Contemporary non-Christian and para-Christian cults and sects Books

Book SynopsisIn many parts of the world the white man is perceived to be an instigator of globalization and an embodiment of modernity. However, so far anthropologists have paid little attention to the actual heterogeneity and complexity of whiteness in specific ethnographic contexts. This study examines cultural perceptions of other and self as expressed in cargo cults and masked dances in Papua New Guinea. Indigenous terms, images, and concepts are being contrasted with their western counterparts, the latter partly deriving from the publications and field notes of Charles Valentine. After having done his first fieldwork more than fifty years ago, this anthropological ancestor has now become part of the local tradition and has thus turned into a kind of mythical figure. Based on anthropological fieldwork as well as on archival studies, this book addresses the relation between western and indigenous perceptions of self and other, between tradition and modernity, and between anthropological ancesTrade Review “What emerges [from this study] is a many-layered reflection on the history of the Kivung that weaves together rich reflexive ethnography, oral history, and the history of anthropology. Among the book’s virtues is Jebens’ careful attention to the individuality of informants and the contexts in which they spoke.” · Anthropos “…an intriguing intervention in anthropology’s long-running engagement with the idea of the cargo cult in the South Pacific…Jebens has showcased a highly sophisticated approach to some complex material. After the Cultmust take an important place in contemporary debates around cargo cult.” · JRAI “This detailed book uses ethnographic and archival work to create an ethnography that synthesizes… research on topics such as cargo cults, reflexivity in fieldwork, cultural objectification and colonialism. This makes After the Cult of interest not only to Melanesianists but also to a much broader anthropological audience…After the Cult deserves to be widely read and cited…Jebens’s intelligent theoretical contribution and superb ethnography deserves a wide audience.” · American Anthropologist “While After the cult will be of interest to Melanesianists in particular, Jebens’s interesting conclusions regarding memory and recollection, the mutual influence of the anthropologist and the people who are studied, as well as the production of anthropological knowledge in general, merit a much wider readership.” · Anthropological Forum "Here, finally, is a book that realizes on a grand scale the long-held promise that the study of cargo cults can teach us as much about anthropology as about the Melanesians who participate in them… this is the book to bring the study of cargo cults into the twentieth-first century. It should join those classics in being widely read and broadly influential." · Joel Robbins, University of California, San DiegoTable of Contents List of maps and figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Valentine’s Kivung Chapter 3. Present-day memories Chapter 4. Indigenous interpretation Chapter 5. Indigenous perceptions of other and self Chapter 6. Anthropological perceptions of other and self Chapter 7. Subjects and objects Appendices Glossary References Index

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Book SynopsisSecrets of Voodoo traces the development of this complex religion (in Haiti and the Americas) from its sources in the brilliant civilizations of ancient Africa. This book presents a straightforward account of the gods or loas and their function, the symbols and signs, rituals, the ceremonial calendar of Voodoo, and the procedures for performing magical rites are given.“Voodoo,” derived from words meaning “introspection” and “mystery,” is a system of belief about the formation of the world and human destiny with clear correspondences in other world religions. Rigaud makes these connections and discloses the esoteric meaning underlying Voodoo’s outward manifestations, which are often misinterpreted. The book is translated from the French by Robert B. Cross and includes drawings and photographs by Odette Mennesson-Rigaud.Milo Rigaud was born in Port au Prince, Haiti, in 1903, where he spent the greater pa

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Book SynopsisPsychiatrists are in a unique position to understand the personalities, needs, and motivations of cult leaders and followers. This report assumes that unique vantage point in its review of the cult phenomenon. This report presents statistics and colorful descriptions of American cults and their effect on those who embrace them.Table of ContentsPreface. Definitions. Is psychiatry relevant? Cults in the United States. Cult leaders. Cult followers. The dead sea sects: a model for modern cults. Suggestions for therapists and parents. Conclusion. GAP commitees and membership.

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Book SynopsisExplores the dangers of ultrafundamentalist cults by presenting selected case histories, by explaining the significance of the central tendencies of ultrafundamentalism, and by suggesting why such groups are flourishing in this particular society.

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Book SynopsisThe story of how L. Ron Hubbard discovered the reactive mind and developed the procedures to get rid of it the scientific methodology to unravel the mysteries and problems of the human mind that has become a worldwide phenomenon: Dianetics.

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Book SynopsisIt-s the all-time bestseller on the human mind and contains the discovery and full description of the source of your nightmares, unreasonable fears, upsets and insecurities-the Reactive Mind.

