Violence and New Religious Movements

Front Cover
James R. Lewis
Oxford University Press, Apr 6, 2011 - Religion - 456 pages
The relationship between new religious movements (NRMs) and violence has long been a topic of intense public interest--an interest heavily fueled by multiple incidents of mass violence involving certain groups. Some of these incidents have made international headlines. When New Religious Movements make the news, it's usually because of some violent episode. Some of the most famous NRMs are known much more for the violent way they came to an end than for anything else. Violence and New Religious Movements offers a comprehensive examination of violence by-and against-new religious movements. The book begins with theoretical essays on the relationship between violence and NRMs and then moves on to examine particular groups. There are essays on the "Big Five"--the most well-known cases of violent incidents involving NRMs: Jonestown, Waco, Solar Temple, the Aum Shunrikyo subway attack, and the Heaven's Gate suicides. But the book also provides a richer survey by examining a host of lesser-known groups. This volume is the culmination of decades of research by scholars of New Religious Movements.
 

Contents

Introduction
Deciphering the NRMViolence Connection
The Toxic Interdependence of Anticult
Violence
Revisiting the Branch Davidian Mass Suicide Debate
The Case of Aum Shinrikyo
The Case of Heavens Gate
From
Ananda Marga PROUT and the Use of Force
Violence Charisma and
The Nation of Islam and Violence
Cultural Capital Social Networks and Collective Violence
Skirting Pitfalls in 3HOSikh
Satanism Violence
StateFostered Violence against the Falun Gong in China
The Logic Perpetration

VIOLENCE
Violence and Justice in Rodnoverie
Afterword
Index

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About the author (2011)

James R. Lewis is an extensively published scholar of new religious movements. He currently teaches in the History and Religious Studies Department of the University of Troms? in Norway. His reference books have won New York Public Library, American Library Association, and Choice book awards. He has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, the BBC, and Meet the Press.

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