers to an opening of the self
to possibilities beyond horizons formerly accepted as naturally, personally or
socially given. (Psyinfo Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)
Articles
Almendros, Carmen, Carrobles, José
Antonio, Rodríguez-Carballeira, Álvaro, & Jansa, Josep Maria. (2003).
Adaptacion Psicometrica de la Versión Española de la Group Psychological Abuse
Scale Para la Medida de Abuso Psicológico en Contextos Grupales.
Psicothema, 15(4), 132-138. [Reprinted in Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No.
3 – see below for abstract in English.]
Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin . Apocalyptic Dreams and Religious
Ideologies: Losing and Saving Self and World.
Psychoanalytic Review. Vol 90(4), Aug 2003, 403-439.
Notes that the essential
ingredients of the apocalyptic dream are first a total destruction of the world
as we know it, with all its present evils, and then a birth of a "new heaven and
a new earth" for the elect, who are only a remnant of humanity. These ideas
appear both in schizophrenic or borderline individuals, and in many religious
scriptures and doctrines. Millenarian groups promise imminent collective
salvation for the faithful in an earthly paradise that will rise following an
apocalyptic destruction ordained by the gods. In some cases this destruction
will be hastened by human acts. In some contemporary groups, such dreams are
clearly tied to acts of violence, including mass suicide. In this article,
examples of apocalyptic thinking in old and new religions are examined, with
particular attention to Aum Shinrikyo, the Peoples Temple, Heaven's Gate, and
the Solar Temple. A case study of Brahma Kumaris, a contemporary group
characterized by an apocalyptic vision (kept hidden from nonmembers) is
presented to illuminate the possible psychodynamics of apocalyptic visions.
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
Bracke, Sarah. Author(iz)ing agency: Feminist scholars
making sense of women's involvement in religious "fundamentalist" movements.
European Journal of Women's Studies. Vol 10(3), Aug 2003, 335-346.
This article discusses ways in
which feminist scholars draw upon agency in relation to the complex subject
matter of women's engagement in so-called "fundamentalist" movements. While
postcolonial critiques generally reject the term "fundamentalism", and in
particular the way it is linked to Islam, feminist perspectives have a vested
interest in looking at contemporary developments in different religions from the
perspective of women's lives. Against the patriarchal reputations of
fundamentalist movements, feminist scholarship increasingly tends to emphasize
women's agency, thereby effectively breaking with widespread notions of "false
consciousness". After briefly discussing two such examples, the question is
raised whether this emphasis on agency does not risk evacuating structural
constraints in the construction of subjectivity, thus neutralizing the
productive tension, at the heart of women's studies, between structure and
agency. In conclusion, the article joins other calls for new ways of thinking
about subjectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
(journal abstract)
Brothers, Doris . Clutching at certainty: Thoughts on the
coercive grip of cult-like groups: Comment. Group. Vol 27(2-3), Sep
2003, 79-88.
This response to Richard
Raubolt's (see record
2003-07265-002) article, "Attack on the Self," attempts to understand the
intense and enduring connection that often develops between charismatic leaders
of cult-like groups and their followers in terms of their mutual need to
regulate uncertainty. After describing "the intersubjective regulation of
uncertainty," a concept influenced by self psychology and intersubjectivity
systems theory, a number of uncertainty regulating modes that emerged in the
training program are examined including (1) the denial of difference, (2) the
denial of sameness, (3) alter ego relating, (4) the inflammation of passion, and
(5) faith-keeping fantasies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights
reserved) (journal abstract)
Lai C-T. Hong Kong Daoism: A Study of Daoist Altars and Lü
Dongbin Cults. Social Compass, December 2003, vol. 50, no. 4, pp.
459-470(12)
The author examines the
development of Daoist institutions in Hong Kong. He focuses on the historical
factors behind that development, in the context of transplantation from parent
institutions in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province since 1940. The
origin of most Hong Kong Daoist temples and altars cannot be disassociated from
the larger Lü Dongbin cults that flourished in Guangdong during late imperial
China. Many of the Daoist institutions are volunteer religious organizations
whose members are recruited from different strata in Hong Kong. Since the 1970s,
in identifying themselves more as charitable societies in a modern sense, major
Daoist organizations are changing their nature and integrating into the Hong
Kong community.
Nishida, Kimiaki; Kuroda, Fuzuki . A study of
psychological problems after leaving destructive cults: The effects of the
progress period after leaving and counseling. Japanese Journal of
Social Psychology. Vol 18(3), Mar 2003, 192-203.