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Book Synopsis'Trust Us' the Kindreds tell Pearl and so she does.A thrilling story of life in a cult.Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes. Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is darkness at the heart of Seed.  A darkness from which she must escape, before it's too late.A chilling and heartbreaking coming-of-age story of life within a cult, Seed was shortlisted for the Waterstones' Children's Book Prize in 2016.  Fans of Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places and Lisa Williamson's The Art of Being Normal will love Lisa's haunting debut.'We are obsessed with Seed' - YA Loves magazine‘Compelling and exciting . . . I woTrade Review'We are obsessed with Seed and its handling of the topic of a cult. It's unlike anything we've ever read before and we applaud Lisa for writing such an excellent first novel'', YA Love Magazine ''Seed was intriguing and fascinating Lisa Heathfield’s debut is stunning and has left me aching for more. Do yourself a favour and do NOT pass this one up. Spellbinding and filled with mystery and deception, this is a novel that demands to be read.'', Confessions of a Readaholic ''Seed will hold readers’ attention as the story’s mood slowly changes and the work builds to an ultimately stunning conclusion'', School Library Journal

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Book SynopsisNearly twenty years after they happened, the ATF and FBI assaults on the Branch Davidian residence near Waco, Texas remain the most deadly law enforcement action on American soil. The raid by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents on February 28, 1993, which resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians, precipitated a 51-day siege conducted by the FBI. The FBI tank and gas assault on the residence at Mount Carmel Center on April 19 culminated in a fire that killed 53 adults and 23 children, with only nine survivors. In A Journey to Waco, survivor Clive Doyle not only takes readers inside the tragic fire and its aftermath, but he also tells the larger story of how and why he joined the Branch Davidians, how the Branch Davidian community developed, and the status of survivors. While the media and official reports painted one picture of the Branch Davidians and the two assaults, A Journey to Waco shares a much more personal account of the ATF raid, the siegeTrade ReviewRight or wrong, for many people the word Waco has become shorthand for massacre. In April 1993, an FBI assault on the Branch Davidian residence in Waco, Texas, resulted in a fire that took 76 lives (nearly half of them children). Doyle, this book’s primary author, is a survivor of the events at Waco—the fire was the final incident in nearly two months of conflict between the Branch Davidians and the FBI—but the book isn’t, as many might expect, a condemnation of the FBI and the American government. Of course, there is criticism and a certain amount of finger-pointing, but, mainly, this is the author’s personal story—a story of his faith, his chosen way of life, and his relationship with David Koresh, the community’s charismatic and controversial leader. The events at Waco, even though they took place two decades ago, haven’t faded into memory yet, and the book should see immediate interest from readers seeking a better understanding of what happened and why. * Booklist *This gem of a book helps us understand a nightmare. It keeps alive painful memories that we might wish to forget, but that we would forget out our peril. . . .This carefully constructed work is a must-read work for students of the Branch Davidians. * Nova Religio: The Journal Of Alternative And Emergent Religions *Clive Doyle’s description of the events during the 51-day siege in Waco and its aftermath is both gripping and tragic. Catherine Wessinger fills in the facts of the story with scrupulous notes, while Matthew Wittmer brings Mount Carmel vividly to life with graphic reconstructions of the site. Yet it is Doyle’s unassuming voice that carries the story through, from his youth in Australia, to his participation in the Branch Davidians, to his actions on the final day. -- Rebecca Moore, emerita, San Diego State UniversityThe federal assault on the Branch Davidian community will forever remain an ignominious moment in American religious history. This book offers a personal account of Branch Davidian life and the tragic demise of the Branch Davidian community by one of its important surviving members. Clive Doyle's witness, as told to Catherine Wessinger and Matthew Wittmer, is a welcome and necessary corrective to official legitimations of those fateful events. -- David G. Bromley, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityThe Branch Davidians have been demonized in the popular mind as dangerous, or at least deluded, fanatics. Clive Doyle now shows us just how wrong that view is. Telling his story, he shows just how human and normal his fellow members were, and how they were victimized by overly zealous law-enforcement agents. -- Timothy Miller, University of KansasAs one of the few remaining survivors of the catastrophic federal siege of the Branch Davidian sect in 1993, Clive Doyle provides us with a humanizing and sometimes humorous biographical narrative, as well as a deeply compelling story of those who lived and died at Mt. Carmel. Catherine Wessinger and Matthew Wittmer are to be commended for giving voice to a key figure in this tragic incident. It provides a starkly different portrait of the Branch Davidians than the self-serving version offered up by government officials in the days and weeks after the worst federal law enforcement disaster in U.S. history. -- Stuart A. Wright, Lamar UniversityThis is not an academic book, but it is a book that academics and anyone, who has ever wondered how the terrible tragedy at Waco in 1993 could