Teaching New Religious Movements

by Bromley, David G.

• ISBN13: 9780195177299
• ISBN10: 0195177290
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Since its inception around 1970, the study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) has evolved into an established multidisciplinary field. At the same time, both the movements and the scholars who study them have been the subjects of intense controversy. In this volume, a group of senior NRMscholars who have been instrumental in the development of the field will offer pivotal essays that present the basics of NRM scholarship along with guidance for teachers on classroom use. The book is organized topically around subjects that are both central to the study of NRMs and likely to be useful to non-specialists. Part I contains examinations of the definitional boundaries of the area of study, varying disciplinary perspectives on NRMs, unique methodological/ethical problemsencountered in the study of NRMs, and the controversies that have confronted scholars studying NRMs and the movements themselves. Part II examines a series of topics central to teaching about NRMs: the larger sociocultural significance of the movements, their distinctive symbolic and organizationalfeatures, the interrelated processes of joining and leaving NRMs, the organization of gender roles in NRMs, media and popular culture portrayals of the movements, the occurrence of corruption and abuse within movements, and violence by and against NRMs. Part III provides informational resources forteaching about NRMs, which are particularly important in a field where knowing the biases of sources is crucial. With its interdisciplinary approach, the volume provides comprehensive, accessible information and perspectives on NRMs. It is an invaluable guide for instructors navigating this scholarly minefield.

Author Biography

David G. Bromley is a Professor of Religious Studies in the School of World Studies with an affiliate appointment in the Sociology Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the co-editor (with J. Gordon Melton) of Cults, Religion, and Violence (2002) and the editor of The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements (1998).

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. vii
Teaching New Religious Movements/Learning from New Religious Movements	p. 3
Orienting Perspectives in Teaching New Religious Movements
Introducing and Defining the Concept of a New Religion	p. 29
Disciplinary Perspectives on New Religious Movements: Views from the Humanities and Social Sciences	p. 41
Methodological Issues in the Study of New Religious Movements	p. 65
New Religious Movements, Countermovements, Moral Panics, and the Media	p. 91
Central Issues in Teaching New Religious Movements
The Meaning and Significance of New Religious Movements	p. 115
Deliberate Heresies: New Religious Myths and Rituals as Critiques	p. 135
Social Building Blocks of New Religious Movements: Organization and Leadership	p. 159
The Dynamics of Movement Membership: Joining and Leaving New Religious Movements	p. 187
Gender in New Religions	p. 211
Abuse in New Religious Movements: Challenges for the Sociology of Religion	p. 231
New Religious Movements and Violence	p. 245
Resources for Teaching New Religious Movements
Responding to Resistance in Teaching about New Religious Movements	p. 273
Teaching New Religious Movements on the World Wide Web	p. 291
Charting the Information Field: Cult-Watching Groups and the Construction of Images of New Religious Movements	p. 309
New Religious Movements: A Bibliographic Essay	p. 331
Index	p. 357
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