New Religious Movements

New Religious Movements New Religious Movements: Challenge and response is a searching and wide-ranging collection of essays on the contemporary phenomenon of new religions. The contributors to this volume are all established specialists in the sociology, theology, law, or the history of new minority movements. The primary focus is the response of the basic institutions of society to the challenge which new religious movements represent. The orientation of this volume is to examine the way in which new movements in general have affected modern society in areas such as economic organisation; the operation of the law; the role of the media; the relationship of so-called ‘cult’ membership to mental health; and the part which women have played in leading or supporting new movements. Specific instances of these relationships are illustrated by reference to many of the most prominent new religions – Hare Krishna, The Brahma Kumaris, The Unification Church, The Jesus Army, The Family’, The Church of Scientology, and Wicca. For students of religion or sociology, New Religious Movements is an invaluable source of information, an example of penetrating analysis, and a series of thought-provoking contributions to a debate which affects many areas of contemporary life in many parts of the world. Contributors: Eileen Barker, James Beckford, Anthony Bradney, Colin Campbell, George Chryssides, Peter Clarke, Paul Heelas, Massimo Introvigne, Lawrence Lilliston, Gordon Melton, Elizabeth Puttick, Gary Shepherd, Colin Slee, Frank Usarski, Bryan Wilson. Bryan Wilson is an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He is the author and editor of several books on sects and New Religious Movements. His recent publications include Religion in Sociological Perspective, The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism, and [with Karel Dobbelaere] A Time to Chant: The Soka Gakkai Buddhists in Britain. Jamie Cresswell is Director of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy European Centre. New Religious Movements Challenge and response Edited by Bryan Wilson and Jamie Cresswell London and New York In association with the Institute of Oriental Philosophy European Centre First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. © 1999 The Institute of Oriental Philosophy European Centre All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data New Religious Movements: Challenge and response Edited by Bryan Wilson and Jamie Cresswell Includes bibliographical references and index 1. Religions. 2. Cults. 3. Sects. I. Wilson, Bryan. II. Cresswell, Jamie BL80.2.N397 1999 98-30970 291–dc21 CIP ISBN 0–415–20049–0 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–20050–4 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-12916-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17512-3 (Glassbook Format) Contents List of contributors xi Foreword xv List of abbreviations xvii Introduction 1 BRYAN WILSON Notes 11 Summary of Chapter 1 13 1 New Religious Movements: their incidence and significance 15 EILEEN BARKER Introduction 15 Statistical significance 15 How many NRMs are there now? 15 How many members? 17 The cultural milieu 18 Generalising about NRMs 20 Who joins NRMs? 20 Temporal differences 21 Spatial differences 21 The significance of NRMs for individuals 25 The significance of NRMs for the rest of society 26 Concluding remarks 29 Notes 29 vi Contents Summary of Chapter 2 33 2 The Easternisation of the West 35 COLIN CAMPBELL Introduction: a changing vocabulary 35 Changing beliefs 36 Spiritual and mystical religion 38 Easternisation 40 Why has this happened? 44 Problems with the thesis 44 Instrumental activism 45 Conclusion 46 Notes 47 Summary of Chapter 3 49 3 Prosperity and the New Age Movement: the efficacy of spiritual economics 51 PAUL HEELAS Introduction 51 A frame of reference 52 Prosperity beyond the counter-culture 55 Numerical significance 60 New Age understanding of the efficacy of prosperity practices 62 Matters of efficacy 67 Some broader considerations 69 Notes 71 Summary of Chapter 4 79 4 New Religious Movements: the legal dimension 81 ANTHONY BRADNEY Introduction 81 Religious freedom under British law 85 Freedom of belief and freedom of practice 88 The secular analysis of religion 90 Objectivity and New Religious Movements 91 Conclusion 93 Notes 96 Contents vii Summary of Chapter 5 101 5 The mass media and New Religious Movements 103 JAMES A. BECKFORD Introduction 103 Controversial cults 104 The anti-cult movement 105 The portrayal of NRMs in the mass media 107 Journalists and academic researchers 112 Conclusion 116 Notes 117 Summary of Chapter 6 121 6 New Religious Movements and mental health 123 LAWRENCE LILLISTON AND GARY SHEPHERD Introduction 123 Deep theories and empirical studies 126 The effects on children 129 Mental health and religion in general 130 Stress, defence, coping – and religion 132 Stress and NRMs 135 Notes 137 Summary of Chapter 7 141 7 Women in New Religious Movements 143 ELIZABETH PUTTICK Gender roles in NRMs 143 Women in power in the Osho movement 145 Discipleship: the path of feminine spirituality? 