have come about, should read. The book does not answer this question, but it does give a remarkably gripping account of how one of the 'survivors' came to join David Koresh's Branch Davidians, what their life was like, what Koresh taught, and how the siege and fire were experienced from inside the compound. -- Eileen Barker, London School of EconomicsThe autobiography offers an authentic and fresh look into the history and culture of one of the most important new religious movements in America of the late 20th century. It also provides a compelling insider’s account of the events that led to the demise of the group, which is very different than the official federal reports. Doyle’s memories are more than worth reading. They are instructive and enlightening. Catherine Wessinger has written an excellent introduction, in which she has placed Clive Doyle’s life and autobiography within its larger historical setting, offering a short but critical and articulate summary of the developments and belief system of the Branch Davidians and the events, in 1993, in which the group’s home was destroyed and many of its members killed. It is one of the more interesting autobiographies of its kind. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in the history of new religious movements, their communal lives and the manner they are received by the larger society. -- Yaakov Ariel, The University of North Carolina at Chapel HillClive Doyle’s haunting story is an unparalleled contribution to our understanding of a religious group and the tragic events that have come to define it. With straightforward style and accessible prose, Doyle offers a courageous and moving account of the Branch Davidian community, especially its final weeks under siege, as only a firsthand observer can express. Supplementary material compiled by editors Wessinger and Wittmer enhances this text for academically-minded readers. -- Marie W. Dallam, University of OklahomaAn excellent and compelling portrait of a new religious movement through change, evolution, crisis, and rebuilding. Through Doyle's recollection, we finally hear the voices of Branch Davidians. Highly recommended. -- Douglas E. Cowan, Renison University College at University of WaterlooClive Doyle's engaging and gripping account of his life as a Branch Davidian follower of David Koresh, long before, as well as after, the Waco tragedy in 1993 has given us all an invaluable record of the way things truly were. Stereotypical labels such as 'cult,' with their associated charges of 'brainwashing' and 'deception,' suddenly melt away and we are invited to get to know what really lay at the heart of the this remarkable religious community and their conflict with the U.S. government authorities. The book is moving, thoroughly human, and informative at every turn. Catherine Wessinger and Matthew D. Wittmer have done us an incalculable service in producing this finely written and well documented volume. Finally, at last, the real story of 'Waco' is emerging through their work and that of others who have devoted years of careful study to the subject. -- James D. Tabor, chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; author of The Jesus DynastyCatherine Wessinger has done more than anyone else to document the lives of the surviving Branch Davidians and to enrich and complicate the historical record of a group that has frequently been vilified and widely misunderstood. That is all the more important since, as Clive Doyle poignantly notes in this oral history, the first generation of David Koresh's students is rapidly dwindling. In direct and plainspoken prose Doyle describes how he came to be associated with the dissident Seventh-Day Adventist traditions of the Davidians and Branch Davidians, his long tenure at the Mount Carmel Center under several different leaders, his understanding of David Koresh's distinctive theology, his anguished memories of the original BATF raid and the fifty-one day siege conducted by the FBI in 1993, and his reactions to the subsequent trials, lawsuits, and efforts of the survivors to reconstruct their broken lives. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the Branch Davidians and in the interactions of sectarian groups with American society. -- Eugene V. Gallagher, Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies, Connecticut CollegeTable of ContentsA Short Introduction to the Branch Davidians and Clive Doyle – Catherine Wessinger CHAPTER ONE – Telling My Story and the Story of the Branch Davidians CHAPTER TWO – From Australia to Texas—Meeting the Branch Davidians CHAPTER THREE – Living with the Branch Davidians CHAPTER FOUR – What the Branch Davidians Believe CHAPTER FIVE – The Mount Carmel Conflict—The ATF Raid, the 51-day Siege, and the FBI Assault CHAPTER SIX – Jail, Two Trials, and Changes at Mount Carmel CHAPTER SEVEN – Survivors of the Siege—Where We Are Today APPENDIX - Reconstructing Mount Carmel Center: Proportion and Memory – Matthew D. Wittmer

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Book SynopsisWhen Race, Religion, and Sport Collide tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team to illustrate the thorny intersection of religion, race, and sport at BYU and beyond. Author Darron T. Smith analyzes the athletes dismissed through BYU's honor code violations and suggests that they are disproportionately African American, which has troubling implications. He ties these dismissals to the complicated history of negative views towards African Americans in the LDS faith. These honor code dismissals elucidate the challenges facing black athletes at predominantly white institutions. Weaving together the history of the black athlete in America and the experience of blackness in Mormon theology, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide offers a timely and powerful analysis of the challenges facing African American athletes in the NCAA