The purpose of this study was to
examine the psychological problems experienced after leaving destructive cults
and the effects of the progress period after leaving and non-professional
counseling. The study analyzed the psychological problems by using a
questionnaire survey administrated to 157 former cult members from two different
cults. The results of factor analysis revealed the following eleven factors for
psychological problems. 1) tendencies for depression and anxiety, 2) loss of
self esteem, 3) remorse and regret, 4) friendship building and socializing
difficulties, 5) family relationship difficulties, 6) floating, 7) fear of
sexual contact, 8) emotional instability, 9) tendency for psychosomatic disease,
10) concealment of past life, and 11)anger toward the group. The results of an
analysis of variance showed that tendencies for depression and anxiety, tendency
for psychosomatic disease, and concealment of past life decreased during the
progress period after leaving the group and counseling, while loss of
self-esteem and anger toward the group increased by counseling.
Norlander, Torsten; Gard, Lisette; Lindholm, Lena; Archer,
Trevor. New Age: exploration of outlook-on-life frameworks from a
phenomenological perspective. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. Vol
6(1), 2003, 1-20.
Examined outlook-on-life
frameworks of members of the New Age religious movement from a phenomenological
perspective. Four men and four women (aged 33-60 yrs), professionally active
within the New-Age movement, completed in-depth interviews regarding 3 aspects
with outlook-on-life conceptualization: theoretical assumptions of humans and
the world, a central system of values, and an emotional foundation. Results show
that New Age is a religious outlook on life which is strongly imprinted with a
global outlook, processes of development and the individual. It offers a package
or theme during an age of upheavals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all
rights reserved)
Whitsett, Doni; Kent, Stephen A. Cults and Families.
Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services (www.familiesinsociety.org),
vol. 84, No. 4, 2003, pp. 491-502.
This article provides an overview
of cult-related issues that may reveal themselves in therapeutic situations.
These issues include: families in cults; parental (especially mothers') roles in
cults; the impact that cult leaders have on families; the destruction of family
intimacy; child abuse; issues encountered by noncustodial parents; the impact on
cognitive, psychological, and moral development; and health issues. The authors
borrow from numerous theoretical perspectives to illustrate their points,
including self psychology, developmental theory, and the sociology of religion.
They conclude with a discussion of the therapeutic challenges that therapists
face when working with cult-involved clients and make preliminary
recommendations for treatment.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Beyer P. Constitutional Privilege and Constituting
Pluralism: Religious Freedom in National, Global, and Legal Context. Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, no. 3, pp.
333-339(7)
Lori Beaman argues that religious
freedom in Canada and the United States is well established in theory (or myth)
but limited in practice, privileging Protestantism in particular and varieties
of Christianity in general. Focusing on the treatment of other religions in the
courts of the two countries, she defends the hypothesis that these legal systems
tend to reinforce the hegemony of Christianity, using this as an implicit model
of what constitutes a religion, and thereby maintaining the marginalization and
restricting the freedom of other religions. The present article sets Beaman's
arguments in a wider global context, exploring the extent to which Christianity
does and does not serve as a global standard for religion; and addressing the
question of why issues of religious freedom so frequently end up being the
subject of legal judgment and political decision. The main conclusions drawn
from this global contextualization are that maintenance of some kind of
religious hegemony is the rule all across global society, not just in Canada and
the United States, and that unfettered freedom of religion or genuine religious
pluralization is correspondingly rare, if it exists anywhere. Moreover, it is
argued that such limitations, frequently expressed in legal judgments and
political decisions, are more or less to be expected because they flow from the
peculiar way that religion has been constructed in the modern and global era as
both a privileged and privatized, as both an encompassing and marginalized
social domain. The article thereby simultaneously reinforces and takes issue
with Beaman's position: the modern and global reconstruction of religion invites
its infinite pluralization at the same time as it encourages its politicization
and practical restriction. Religions act as important resources both for claims
to inclusion and for strategies of relative exclusion.
Gill A. Lost in the Supermarket: Comments on Beaman,
Religious Pluralism, and What it Means to be Free. Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, no. 3, pp.
327-332(6).
Beaman L. G. Response to Beyer and Gill. Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, no. 3, pp.
341-346(6).
Hackney C. H.; Sanders G. S. Religiosity and Mental Health: A
Meta–Analysis of Recent Studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 43-55(14).
A meta–analysis was performed in
an attempt to clarify the proposed relationship between religiosity and
psychological adjustment. Specific focus was given to the issue of definition,
namely, whether differences in researchers’ conceptualizations of religiosity
and mental health could account for the various contradictory findings by
psychologists of religion. Analysis of 34 studies conducted during the past 12
years revealed that the definitions of religiosity and mental health utilized by
psychologists in this field were indeed associated with different types and
strengths of the correlations between religiosity and mental health. Discussion
of results assesses the fit between relevant theory and the pattern of change in
effect size across categories of religion and adjustment, and concludes with
implications for therapeutic uses of religious involvement.
