Violence and New Religious MovementsJames R. Lewis The relationship between new religious movements (NRMs) and violence has long been a topic of intense public interest--an interest heavily fueled by multiple incidents of mass violence involving certain groups. Some of these incidents have made international headlines. When New Religious Movements make the news, it's usually because of some violent episode. Some of the most famous NRMs are known much more for the violent way they came to an end than for anything else. Violence and New Religious Movements offers a comprehensive examination of violence by-and against-new religious movements. The book begins with theoretical essays on the relationship between violence and NRMs and then moves on to examine particular groups. There are essays on the "Big Five"--the most well-known cases of violent incidents involving NRMs: Jonestown, Waco, Solar Temple, the Aum Shunrikyo subway attack, and the Heaven's Gate suicides. But the book also provides a richer survey by examining a host of lesser-known groups. This volume is the culmination of decades of research by scholars of New Religious Movements. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 13 | |
Part II THE BIG FIVE PLUS ONE | 93 |
Part III SELECT RELIGIOUS GROUPS INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE | 215 |
Part IV RHETORICS OF VIOLENCE AND PEACEFUL DENOUEMENTS | 293 |
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alleged American Ananda Marga Anandamurti anticult apocalyptic Applewhite Åsa attack Aum incident Aum Shinrikyo Aum's behavior beliefs Bhajan body brainwashing Branch Davidians Bromley charismatic Christian Church claims committed conflict Cults cultural David G death deprogramming developed devotees discussion external factors Falun Gong followers Gordon Melton Guru Heaven's Gate Helge human Ibid ideology individual interaction internal Introvigne involved ISKCON James Jones Jonestown Kanungu Khalsa Kirtanananda Knutby Knutby Filadelfia Krishna leaders leadership Lewis Lifton Margiis mass suicide millenarian millennial MRTCG murder Nation of Islam Nova Religio NRMs officials organization organizational Paganism persecution police political practices radical Rajneesh Rajneeshpuram religions religious groups Religious Movements religious violence Richardson ritual Rodnoverie Rodnovers sannyasis Sara Sarkar Satanism Satanists scholars sect Sikh Sikh Dharma social society Solar Temple spiritual Terrorism Thomas Robbins tion totalism totalistic transgression Vrindaban Waco Wessinger York