today.Trade ReviewArguing that the close and complex relationship between race and religion can be uncovered through sports, Smith does a masterful job of weaving together critical race theory, US religious history, and sports to examine institutionalized racism in intercollegiate athletics. Specifically, Smith examines the realm of the sacred through the uneasy relationship between black student athletes and Mormonism’s larger theological constructions of race. Smith points out that within the Mormon Church blackness, especially in regard to black male athletes, is in tension with the notions of freedom, justice, and equality. However, Brigham Young University is not very different from other primarily white schools where, when it comes to sports, big money commands more interest than does the need of athletes. Black student athletes are especially under attack from the systemic white racism of the NCAA sports world. Perhaps most interesting here is Smith’s attention to how change can occur both within Mormon circles and in the sporting world at large. This book is timely, excellent, and worth a very close read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. * CHOICE *I want to highlight this amazing book . . . [It] is a really fascinating read . . . I can’t plug this book enough and tell everybody they need to read it. * Mormon Stories *The intersecting of race, religion and sport (or perhaps in the author’s words, the ‘collision’ of the three) is a rare feat in the world of scholarship…. An analysis of their association is certainly warranted. Darron T. Smith does just this by wading into the waters of the sports programmes at the flagship university of the Mormon Church. His thesis, that long-standing tenets of Mormon theology have unduly served to punish black athletes at Brigham Young University, extends beyond the expected descriptive account of race, religion and sport converging. Smith bravely aims to expose the racist underbelly of BYU and other similar predominantly white institutions with sport acting as the prism through which to inspect. Hence, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide stands as a critique of the kind of theologized institutionalized racism that hides within the ranks of big-time college athletics. More to the point, racism and its effects are unique and likely more ingrained and pernicious at religious schools – institutions that should be leading the charge in the opposite direction…. When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a respectable gambit into the literature that deals both with race and sport, as well as with sport and religion. Indeed the three are tightly intertwined forming a rope that can pull us out of our shameful racist past but also continue to pull us down into long-standing racist histories with nothing less than the force of God. * Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics *When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide: Black Athletes at BYU and Beyond takes us well past the Davies dismissal to consider the nexus of race, religion, sport, and economic inequality in American society writ large, using BYU as an exemplar of the nation’s colleges and universities…. Smith should be commended for taking on the herculean task of trying to unravel the complex intertwining of race, sports, inequality, and religion. * Mormon Studies Review *When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a forceful, insightful, and powerful book built around the Brandon Davies honor code violation, which took place during Davies’s sophomore year, while he played for Brigham Young University’s successful basketball team. Here, Smith has connected the dots between sports, race, and religion in such a way that the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in sports and societal issues. This book is a tour de force; a must-read! -- Earl Smith, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University, author of Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives Are Surveilled and How to Work for Change.Using the athletic department at Brigham Young University as a case study, Darron Smith explores the complicated and shifting intersections between sport, race, and religion in contemporary American society. With an eye on the historical evolution of the relationship between race and the lucrative world of sports, Smith exposes the ways that black bodies are commodified and racialized for white consumption. Mix a sometimes inconsistently applied honor code with religious justifications for historically excluding black bodies from full participation in Mormon priesthood and temples, and the setting is ripe for a complex set of dynamics to haunt the experiences of black athletes at BYU. When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide not only offers a candid assessment of those dynamics at play but proposes insightful solutions as well. -- W. Paul Reeve, University of Utah; author of Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Struggle for WhitenessIn this book, Darron T. Smith demands that we move beyond box scores, beyond wins and losses, beyond March Madness and bowl season, and beyond the cheers to reflect on the intersecting histories of religion, race, and sport. Offering a powerful discussion of college sports, blackness, and whiteness, Smith chronicles the story of black students at BYU. Using sports as a staging ground, despite claims of post-raciality and colorblindness, Smith offers a powerful discussion of race within and beyond the sporting fields. Interdisciplinary at its core, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide brings together discussions of race and Mormonism, the revolt of the black athlete, contemporary college sports, and new racism. An important work for scholars of religion, sports, and race, this work is timely. -- David J. Leonard, Professor