Race and New Religious Movements in the USA: A Documentary Reader. Edited by Emily Suzanne Clark and Brad Stoddard. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019. xii + 187 pages. $20.96 (paper).

Horizons ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-207
Author(s):  
Christopher Viscardi
Gesnerus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-296
Author(s):  
Bernadett Bigalke

There are diverse religious groups which have developed special forms of “methodical lifestyle” (Max Weber). Projects of life reform and new religious movements around 1900 brought up specific ways of living and influenced one another in respect to ideas and practices. Using the example of the Mazdaznan-Movement some forms of interdependencies will be demonstrated. Since the group formed in the USA at the turn of the 20th century I will try to contextualize its central practices such as vegetarianism, intestinal care and breathing exercises within the specific context of American cultural and religious history.


2021 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 81-100
Author(s):  
Siarhei A. Anoshka ◽  

This article attempts to analyse a contemporary phenomenon from the sphere of alternative religiosity in the form of joke religions. The main subject of the analysis is a new religious movement called the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CFSM), founded in the USA in 2005. By referring to the theory of carnival fun, joining the sacrum and profanum, and passing through the various doctrinal threads of this religious movement, the author attempts to answer the question of whether the CFSM can be considered a genuine religion or only a joke. The article begins with a short reflection on the possibility of joking about religion and faith, and the response to religious humour by people of faith, which may range from anger to disgust and sometimes even to aggression. Then, after a short history of this new (pseudo-)religious movement, a perspective is developed. It emerges that the whole structure of the so-called doctrine of this (quasi-)religion refers to other known religions and beliefs, including other new religious movements.


2019 ◽  

Organized in chronological order of the founding of each movement, this documentary reader brings to life new religious movements from the 18th to 20th century. Engaging with religious studies theory and method and critical race theory, students are provided with the tools needed in order to understand questions of race, religion, and American religious history. Each chapter has: An introduction to the movement, including the context of its foundingTwo to four primary source documents about or from the movementSuggestions for further reading. Movements covered include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), the Native American Church, the Moorish Science Temple, and the Nation of Islam. The voices included come from both men and women. Showing that religio-racial movements have been a perennial aspect of American history from the colonial period to the present, this reader provides a history of innovative social groups in America. A timeline of movements is included, and discussion and study questions can be found in the book’s online resources.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Prothero

The status reversal ritual that American religious historiography has undergone in the last two decades has done much to “mainstream” previously taboo topics within the field. Many religious groups once dismissed as odd and insignificant “cults” are now seen as “new religious movements” worthy of serious scrutiny. One subject that has benefited from this reversal of fortunes is theosophy. Thanks to the work of scholars such as Robert Ellwood and Carl Jackson, theosophists are now part of the story of American religion. Exactly what part they are to play in that story remains, however, unclear.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Abdulrazaq Kilani

The menace of cultism in Nigeria society in general and our educational institutions in particular has reached an alarming stage that requires affirmative actions from all stakeholders. The scourge of cultism has claimed many lives of our youths and no serious authority can fold its arms and allow it to continue. It appears that the various efforts at curbing the menace have yielded no result. The corruption in most facets of our national life has finally subdued the educational institutions, which used to be the pride of place in the past. Most families are astonished to find out that children sent to school to learn and become better human beings in the society have initiated themselves into cult groups. The emergency of secret cultism has been characterized by some violent activities which include, physical torture of new recruits, maiming and killing of rival cult members and elimination of real and perceived enemies. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups with 36 states and one federal territory (Abuja). There are three major religions namely Islam (50%), Christianity (40%), and Africa Indigenous Religions (10%). The effect of globalization is also making other new religious movements to be making inroads into Nigeria. Nigeria has a population of about 141 million people (2006 census). Nigeria which is rich in both human and material resources is a country that is facing a lot of developmental challenges in almost all sectors due to poor leadership. The menace of cultism especially among youths and some influential people in the society represents one of the distortion facing the popular ‘giant’ of Africa. The aim of this chapter is to bring into the fore the menace of cultism in modern Nigeria as a brand of terrorism mind not the fact that there are even religious cults in both the developed and developing societies. The paper also adopted an Islamic lens to provide an analysis of the terror of cultism in contemporary Nigeria.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-186
Author(s):  
Robin Wright

This article reviews the forthcoming issue of FIR containing an important collection of articles on the origins and developments of religious movements and, later, research movements focused on a powerful psychoactive beverage consisting of the mixture of certain vines (ayahuasca) and leaves (chacrona) found mainly in Western Amazonia. The religious interpretations resulting from the ritual ingestion of the beverage have produced the most varied practices and beliefs, beginning with the indigenous peoples and mestizo herbalists, then migrant rubber-tappers from northeastern Brazil; in the 1960s, urbanites from major cities in Brazil and Europe seeking alternative forms of religious inspiration; and, in the 1990s, a group of Brazilian researchers who have combined anthropological and religious understanding of the phenomena along with legal expertise for the protection of the religious freedom necessary for the religions’ developments. With the diversification and globalization of these new religious movements, the article points to new directions for field research in these religions.


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