New religions as global cultures : making the human sacred / Irving Hexham, Karla Poewe. [print]

The great anti-cult crusade ; "Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! A-Crusading We Will Go!" ; The importance of van Baalen Walter Martin's Ad Hominem Arguments The New Age Crusade Anti-cult literature: a critique of the critiques Charismatics as the new Enemy Brainwashing The question of deprogramming Jonestown and the case against new religions The Waco tragedy The Solar Temple and terror in Tokyo Cause for concern? ; Judgment in Herlin The anti-cult network How many people are cult members? ; Conclusion Key terms From cults to new religions and global culture Defining cults Theology and prejudice Theological definitions of "Cult" ; Academic definitions: Weber and Troeltsch From sect to denomination Sociological definitions of "cult" ; Stark and Bainbridge's criticism of ideal types Redfining "church," "sect," and "cult" ; Contemporary and new religious movements Key terms New religions as global cultures Global cultures and religious traditions The empirical roots of a theory The global dynamics of religious cultures Charismatic Christianity as a global culture New religions and global culture The European origins of new religions America's conribution New religions in Asia Africa's new religions Global religions and spiritual experiences Iconic leadership Key terms New religions and primal experiences Primal experiences and the global Frequency of primal experiences Primal experiences and shamanism The issue of mental health Okinawan shamans Primal experiences and religious leaders The significance of failure and uniformity of experience Shamans and spirit possession Peripheral amoral and central moral religions Box myths and shuman religions Box-myths-making and the founder of Omoto Helena Blavatsky and mythmaking How myths are made: a brief example Conclussion Key terms Myths and mythological fragments Primal experiences and myth Defining "myth" meaningfully Myth and reality Pseudoscientific myths Myths of prophecy and fate Healing myths Myths of decline and transformation Toward a new central mythology The ninteenth-century roots of evolutionary mythology The evolutionary mythology of new religions Key terms Yogic and Abramic religions Yogic religions Karma Rebirth Samsara, Maya, Dharma, and Moksha Astrology The meaning of yoga The guru The Abramic tradition The doctrine of creation The fall Redemption The importance of faith Creation, fall, redemption, and new religions Types of eschatology The effects of eschatology Eschatology and charismatic gifts The search for community Prophetic leadership Conclusion Key terms The membership process Experience, myth, and ideology Joining a new religion: the shuman process Our theory of conversion to new religions The globality of personal reorganization Variations in new religious movements The conversion state of the individual Preconversion conditions and the search for integration Personal reorganization redefined Key terms New religions : new visions He effect of conversion Understanding new religions The language of faith Rationality and basic assumptions The discarded image Science and reason Overview of the changes to modernity From modernity to postmodernism Veneration of the past Christianity and the implications of technological change Mormonism: a new religion based on a new mythology the myth modernity: a summation Some differences between Christianity and new religions Conclusion Key terms How dangerous are new religions? ; Full circle The problem of Nazi religion New religions or magical religions? ; Magic, culture condition, and religious cure Conclusion.

Although the Great Anti-Cult Crusade links new religious movements to dangerous cults, brainwashing, and the need for deprogramming, Karla Poewe and Irving Hexham argue that many cults are the product of a dynamic interaction between folk religions and the teachings of traditional world religions. Drawing on examples from Africa, the United States, Asia, and Europe, they suggest that few new religions are really new. Most draw on rich, if localized, cultural traditions that are shaped anew by the influence of technological change and international linkages. With the widespread loss of belief in biblical mythology in the nineteenth century, new mythologies based on science and elements derived from various non-Western religious traditions emerged, leading to the growth and popularity of new religions and cults.

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Irving Hexham is professor of religious studies and Karla Poewe is professor of anthropology, both at the University of Calgary. Irving Hexham is professor of religious studies and Karla Poewe is professor of anthropology, both at the University of Calgary.