Rice T. W. Believe It Or Not: Religious and Other
Paranormal Beliefs in the United States. Journal for the Scientific
Study of Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 95-106(12).
Paranormal beliefs are often
divided between those that are central to traditional Christian doctrine, such
as the belief in heaven and hell, and those that are commonly associated with
the supernatural or occult, such as the belief in ESP and psychic healing. This
study employs data from a recent nationwide random sample general population
survey to catalog the social correlates of paranormal beliefs and to examine the
relationships between religious and other paranormal beliefs. The results
indicate that standard social background factors do a poor job of accounting for
who believes in paranormal phenomena and that the importance of specific
background factors changes dramatically from phenomenon to phenomenon. The
results also show that the correlations between belief in religious phenomena
and other paranormal phenomena are largely insignificant. These findings call
into question many prevailing theories about paranormal beliefs.
Merrill R. M.; Lyon J. L.; Jensen W. J. Lack of a Secularizing
Influence of Education on Religious Activity and Parity Among Mormons.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, no.
1, pp. 113-124(12).
Research conducted in the early
1980s indicated that education does not have a secularizing influence on
Mormons. Based on data from two cross–sectional surveys involving Utah residents
in 1996 and 2000, we provide an updated assessment of the association between
education and religiosity in Mormons and also consider this association in
non–Mormons. We also evaluate the association between educational attainment and
parity (i.e., number of children born to a woman) according to religious
preference and religious activity. Consistent with previous research, we did not
find education to have a secularizing influence on Mormons, but rather to have a
positive association with religiosity for both Mormon men and women. Little or
no association was observed in non–Mormons. Mean parity tended to decrease with
higher education for both Mormons and non–Mormons. However, within categories of
age and education, mean parity was considerably higher among religiously active
Mormon women.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, University
of California Press
Urban, Hugh B. The Beast with Two Backs: Aleister Crowley,
Sex Magic and the Exhaustion of Modernity. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 7-25.
Infamous for his drug use and
extreme sexual practices, and proclaiming himself the "Great Beast 666,"
Aleister Crowley remains to this day one of the most influential and yet most
often misunderstood figures in the history of Western new religious movements.
This article offers a fresh approach to Crowley, by placing him within
contemporary debates about modernism and postmodernism. By no means the outcast
enemy of modern Western society so often depicted in the media, Crowley was, I
argue, a stunning reflection of some of the most acute cultural contradictions
at the heart of modern Western civilization in the early twentieth century. A
uniquely Janus-faced character, he reflects both the "Faustian" will of
modernism as well as its tragic failure and exhaustion at mid-century in the
aftermath of the two World Wars.
Flaherty, Robert Pearson. JeungSanDo and the Great Opening
of the Later Heaven: Millenarianism, Syncretism, and the Religion of Gang
Il-sun. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 26-44.
Korea's JeungSanDo is a
syncretistic religion in which elements of religious Taoism, Buddhism,
Neo-Confucianism, Roman Catholicism, and Korean shamanism are combined with a
unifying millenarian vision that was initially formulated in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries in the late Joseon Dynasty. JeungSanDo is based on
the teachings of Gang Il-sun (1871-1909), who was/is regarded by his followers
as the incarnation of SangJe (Shangti), the Ruler of the Universe in religious
Taoism, as well as Maitreya, the Future Buddha of Buddhist eschatology. The
religion of Gang Il-sun arose as a compensatory response to the defeat of the
Donghak Revolution in 1894. The central belief of JeungSanDo is Hu-Cheon
GaeByeok, the Great Opening of the Later Heaven, the new age of JeungSan
Gang Il-Sun's millenarian vision. A glossary of Korean and Chinese terms follows
the endnotes.
Geaves, Ron. From Divine Light Mission to Élan Vital and
Beyond: An Exploration of Change and Adaptation. Nova Religio: The Journal
of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages
45-62.
The following article will put
forward the argument that it is necessary to take into account the worldview of
the insider in order to appreciate the coherence or "rationality" of actions of
a religiousspiritual teacher or organization. As a case study, the article
examines the transformations that have occurred in the organizational forms
utilized by Prem Rawat (a.k.a. Maharaji). While bringing readers up to date with
Maharaji's activities since the 1980s, I argue that these developments owe more
to Maharaji's self-perception of his role as a master and his wish to
universalize the message historically located in the teachings of individual
sant iconoclasts, than to external or internal pressures brought to bear upon
the organizational forms themselves.