146 Sexual abuse: the shadow side of the master–disciple relationship 147 Sexuality and marriage in NRMs 150 Motherhood and community: beyond the nuclear family 154 Female spiritual leadership in NRMs 157 A new typology of spiritual needs and values 159 Notes 160 viii Contents Summary of Chapter 8 163 8 New Religious Movements and the Churches 165 COLIN SLEE An example of the challenge 165 NRMs are not a new phenomenon 166 NRMs in theological perspective 167 Teaching truth 169 Parallels 173 Contrasts 176 Conclusions 178 Notes 179 Summary of Chapter 9 181 9 Damanhur: a magical community in Italy 183 MASSIMO INTROVIGNE Alternative spirituality in Piedmont 184 The origins and history of Damanhur 185 Damanhur’s world-view 187 The Underground Temple 189 The future of Damanhur 191 Notes 193 Summary of Chapter 10 195 10 Japanese New Religious Movements in Brazil: from ethnic to ‘universal’ religions 197 PETER B. CLARKE Introduction 197 The salient features of Japanese NRMs 198 The response to modernity 201 The Brazilian context and the Japanese heritage 202 The process of Brazilianisation 206 Conclusion 209 Notes 209 Contents ix Summary of Chapter 11 211 11 Anti-cultists in the United States: an historical perspective 213 J. GORDON MELTON Introduction 213 From FREECOG to CFF 215 Programme and ideology 217 Jonestown and the revival of anti-cultism 220 International anti-cultism 225 The rise and fall of brainwashing 226 The collapse of the Cult Awareness Network 228 The revival of anti-cultism in Europe 229 The future 231 Notes 232 Summary of Chapter 12 235 12 The response to New Religious Movements in East Germany after reunification 237 FRANK USARSKI The background 237 Labelling theory and the Jugendreligionen 239 The moral crusade in the former East Germany 240 Strategies in opinion formation 243 The case of Scientology 245 The role of the Churches 248 Clerical motivations 250 Notes 252 Summary of Chapter 13 255 13 Britain’s anti-cult movement 257 GEORGE D. CHRYSSIDES Introduction 257 Types of opposition 259 The secular anti-cult groups 260 Christian anti-cult groups 264 De-programming 265 x Contents Assessing anti-cult achievements 267 Effects of the anti-cult movement 268 Notes 271 Index 275 Contributors Eileen Barker is Professor of Religion with Special Reference to the Study of Religion at the London School of Economics. She has been studying alternative religions for the past quarter of a century and has over 150 publications on the subject. These include the prize- winning The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice? (Oxford, 1984) and New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction (London: HMSO, 1989, 2nd edition 1999). She was elected President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. In 1988, with the support of the British government and the mainstream churches, she founded INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), a charity which provides information about alternative religions. James A. Beckford is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick and President (1999–2003) of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion. His main publications on New Religious Movements include Cult Controversies: The Societal Response to New Religious Movements (London: Tavistock, 1985) and New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change (London: Sage, 1986). Anthony Bradney is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Leicester. One of his principal research interests is the relationship between religion and law in Great Britain, and he has written and lectured widely on this subject. His publications include Religion, Rights and Laws (1993) and (with Fiona Cownie) The English Legal System in Context (1996). Colin Campbell is Reader in Sociology and Head of Department at the University of York. He has written widely on sociology theory, culture and cultural change, religion and the sociology of consumption, and is the author of The Romantic Ethic and the Spirit of Modern Consumption (Blackwell, 1987), The Myth of Social Action (Oxford University Press, 1996), and (with Passi Falk) The Shopping Experience (Sage, 1997). George D. Chryssides is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies in the University of Wolverhampton. His publications include The Path of Buddhism (1988); The Advent of Sun Myung Moon (1991) and The Elements of Unitarianism (1998). His forthcoming Exploring New Religions will be published in 1999.

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