Promotional Information

Examines how new religions have originated, survived or died, and sometimes prospered throughout U. S. history and what it's like to follow one of these spiritual practices

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Groups within the Biblical Tradition The New Age and its Antecedents Eastern Groups and Gurus Groups of Middle Eastern and African Origins Neo-Paganism New Foundations Themes in the Study of New Religious Movements Selected Resources for Further Study Glossary

About the Author

EUGENE V. GALLAGHER is the Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies and Faculty Fellow of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Connecticut College. He is the co-author of Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (1995) with James D. Tabor, and the author of Expectation and Experience: Explaining Religious Conversion (1990).

Reviews

"More analytical that similar studies, Gallagher's book furthers the comparative project, juxtaposing groups in order to shed light on the new religions themselves and on the American cultural context in which they have emerged and often thrived. If religion is, as Gallagher argues, "a set of processes through which human beings build for themselves distinctive worlds of meaning that they then inhabit" (21), then NRMs provide fertile ground for the scholar of relgion."-The Journal of Religion

"This book provides a thumb nail sketch of the history, beliefs, practices and interactions with the rest of the society for each of the religions discussed....It is the scope of the work and its clear engaging prose that make it particularly good for a course in New Religious Movements, Sociology of Religion, or American Studies. Its use as a text is enhanced be the inclusion of a glossary and a list of additional readings for each of the religions and topics discussed."-Sociology of Religion

?[A]n excellent guide, a recommended reference pick.?-MBR Bookwatch

?For anyone curious about the scope and impact of alternative religions in our country, this serves as an excellent introduction....Recommended for all public libraries.?-Library Journal

?More analytical that similar studies, Gallagher's book furthers the comparative project, juxtaposing groups in order to shed light on the new religions themselves and on the American cultural context in which they have emerged and often thrived. If religion is, as Gallagher argues, "a set of processes through which human beings build for themselves distinctive worlds of meaning that they then inhabit" (21), then NRMs provide fertile ground for the scholar of relgion.?-The Journal of Religion

?This book provides a thumb nail sketch of the history, beliefs, practices and interactions with the rest of the society for each of the religions discussed....It is the scope of the work and its clear engaging prose that make it particularly good for a course in New Religious Movements, Sociology of Religion, or American Studies. Its use as a text is enhanced be the inclusion of a glossary and a list of additional readings for each of the religions and topics discussed.?-Sociology of Religion

?This is an erudite and well-written book, designed to serve as a text for courses in new religious movements in modern American religions. The author combines a knowledge of social scientific research on new religious phenomena with a well-informed religious studies and theological perspective that is historically grounded....This book makes and excellent addition to available literature on new religions in America. The integration of various literatures on new religions recommends the book to several disciplines interested in the topic.?-Journal of Church and State

"ÝA¨n excellent guide, a recommended reference pick."-MBR Bookwatch

"[A]n excellent guide, a recommended reference pick."-MBR Bookwatch

"For anyone curious about the scope and impact of alternative religions in our country, this serves as an excellent introduction....Recommended for all public libraries."-Library Journal

"This is an erudite and well-written book, designed to serve as a text for courses in new religious movements in modern American religions. The author combines a knowledge of social scientific research on new religious phenomena with a well-informed religious studies and theological perspective that is historically grounded....This book makes and excellent addition to available literature on new religions in America. The integration of various literatures on new religions recommends the book to several disciplines interested in the topic."-Journal of Church and State