Simmons, John K. Eschatological Vacillation in Mary Baker
Eddy's Presentation of Christian Science. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages
63-80.
This article clarifies a number
of terms used in end-time theology with a view to illuminating the theology of
Christian Science. "Eschaton continuum" refers to a range of eschatological
expectations in which a prophetic religious leader vacillates between the polar
extremes of apocalyptic eschatology and ethical eschatology; and between
catastrophic apocalypticism and progressive apocalypticism. The author tracks
the eschatological vacillation in Mary Baker Eddy's conceptualization of
Christian Science in the hope of introducing a typology useful in analyzing
other emergent religious movements.
Kranenborg, Reender. Field Notes: Efraim: A New
Apocalyptic Movement in the Netherlands. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages
81-91.
At the end of 2001 an unknown
apocalyptic movement, Efraim, became hot news in the Netherlands. It was
reported that the members expected the end of the world and the coming of the
Messiah before 2002, and had changed their lives dramatically. These Field Notes
report on this new group. The article first discusses what happened and the role
the media played. Second, the article provides a description of the movement,
including a portrait of the leader and his teachings about the end of the world,
i.e., the rapture of the Bride (the faithful), the predictions on what will
happen in the future, ideas concerning Elijah and the twelve tribes
("geo-theology") and the Bride of Christ. Third, the reactions of the leader,
when the rapture of the Bride did not take place, are examined. Finally some
conclusions are given. It can be seen that Efraim started as a Pentecostal
group, but developed into an independent Christian movement, which has a new
content, due to the revelations the leader receives.
Lucas, Phillip Charles. Enfants Terribles: The Challenge
of Sectarian Converts to Ethnic Orthodox Churches in the United States. Nova
Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 5-23.
This article considers two case
studies of collective conversions to Eastern Orthodoxy to illustrate the most
pressing challenges faced by ethnic Orthodox congregations who attempt to
assimilate sectarian groups into their midst. I argue that these challenges
include: 1) the different understandings of ecclesiology held by former
Protestant sectarians and by "cradle" Orthodox believers; 2) the pan-Orthodox
aspirations of sectarian converts versus the factionalism found in
ethnically-based American Orthodox jurisdictions; 3) the differing pastoral
styles of former sectarian ministers and Orthodox priests; 4) the tendency of
sectarian converts to embrace a very strict reading of Orthodoxy and to adopt a
critical and reformist attitude in relations with cradle Orthodox communities;
and 5) the covert and overt racism that sometimes exists in ethnic Orthodox
parishes. I suggest that the increasing numbers of non-ethnic converts to ethnic
Orthodox parishes may result in increased pressure to break down ethnic barriers
between Orthodox communities and to form a unified American Orthodox Church.
These conversions may also lead to the growth of hybrid Orthodox churches such
as the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
Adogame, Afe. Betwixt Identity and Security: African New
Religious Movements and the Politics of Religious Networking in Europe. Nova
Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 24-41.
African New Religious Movements
(ANRMs) are creating local-global religious networks to further their
self-insertion (self-assertion) in the European religious landscape.
Intrareligious engagement of ANRM members derives not so much from doctrinal
affinities or leadership preferences, but from the quest for spiritual
satisfaction, religious identity, and a place to feel at home. The complexity of
the motives for participating in networks is due to religious, socio-cultural,
and economic considerations. While religious communities identify this
networking as a vital strategy for global mission and evangelism ("mission
reversed"), such networks serve also as conduits for maintaining identity
and ensuring security, as well as facilitating status improvement and
legitimacy in Europe.
Reichl, Christopher A. Ijun in Hawaii: The Political
Economic Dimension of an Okinawan New Religion Overseas. Nova Religio: The
Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 2,
Pages 42-54.
With reference to an Okinawan new
religion called Ijun and its branch on the island of Hawaii, this article
analyzes the international expansion of new religious organizations from the
perspective of political economy. I develop questions concerning the flow of
capital and the relationship between central church and branch by the
application of a center-periphery model. I argue that the development of an
international organization allows the Okinawan group to become a center with
respect to its overseas branches, replicating the centern
Hallum, Anne. Ecotheology and Environmental Praxis in
Guatemala. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 55-70.
One can argue that religious
beliefs have more influence for changing societal behavior than does scientific
knowledge. Thus, the rediscovery of ecological themes in a variety of religious
texts (ecotheology) can be a step toward environmental activism and conservation
behavior, where science alone has been relatively ineffective. The article
presents this argument, reviewing relevant literature. Next, the article tests
this argument for the potential influence of religion in promoting
environmentalism through a comparative case study of three Guatemalan villages:
one in which religious traditions are quickly disintegrating because the
population was forced to move; one in which religious traditions remain largely
intact; and one in which Guatemalans, Europeans, and North Americans practice
environmental preservation in a pluralistic religious setting. Shared values and
the common religious theme of caring for creation can be a motin.