of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, Washington State UniversityIn When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide, Darron Smith has the keen insight to examine the intersection of race and religion and how these categories intersect sports. The study uncovers the ways that whiteness structures BYU’s and the Mormon (LDS) Church’s response to Black athletes in the context of presumed colorblindness. Smith shows how such post-racial colorblindness is untenable and unhealthful, and he offers constructive tenets for the Mormon Church that have relevance beyond LDS academic institutions. This book should be added to the corpus of scholars who are interested in the murky terrain of collegiate sports scholarship and to the growing work in Mormon studies, race studies, and sports. -- Stephen C. Finley, Louisiana State UniversityIn this provocative new study, Darron T. Smith examines the connection between blackness and Mormonism using Brigham Young University's honor code as a case study. His book bristles with new insights, demonstrating the ways in which Mormon racial theology has affected the lives of black athletes at the church owned-and-operated school. This book is a welcome voice to the growing body of literature on Mormon race relations. It is a superb achievement. -- Matthew L. Harris, Colorado State University–Pueblo; coauthor of The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary HistoryDarron Smith's study of institutionalized racism as informed by religious doctrine is an important, thought-provoking work. Smith asks hard questions and does not settle for easy answers. Whether readers agree or disagree with his analysis, observations, and conclusions, they will not leave his stimulating book unchanged. -- Gary James Bergera, coauthor of Brigham Young University: A House of FaithWhen Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a thoughtful and unique examination of the sociocultural issues at play within intercollegiate athletics. Dr. Smith’s work sheds light on larger social and structural issues by focusing on a truly interesting case study that will benefit students, administrators, faculty, and other personnel in both athletics and education. -- Mark Vermillion, chair, Department of Sport Management; executive director of Partnership for the Advancement of Sport Management, Wichita State UniversityThis book is a revealing examination of race in sports and religion with a unique focus—the treatment of black athletes at BYU. Darron Smith uses football, basketball, and other sports to explain a deep-seated prejudice at the heart of Mormonism. Anyone surprised to learn that Brigham Young was a racist should read this book. -- Luke O'Brien, PoliticoThis is a story of young black men used, abused, and too easily discarded under the guise of amateurism and faith. As he explores the crushing subtleties of racism in a respected college athletics program, Darron Smith reminds us that conscience is no defense for the indefensible. An important read. -- Chad Nielsen, sportswriterTable of ContentsIntroduction 1.The Meaning of Sport in the Popular Imagination: The Collision of Race, Religion and Sport 2.The Origins of Racism and Framing: Setting the Stage for the History of Blacks in Sport 3.The White Racial Framing of Blacks in Mormon Theology 4.Black Student Revolts and Political Uprising in the Late Sixties and Early Seventies: Fanning the Flame of Black Student-Athlete Revolts 5.Mormon Attitudes toward Civil Rights: It’s God’s Law, We’re Not Racist! 6.No Honor in the Honor Code: The Suspension of Brandon Davies and the Incompatibility Nexus between Blackness and Mormonism 7.Colorblindness and the Health Consequences to Black Male Student-Athletes through the Illusion of a Free Education 8.Pipeline to a Pipedream: The Elusiveness of Change in the Era of “Black Lives Matter” Notes

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Book SynopsisWhen Race, Religion, and Sport Collide tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team to illustrate the thorny intersection of religion, race, and sport at BYU and beyond. Author Darron T. Smith analyzes the athletes dismissed through BYU's honor code violations and suggests that they are disproportionately African American, which has troubling implications. He ties these dismissals to the complicated history of negative views toward African Americans in the LDS faith. These honor code dismissals elucidate the challenges facing black athletes at predominantly white institutions. Weaving together the history of the black athlete in America and the experience of blackness in Mormon theology, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide offers a timely and powerful analysis of the challenges facing African American athletes in the NCAA today.Trade ReviewArguing that the close and complex relationship between race and religion can be uncovered through sports, Smith does a masterful job of weaving together critical race theory, US religious history, and sports to examine institutionalized racism in intercollegiate athletics. Specifically, Smith examines the realm of the sacred through the uneasy relationship between black student athletes and Mormonism’s larger theological constructions of race. Smith points out that within the Mormon Church blackness, especially in regard to black male athletes, is in tension with the notions of freedom, justice, and equality. However, Brigham Young University is not very different from other primarily white schools where, when it comes to sports, big money commands more interest than does the need of athletes. Black student athletes are especially under attack from the systemic white racism of the NCAA sports world. Perhaps most interesting here is Smith’s attention to how change can occur both within Mormon circles and in the sporting world at large. This book is timely, excellent, and worth a very close