Table of Contents

Contributors
Introduction - Lewis R. Rambo and Charles E. Farhadian

Disciplinary Perspectives
1. History of Religious Conversion - Marc David Baer
2. Demographics of Religious Conversion - Todd M. Johnson
3. Geography of Religious Conversion - Lily Kong and Seeta Nair
4. Anthropology of Conversion - Henri Gooren
5. The Role of Language in Religious Conversion - Peter Stromberg
6. Sociology of Conversion - Fenggang Yang and Andrew Abel
7. Conversion and the Historic Spread of Religions - Robert Montgomery
8. Migration and Conversion of Korean American Christians - Rebecca Kim
9. Psychology of Religious Conversion - Ray Paloutzian
10. Religious Conversion and Cognitive Neuroscience - Kelly Bulkeley
11. Dreaming and Religious Conversion - Kelly Bulkeley
12. Deconversion - Heinz Streib
13. Feminist Approaches to the Study of Conversion- Eliza Kent
14. Religious Conversion and the Arts - Diane Apostolos-Cappadona
15. Religious Conversion as Narrative and Autobiography - Bruce Hindmarsh
16. Religious Conversion and Semiotic Analysis - Massimo Leone
17. Politics and Religious Conversion - Timothy J. Steigenga

Religions
18. Hinduism and Conversion - Arvind Sharma
19. Conversion to Jainism - Andrea Jain
20. Conversion to Buddhism - Dan Smyer Yü
21. Conversion to Sikhism - Gurinder Singh Mann
22. Conversion to Daoism - Louis Komjathy
23. Conversion to Confucianism - Anna Sun
24. Conversion and Indigenous Religions in China - Fan Lizhu and Chen Na
25. Conversion to Judaism - Alan Segal
26. Conversion to Christianity - David Kling
27. Conversion to Islam in Theological and Historical Perspectives - Marcia Hermansen
28. Conversion to Islam and the Construction of a Pious Self - Karin van Nieuwkerk
29. Conversion to New Religious Movements - Douglas Cowan
30. Deconversion from New Religious Movements - Stuart A. Wright
31. Legal and Political Issues and Religious Conversion - James Richardson
32. Conversion to Mormonism - Seth L. Bryant, Henri Gooren, Rick Phillips, & David G. Stewart, Jr.

Index

About the Author

Lewis R. Rambo is Research Professor of Psychology and Religion at the San Francisco Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He is the author of Understanding Religious Conversion.

Charles E. Farhadian is Professor of World Religions and Christian Mission at Westmont College. He is the author of Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia, Christian Worship Worldwide: Expanding Horizons, Deepening Practices, The Testimony Project: Papua, and Introducing World Christianity.

Reviews

"...all readers of Nova Religio should make certain that it is accessible at their local libraries."--Nova Religio
"An outstanding accomplishment, a must-read for anyone whose work relates to religious conversion, for academics, students, and practitioners alike."--Sociology of Religion
"Promises to be the standard work in its genre for years to come... This handbook is already and will continue to make important contributions to religious studies and across multidisciplinary boundaries." --Theological Librarianship
"This book is a huge accomplishment, in both the metaphorical and literal senses of the word, and I would recommend it to anyone studying religious conversion." --Pastoral Psychology
"Those interested in a well-written, accessible, and unreservedly interdisciplinary overview of religious conversion... will be satisfied and informed." --Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
"The publication of this massive work on religious conversion is a singular event, not likely to be repeated soon... Reflecting a wealth of knowledge and erudition, the essays invite us-even compel us-to regard familiar situations with fresh eyes." --International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
"Rambo and Farhadian have given us all a true gift: This book is massive, comprehensive, current, creative, stimulating, and challenging. It will remain a foundation upon which the field can continue to build for decades to come." --iPastoral Psychology