Cowan, Douglas E. Confronting the Failed Failure: Y2K and
Evangelical Eschatology in Light of the Passed Millennium. Nova Religio: The
Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 2,
Pages 71-85.
If the Y2K "bug" entered the
collective consciousness of evangelical Christians, two principal patterns of
response emerged: either evangelicals acknowledged Y2K as a problem that
required the readiness and reply of Christians, but rejected it as a component
of prophetic fulfillment; or they interpreted it in some measure as a
fulfillment of prophecy and a part of God's plan to facilitate the end time. For
those who believed Y2K to be a part of the eschatological schema, its status as
a non-event required a variety of dissonance management techniques. This article
explores the methods deployed by dispensationalist Christians to manage the
cognitive dissonance generated by Y2K's "failed failure." Following a brief
summary of evangelical predictions regarding Y2K, I offer a typology of
responses ranging from denial that Y2K had ever been a problem to declaration
that the Y2K problem occurred exactly as predicted. In each response, the
central organizing principles of evangelical dispensationalism hold firm, and
the cognitive dissonance created by the "failed failure" is successfully
managed.
Stephenson, Denice A., Hollis, Tanya M. Before and After
Jonestown: The Peoples Temple Collection at the California Historical Society.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 86-91.
The California Historical Society
is the chief repository for materials pertaining to the Peoples Temple. There
are five collections that together form the Peoples Temple Collection, and each
represents a unique perspective on the membership and the events leading up to
the tragedy on 18 November 1978 at Jonestown, Guyana. Ongoing efforts at the
Society to make these collections more accessible to researchers have resulted
in new approaches for research into the Peoples Temple, its membership, and the
nature of the church as a new religious movement.
Moore, Rebecca. Drinking the Kool-Aid: The Cultural
Transformation of a Tragedy. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and
Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 7,
No. 2, Pages 92-100.
The expression "drinking the
Kool-Aid" has entered the American idiom with little reference to its origins in
the Jonestown tragedy of 18 November 1978. Instead, people are using Jonestown,
the event, and Kool-Aid, the phrase, to signify a number of contradictory
meanings and values. This is because those who died in Jonestown were ritually
excluded from cultural consideration. The more traumatic the original incident,
the more likely memory of that event will be forgotten or repressed. The author
identifies the ways Kool-Aid and Jonestown are used in the news and on the
Internet, and catalogues four main groups of uses: cult disasters, including
9/11; political uses; entertainment; and business uses. The categories of cult
disasters and politics use Jonestown references negatively, thereby indicating a
tenuous connection with the origins of the concepts. The entertainment and
business worlds, however, use the references both negatively and positively,
thus revealing dissociation and amnesia about the reality of Jonestown.
Wrights, Stuart A. A
Decade After Waco: Reassessing Crisis Negotiations at Mount Carmel in Light of
New Government Disclosures. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative
and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol.
7, No. 2, Pages 101-110.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the disastrous federal siege of the
Branch Davidians, the tragedy is revisited in light of new government
disclosures regarding negotiations during the 51-day standoff. Some of the newly
available records - post-incident interviews with negotiators conducted by
Justice Department investigators and memoranda written by negotiators or members
of the FBI command structure - were concealed by the government for six years
because they contained incriminating information. The new evidence reveals the
degree to which negotiators at Mount Carmel recognized and roundly condemned the
actions taken by the Hostage Rescue Team during the standoff that ultimately led
to the insertion of deadly CS gas. Some negotiators even predicted the violent
and fatal outcome of the siege weeks before it ended. Indeed, two veteran
negotiators challenged the decisions of FBI commanders and were banished from
Waco for their remonstrance.
Pinn, Anthony B.
Introduction: African American Religion Symposium. Nova Religio: The
Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 7-10.
This essay introduces five articles in a Nova Religio symposium focusing
on African American Religion. The essays provide some means for re-imagining the
study of African American religion in ways that allow for a much better
understanding of African American participation in traditional and new religious
movements.
Long, Charles H. African
American Religion in the United States of America: An Interpretative Essay.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2003, Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 11-27.
This essay addresses the problematical nature of the meaning of religion as it
is related to the formation and destiny of peoples of African descent in the
United States. Moving beyond a narrow understanding of the nature of religion as
expressed in much of Black Theology, for example, this essay proposes a "thick"
and complex depiction of religion in the African American context through
recognition of its relationship to the contact and conquest that marked the
modern world.
Anderson, Victor. A
Relational Concept of Race in African American Religious Thought.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 28-43.
