The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements 1

The study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) is one of the fastest-growing areas of religious studies. This Handbook covers the current state of the field and breaks new ground. Its contributors are drawn equally from sociology and religious studies and include both established scholars and "rising stars" in the field. The core chapters deal with such central issues as conversion, the brainwashing debate, millennialism, and modernization. Another section deals with NRM subfields such as neopaganism, satanism, and UFO religions. The final section considers NRMs in global perspective. Contents Contributors Overview 1. An Introduction to New Religions PART I: MODERNIZATION AND NEW RELIGIONS 2. Alternative Spiritualities, New Religions, and the Reenchantment of the West 3. The Sociocultural Significance of Modern New Religious Movements 4. Science and Religion in the New Religions 5. Virtually Religious: New Religious Movements and the World Wide Web PART II: SOCIAL CONFLICT 6. Violence and New Religious Movements 7. Legal Dimensions of New Religions 8. The North American Anti-Cult Movement: Vicissitudes of Success and Failure 9. Something Peculiar about France: Anti-Cult Campaigns in Western Europe and French Religious Exceptionalism 10. Satanism and Ritual Abuse 11. Conversion and ‘‘Brainwashing’’ in New Religious Movements 12. Leaving the Fold: Disaffiliating from New Religious Movements PART III: SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS 13. Psychology and the New Religious Movements 14. Millennialism 15. The Mythic Dimensions of New Religious Movements: Function, Reality Construction, and Process 16. Women in New Religious Movements 17. Children in New Religious Movements PART IV: NEO-PAGANS,UFOS, AND OTHER HETERODOXIES 18. Waiting for the ‘‘Big Beam’’: UFO Religions and ‘‘Ufological’’ Themes in New Religious Movements 19. Esotericism in New Religious Movements 20. The Dynamics of Alternative Spirituality: Seekers, Networks, and ‘‘New Age’’ 21. New Religions in East Asia 22. Witches, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans: A Review of Current Academic Treatments of Neo-Paganism Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements both covers the current state of the field and breaks new ground. Its contributors, drawn form both sociology and religious studies, are leading figures in the study of NRMs.