read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. * CHOICE *I want to highlight this amazing book . . . [It] is a really fascinating read . . . I can’t plug this book enough and tell everybody they need to read it. * Mormon Stories *The intersecting of race, religion and sport (or perhaps in the author’s words, the ‘collision’ of the three) is a rare feat in the world of scholarship…. An analysis of their association is certainly warranted. Darron T. Smith does just this by wading into the waters of the sports programmes at the flagship university of the Mormon Church. His thesis, that long-standing tenets of Mormon theology have unduly served to punish black athletes at Brigham Young University, extends beyond the expected descriptive account of race, religion and sport converging. Smith bravely aims to expose the racist underbelly of BYU and other similar predominantly white institutions with sport acting as the prism through which to inspect. Hence, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide stands as a critique of the kind of theologized institutionalized racism that hides within the ranks of big-time college athletics. More to the point, racism and its effects are unique and likely more ingrained and pernicious at religious schools – institutions that should be leading the charge in the opposite direction…. When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a respectable gambit into the literature that deals both with race and sport, as well as with sport and religion. Indeed the three are tightly intertwined forming a rope that can pull us out of our shameful racist past but also continue to pull us down into long-standing racist histories with nothing less than the force of God. * Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics *When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide: Black Athletes at BYU and Beyond takes us well past the Davies dismissal to consider the nexus of race, religion, sport, and economic inequality in American society writ large, using BYU as an exemplar of the nation’s colleges and universities…. Smith should be commended for taking on the herculean task of trying to unravel the complex intertwining of race, sports, inequality, and religion. * Mormon Studies Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1.The Meaning of Sport in the Popular Imagination: The Collision of Race, Religion and Sport 2.The Origins of Racism and Framing: Setting the Stage for the History of Blacks in Sport 3.The White Racial Framing of Blacks in Mormon Theology 4.Black Student Revolts and Political Uprising in the Late Sixties and Early Seventies: Fanning the Flame of Black Student-Athlete Revolts 5.Mormon Attitudes toward Civil Rights: It’s God’s Law, We’re Not Racist! 6.No Honor in the Honor Code: The Suspension of Brandon Davies and the Incompatibility Nexus between Blackness and Mormonism 7.Colorblindness and the Health Consequences to Black Male Student-Athletes through the Illusion of a Free Education 8.Pipeline to a Pipedream: The Elusiveness of Change in the Era of “Black Lives Matter” Notes

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Book SynopsisGeorge D. Chryssides is a Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at York St John University, UK.Benjamin E. Zeller is Assistant Professor of Religion at Lake Forest College, Chicago, USA.Trade ReviewOverall, Chryssides and Zeller have done a superb job, putting together an invaluable introduction to the field. Bravo! * Religious Studies Review *Its distinctive place, I believe, is in offering a realistic and informed and topical body of material - information and advice - on how NRMs are being researched at the present time ... An attractive reference source, then, of clear teaching value for anyone organizing courses into what is a hugely expanding area of "religious studies", demonstrating just how truly international the field is. -- Stuart Hannabuss * Reference Reviews, Vol. 29.1 *This new Bloomsbury Companion closes an era of bitterness about NRMs and introduces a new and more congenial climate of research. Featured are 29 chapters by well-published international scholars who become messengers of balanced interpretations and sources. A table of acronyms and 43 pages of bibliography further enhance this excellent guide. Scholars and students interested in NRMs will find this volume to be a first-class research tool. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. -- G. H. Shriver, emeritus, Georgia Southern University * CHOICE *There is no better guide to the past, present and future of new religious movements. Students, researchers, journalists and policy makers will all appreciate the authoritative and accessible analyses crafted by many of the world’s most distinguished experts. This book is timely, comprehensive and indispensable. * James A. Beckford, Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick, UK *This Companion offers the reader an exciting, sophisticated and dynamic approach to new religious studies, and many insights into the politics of fieldwork and media representation in such a controversial field. The chapters cover the important issues that arise in the world of NRMs – violence, charisma, millennialism, brainwashing, etc. New microsociologies within the field (pagan studies, ritual studies) are described. Aside from providing valuable, up-to-date information, The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements is a fascinating 'read' in itself. * Susan J. Palmer, Affiliate Member of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montréal, Canada *In The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, Chryssides and Zeller have provided a much needed comprehensive overview of the large and diverse world of emerging new religious movements which have expanded their presence not only in the West but in countries around world. This complex and perplexing