This essay is a critical exploration of the ways that race is being constructed
in the contemporary climate of postmodern philosophical discourse. The author
seeks to forge an ongoing conversation among black philosophers and African
American theologians around race in each discourse. Race is understood by the
author as a deep symbol of Western culture that is paralleled to the
primitive/civilization symbols that have structured Western intercultural
encounters with African peoples. The essay proceeds by developing the concept of
race as a deep symbol, drawing on the work of Edward Farley. It explicates how
race is debated in contemporary black philosophy by focusing on Kwame Anthony
Appiah's and Lucius Outlaw's conceptualizations. By turning to the hermeneutical
theory of Charles H. Long, the essay attempts to construct a relational theory
of race that synthesizes both Appiah's and Outlaw's perspectives and then
connects the relational theory of race to black religion and theology.
Callahan, Allen Dwight.
Perspectives for a Study of African American Religion: From the Valley of Dry
Bones. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent
Religions. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 1,
Pages 44-59.
In "Perspectives For a Study of African American Religion," Charles Long wrote
of "three interrelated perspectives for the study of black religion": "Africa as
historical reality and religious image," "the involuntary presence of the black
community in America," and "the experience and symbol of God." I essay to show
how Long's categories illumine a celebrated instance of African American
biblical appropriation, the prophet's vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14, as
emblematic of the perspectives of symbolic African absence, involuntary American
presence, and collective theological experience of the slaves and their
descendents.
Perkinson, James W.
Trancing Terror: African American Uses of Time to Trick the Evil Eye of
Whiteness. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent
Religions. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 1,
Pages 60-75.
This essay engages the ideas of historian of religions Charles Long to examine
the significance of African American work with creative uses of time and timing
as a survival tactic inside the regimes of enslavement and racialization. The
modern form of domination that has taken shape in the history of European
colonization and imperial aggression has clearly elevated the disciplines and
technologies of the eye as its modus operandi - nowhere more evident than
in the emergence of racialization schemes as the primary form of social
shorthand governing the on-going project of accumulation and control. The
struggles of African heritage peoples in the "New World" against such have
regularly interrupted the controlling monologue of the eye with ever
reinvigorated and re-innovated polyphonies of the ear. The resulting
consciousness is a primary modality of a profoundly religious creativity.
Pinn, Anthony B. Black
Bodies in Pain and Ecstasy: Terror, Subjectivity, and the Nature of Black
Religion. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent
Religions. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 1,
Pages 76-89.
This article argues that at its core, black religion involves a quest or
struggle for complex subjectivity. It is a wrestling against efforts to
dehumanize those of African descent historically documented through the process
of slavery, disenfranchisement, etc. This depiction of the nature of black
religion does not promote a static reality, unchanged through the ages. Religion
is not essentialized in that sense. Rather, religion's core is responsive to
changing existential conditions and is manifest through ever-evolving
institutions, doctrines, rituals, and so on. Scholarly attention to this theory
of black religion requires a new method of study. Pushing beyond conversation
regarding method most often presented in terms of a hermeneutic of suspicion,
this article concludes with the outline for a new hermeneutic of style.
Hogan, Jane Williams.
Field Notes: The Swedenborgian Church in South Africa. Nova Religio:
The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 90-97.
The Swedenborgian Church, also called the New Church, was established in South
Africa among English-speaking settlers in 1850. It is based on the theological
writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Swedenborg's "new" Christianity
emphasizes, among other things, the internal meaning of the Bible, life after
death, and the special spiritual qualities of black Africans. These field notes
are based on a trip to South Africa in August 2000, and examine how the two
primary types of Swedenborgian churches are adjusting to post-apartheid South
Africa today. The English-speaking New Church is associated with the General
Church of the New Jerusalem headquartered in the United States. Also affiliated
with the General Church are a number of Zulu and Sotho congregations. The
General Church has a hierarchical structure, a male priesthood, and primarily
white leadership. One of the English-speaking societies has a school from
preschool through eighth grade, and a Zulu-Sotho congregation sponsors a
preschool. The New Church was established among black Africans independently
from the General Church in 1909. Today that group is called the New Church of
Southern Africa. It is congregationally structured, has a male priesthood, but a
strong Women's League
Wessinger, Catherine.
Falun Gong Symposium Introduction and Glossary. Nova Religio: The
Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003,
Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages 215-222.
This essay introduces eight articles in a Nova Religio symposium on Falun
Gong, a new religious movement that is being suppressed in the People's Republic
of China. A glossary of Chinese terms that relate to Falun Gong is provided.
Ownby, David. A History for Falun Gong: Popular Religion
and the Chinese State Since the Ming Dynasty. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages
223-243.
This article seeks to place Falun
Gong - and the larger qigong movement from which it emerged - into the
long-term context of the history of Chinese popular religion from the midMing
(1368-1644) to the present. The argument developed is that Falun Gong and
qigong are twentieth-century elaborations of a set of historical popular
religious traditions generally labeled by scholars as "White Lotus
Sectarianism." This article attempts both to look forward at the Falun Gong from
a perspective informed by an understanding of its historical antecedents, and to
look backward at the historical traditions on the basis of what we know about
Falun Gong and qigong. The ultimate objective is to arrive at a
re-characterization of a popular religious phenomenon which has been
incompletely understood.
Irons, Edward. Falun Gong and the Sectarian Religion
Paradigm. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages 244-262.
The sectarian paradigm places
newly formed religious groups not sanctioned by the state into a category of
sectarian (jiaopai). In imperial times such groups were treated as
heterodox and banned officially. They nevertheless traditionally survived well
in the margins of society, in provincial centers, or allied with newly ascendant
social groups. This paper discusses Falun Gong in light of this paradigm. Falun
Gong is compared with two other religious groups that to some extent also
reflect the sectarian paradigm, Three in One and Yiguandao. The paper first
introduces each group's history, then focuses on ideology as contained in
doctrinal statements and writings. The sectarian model is found to be inadequate
in analyzing newly arisen popular religions and trends in contemporary China.
There are no apparent genetic links between many such groups, and ideas do not
consistently overlap. The paper proposes an alternative model of new syncretic
movements. This model looks beyond the adversarial stances implied by the
sectarian rubric.
Lowe, Scott. Chinese and International Contexts for the
Rise of Falun Gong. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent
Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages 263-276.
This study first provides an
overview of the most frequently cited reasons for the incredibly rapid growth of
Falun Gong since its modest beginnings in 1992. The results of an eight-question
Internet survey of Falun Gong practitioners, administered over ten days in June
2000, are then presented and analyzed. The answers given to the survey questions
by 85 self-selected respondents suggest that, at least before the recent
governmental crackdown on Falun Gong, the Internet was not a significant factor
in attracting potential practitioners to the group. The influences of family and
friends, as well as the prospect of better health, seem far more important in
establishing initial interest. As practitioners mature in faith, the complex
gnostic system of the founder's teachings appears to play a growing role in
sustaining practitioners' interest.
Bell, Mark R., Boas, Taylor C. Falun Gong and the
Internet: Evangelism, Community, and Struggle for Survival. Nova Religio:
The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No.
2, Pages 277-293.
In this paper we argue that
studying Falun Gong's use of the Internet is essential to understanding the
movement as a whole. Falun Gong has made skillful use of the Internet for three
of its most important functions. In the area of information distribution, the
Internet has become an important vehicle for disseminating Li Hongzhi's
teachings. To strengthen the integrity of a globally-dispersed community, it has
proven useful for organizing face-to-face gatherings and for online experience
sharing. In Falun Gong's struggle for survival as a movement, the Internet has
helped practitioners bring pressure against the People's Republic of China (PRC)
government, especially at the international level. But Falun Gong's Internet use
has not guaranteed success in these tasks. Reliance on the Internet has paved
the way for the emergence of a splinter sect and challenges to Li's authority,
and the PRC government has effectively countered much of Falun Gong's Internet
use within the country.
Fisher, Gareth. Resistance and Salvation in Falun Gong:
The Promise and Peril of Forbearance. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages
294-311.
In Falun Gong forbearance (ren),
along with truthfulness (zhen), and benevolence (shan) makes up
one of basic characteristics of the universe and forms an essential part of any
practitioner's soteriology. In order to gain good karma, a practitioner must
learn to forbear the suffering inflicted by others while not shirking from her
faith in Falun Gong teachings. Forbearance has become an extremely effective
means of resistance by Falun Gong practitioners of the ban imposed by the
People's Republic of China authorities. The movement has been successful in
representing the ban as a means for true practitioners to advance in their
spiritual development. The importance of forbearance within the group's doctrine
has also led to a split within Falun Gong, however, by providing a Hong Kong
splinter group with the theological tools to challenge the hierarchical
structure of the Falun Gong organization and its leadership in New York.
Edelman, Bryan., Richardson, James T. Falun Gong and the
Law: Development of Legal Social Control in China. Nova Religio: The Journal
of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages
312-331.
In 1999 the government of the
People's Republic of China (PRC) labeled Falun Gong an "evil cult" and began a
campaign to eliminate the qigong movement of which it was a part. The
West was quick to condemn the PRC's action as a violation of human rights. In
response, the PRC government criticized the West for interfering in its internal
affairs, and using "human rights" as an excuse to impose its will upon the PRC.