phenomenon, which has punctuated its permeation of modern life with significant violent and disruptive events, has evolved from the unique environment created by the unprecedented population explosion, urbanization, and the adoption of ideals of religious freedom over the last century, and stands as a major counter trend over against the expected inevitability of secularization. Drawing on the whole community of new religious scholars, Chryssides and Zeller have created an authoritative guide to the field destined to be a benchmark for future study. * J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History Baylor University Waco, Texas, USA *This is one of the best one-volume primers available for those with little experience but much interest in studying NRMs. Everything is here - a tool box full of all the right tools to get started. Additionally, for those who are curious about specific NRMs or methods of study, the wide range of topics covered in brief essays, especially those at the cutting edge of the humanities and social sciences, make this an invaluable resource. In short, there's something for almost anyone. * W. Michael Ashcraft, Professor of Religion, Truman State University, USA *Table of ContentsForeword by Massimo Introvigne Acknowledgements Table of Acronyms How to Use This Book Introduction Part I: A-Z of Key Terms and Concepts Part II: Research Methods and Problems 1. Fieldwork, Stephen Gregg (Liverpool Hope University, UK) 2. Insider/Outsider Problems, George D. Chryssides (University of Birmingham, UK) 3. Material Culture, Alex Norman (University of Sydney, Australia) 4. Pagan Studies, Graham Harvey (The Open University, UK) 5. New Age, Steven J. Sutcliffe (University of Edinburgh, UK) 6. Mormon Studies, Douglas J. Davies (Durham University, UK) 7. Japanese NRMs, Birgit Staemmler (University of Tübingen, Germany) 8. Sexuality Studies, Megan Goodwin (Elon University, USA) 9. Media Studies, Stephen Jacobs (University of Wolverhampton, UK) 10. Ritual Studies, Lee Gilmore (San José State University, USA) Part III: Current Research 11. Jonestown and the Study of NRMs, Rebecca Moore (San Diego State University , USA) 12. Conversion and Brainwashing, James T. Richardson (University of Nevada, Reno, USA) 13. Charisma and Leadership, David G. Bromley (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA) 14. Prophecy, Jon R. Stone (California State University, Long Beach, USA) 15. Millenialism, Catherine Wessinger (Loyola University New Orleans, USA) 16. Violence, James R. Lewis (University of Tromsø, Norway) 17. Opposition to NRMs, George D. Chryssides and Benjamin E. Zeller (University of Birmingham, UK and Lake Forest College, USA) 18. Legal Issues, Anthony Bradney (Keele University, UK) 19. Gender, Megan Goodwin (Elon University, USA) 20. UFO Groups, Christopher Partridge (Lancaster University, UK) 21. Researching Esoteric Groups, Kennet Granholm (Stockholm University, Sweden) 22. African NRMs, Afe Adogame (University of Edinburgh, UK) 23. Vernacular/Lived Religion, Marion Bowman (The Open University, UK) Part IV: New Directions in the Study of New Religious Movements 24. Globalization, Liselotte Frisk (Dalarna University, Sweden) 25. Science, Benjamin E. Zeller (Lake Forest College, USA) 26. Role of the Internet, Jean-François Mayer (Religioscope Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland) 27. Invented Religions, Carole M. Cusack (University of Sydney, Australia) 28. Race and Ethnicity, Marie W. Dallam (University of Oklahoma, USA) 29. Children/Generational Issues, E. Burke Rochford, Jr. (Middlebury College, USA) 30. Healing, Holly Folk (Western Washington University, USA) 31. Travel and NRMs, Alex Norman (University of Sydney, Australia) Part V: Resources Chronology Academic Resources for the Study of New Religious Movements Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMemory Landscapes of the Inka Carved Outcrops: From Past to Present presents a comprehensive analysis of the carved rocks the Inka created in the Andean highlands during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. It provides an overview of Inka history, a detailed analysis of the techniques and styles of carving, and five comprehensive case studies. It opens in the Inka capital, Cusco, one of the two locations where the geometric style of Inka carving was authored by the ninth ruler Pachakuti Inka Yupanki. The following chapters move to the origin places on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca and at Pumaurqu, southwest of Cusco, where the Inka constructed the emergence of the first members of their dynasty from sacred rock outcrops. The final case studies focus upon the royal estates of Machu Picchu and Chinchero. Machu Picchu is the second site where Pachakuti appears to have authored the geometric style. Chinchero was built by his son, Thupa Inka Yupanki, who adopted his father'Trade ReviewThe precision-fitted masonry of Inca architecture has been celebrated for its beauty and advanced degree of engineering. However, the significance of carved outcrops in Inca religious ideology has received far less attention. Christie provides a welcome synthesis of information on modified stone while offering novel interpretations of the role of built environments in Inca imperial strategies. Her theoretical framework combines phenomenological approaches popular in British archaeology with practice and political landscapes perspectives. The latter recognizes that the interrelationships between peoples, places, and things set the parameters for political engagement and structured past power asymmetries. Christie contends that carving stone outcrops initially fostered private dialogues and reciprocal dependencies between animated landforms and imperial agents. However, the carved rock soon came to mark Inca sovereignty, territorial boundaries, and the direct intervention of the state. Christie’s detailed examination of modified outcrops in the Cusco region and elsewhere reveals their multiple meanings and agencies, and she traces continuity and change in stone cults from the Inca period to the present. She even argues that certain groups of boulders were gridded like khipus and functioned as counting devices (yupanas). Should appeal to scholars interested in political landscape and the semiotic affordance of stone in the Andean context and beyond. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsDedication List of Figures Introduction: Background, Purpose, Methodologies, and Findings, Source Materials Chapter 1: Formal and Structural Analysis of Inka Carved Rocks Carving Techniques Pre-Inka Roots of Stone Carving and Rock Art The Formal Elements of Inka Carved Rocks: Structural Features Associated with Carved Rocks Chapter 2: Carved Rocks on the Cusco Zeq’e Lines Groundwork Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks – Appearance, Experience, and Perception Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks – Essence, Imagination, and Stone Ideology Summary Chapter 3: The Birthplace of the Sun, Moon and the Inka Ancestors on the Island of the Sun and the Southern Basin of Lake Titicaca Groundwork Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks – Appearance, Experience, and Perception Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks –Essence, Imagination, and Stone Ideology Chapter 4: Inka Pacariqtambo – A Landscape of Power Relations through Time Groundwork Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks –Appearance, Essence, and Perception Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks –Essence, Imagination, and Stone Ideology Chapter 5: Machu Picchu Royal Estates Machu Picchu Groundwork Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks – Appearance, Experience, and Perception Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks – Essence, Imagination, and Stone Ideology Conclusions Chapter 6: Chinchero Groundwork Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks –Appearance, Experience, and Perception Inka Landscape and Carved Rocks –Essence, Imagination, and Stone Ideology Conclusions Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusions Major Results of this Investigation Relations with Stony Places Constructed in the Contemporary National and Global Worlds Conclusions Afterword References

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisIn Strange Rites, Tara Isabella Burton takes a tour through contemporary American religiosity. As the once dominant totems of civic connection and civil discourse--traditional churches--continue to sink into obsolescence, people are looking elsewhere for the intensity and unity that religion once provided. We're making our own personal faiths - theistic or not - mixing and matching our spiritual, ritualistic, personal, and political practices in order to create our own bespoke religious selves. We're not just building new religions in 2019, we're buying them, from Gwyneth Paltrow's gospel of Goop, to the brilliantly cultish SoulCycle, to those who believe in their special destiny on Mars.In so doing, we're carrying on a longstanding American tradition of religious eclecticism, DIY-innovation and "unchurched" piety (and highly effective capitalism). Our era is not the dawn of American secularism, but rather a brand-bolstered resurgence of American pluralism, revved into overdrive by commerce and personalized algorithms, all to the tune of "Hallellujah"--America's most popular and spectacularly misunderstood wedding song.

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Book SynopsisCalifornia, long a Mecca for eccentric cults, has also hosted more than its share of unusual and unorthodox Christian evangelists and sects. From pre-Gold Rush days to the 21st Century, visionaries seeking to revive or transform the Faith have flocked to California's shores, or have emerged from its environs as native sons and daughters. Their often-idiosyncratic crusades have influenced not only Golden State history and culture, but Christianity as a whole. California Jesus tells the little-known yet fascinating stories behind the people and groups that populate Californian Christendom, including: * The Children of God -- Born on the Huntington Beach boardwalk, this "Jesus People" hippie-ministry turned to prostituting its members and molesting its children in the name of Christ * Bebe and C. Thomas Patten -- married evangelists, these Oakland-based Pentecostal preachers scammed penniless Okie immigrants and major banks alike for millions * Joe Jeffers -- a renegade Baptist minister who started a murderous religious war between his followers and a rival's, made headlines in lurid L.A. sex scandals, and claimed that "Yahweh" had stashed several billion dollars for him in the constellation Orion * The Metropolitan Community Church -- Gay L. A. evangelist Troy Perry challenges homophobia with a hugely controversial, and much-attacked sect that ministers Christ's love to sexual "outsiders" * Church of the Holy Family -- film-star Mel Gibson's schismatic, secretive Malibu parish, which claims to be literally more Catholic than the Pope * Holy Mountain -- a huge, bizarre, ever-growing folk-art monument in the Imperial Valley desert built by an aging drifter to glorify God's love, that's now become an international tourist destination * And many, many more! Filled with captivating anecdotes about the state's most colorful and controversial Christian pastors and sects, and accompanied by many rare photos and illustrations, California Jesus illuminates this absorbing yet little-discussed aspect of both state history and culture, and the Christian experience. Believers and doubters alike, as well as anyone interested in the Golden State's unique spiritual heritage, will find this work hard to put down.

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