Rather than formulating an attack on the PRC government using Western principles
of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, this article analyzes the
legality of the PRC's campaign against Falun Gong within the framework of the
legal and political systems developed in the PRC Constitution, other relevant
documents and international treaties to which the PRC is a signatory nation. It
is argued that the PRC government acted outside of its constitutional authority,
violated citizens' basic rights, and overstepped its own boundaries in its war
against Falun Gong and its practitioners.
Burgdoff, Craig A. How Falun Gong Practice Undermines Li
Hongzhi's Totalistic Rhetoric. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and
Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages 332-347.
This article is based upon
participant-observation of a Falun Gong group in Columbus, Ohio and includes a
descriptive account of the exercises and local organizational structure. The
totalistic rhetoric of Falun Gong founder, Li Hongzhi, is undermined by the
non-hierarchical organizational structure of the movement. The privileging of
orthopraxy over orthodoxy at the local level further undermines Li's totalism.
However, the persecution of Falun Gong and the vilification of Li Hongzhi by the
government of the People's Republic of China have resulted in an escalation of
Li's totalistic and apocalyptic rhetoric. The ongoing persecution is currently
the greatest threat to the structural stability of the Falun Gong movement.
Nonetheless, barring external pressure, Falun Gong organizational structure and
orthopraxy sufficiently counterbalance Li's totalistic tendencies.
Palmer, Susan J. From Healing to Protest: Conversion
Patterns Among the Practitioners of Falun Gong. Nova Religio: The Journal of
Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages
348-364.
Falun Gong's emerging resistance
movement and the escalation of Master Li's apocalyptic ideology in response to
persecution is the focus of this study. On the basis of field research and
interviews with practitioners, I propose a four-phase model of conversion,
culminating in an activist commitment to the Master's call to serve in the
protest demonstrations against the People's Republic of China's persecution of
Falun Gong. Since Falun Gong's civil disobedience has resulted in the death of
over 343 practitioners, it is important to analyze the process of
conversion/commitment to the cause, and the practitioners' own spiritual
understanding of their activist efforts in a two-tiered resistance movement that
is concerned with global human rights, but also with a cosmic battle between
gods and demons, called fa-rectification.
Robbins, Thomas. Comparing Incidents of Extreme "Cult
Violence": A Comment on "Is the Canon on Jonestown Closed?" Nova Religio:
The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2003, Vol. 6, No.
2, Pages 365-375.
In her article "Is the Canon on
Jonestown Closed?" Rebecca Moore slightly misconstrued some cryptic statements
by Thomas Robbins and Dick Anthony comparing the degree of provocation which
precipitated violence at Jonestown and at Mount Carmel Center (Waco). We had
intended only to say that intrusive provocation was greater at Waco and thus
internal volatility was greater at Jonestown although provocation at Jonestown
was not negligible. This response to Moore underscores both the importance and
the difficulties of comparing different incidents of collective violence
involving new religious movements. The relative salience of "endogenous" and
"exogenous" factors varies markedly from incident to incident. "Cult violence"
fiascoes should not be viewed as interchangeable either from a "cult
essentialist" perspective or a perspective emphasizing victimization of groups.
Systematic comparative studies would be welcome.
Moore, Rebecca. A Response to Thomas Robbins' Comment.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.
2003, Vol. 6, No. 2, Pages 376-378.
This Response to Thomas Robbins'
Comment, first, points out Dr. Robbins' excellent qualifications to comment on
Peoples Temple; second, highlights the fact that the original article makes it
abundantly clear Dr. Robbins' work was considered fully in the context of
comparative studies; and third, notes that the author takes exception to certain
claims made by Dr. Robbins. This Response directs readers to the appropriate
works, to judge for themselves the validity of the original analysis. Finally,
the author indicates her agreement with Dr. Robbins on the need for further
dialogue about the role endogenous and exogenous factors play in religious
violence.
Cultic Studies Review Articles
Note: Each issue of Cultic Studies Review in 2003
included several dozen summaries of press reports on various groups that have
generated controversy. Go to
www.culticstudiesreview.org and click on the various Table of Contents
hyperlinks to see lists of these summaries.
Aaslid, Flore Singer. (2003). On the Outside Looking In:
Growing Up in the Moonies. Cultic Studies Review, 2(1).
The author
recounts her experiences as a child and young adult in the Unification Church
(“the Moonies”). She discusses the enduring sense of not fitting in, which
arose from her many years of travelling and being taken care of by people other
than her parents (who were usually busy with missionary work) and stigma |
