AFF E-Newsletter

Vol. 3, No. 2

September 2004

Cultic Studies Bibliography: 2003

Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.

Andrew McMillion

Carmen Almendros

The following is a collection of books, dissertations, articles, book chapters, and other information published in 2003 and pertinent to cultic studies, an interdisciplinary area that includes the study of manipulative influence, ethics, and abuse related to involvement in cults, new religious movements, sects, mainstream religions, and other groups.  The material was assembled from online searches, data base searches, and materials that publishers and others sent to AFF.  When possible, we give some information on the contents of the item.  Please send us relevant items from 2003 that have not been added to this list, as well as items from 2004 for a similar list we plan to compile next year.

We thank Carmen Almendros, doctoral candidate in psychology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, for preparing a list of recent books from Spain.  Andrew McMillion, a student at the London School of Economics, contributed to the English language collection.

Supplementing this bibliography and posted separately is Marie-Andrée Pelland's detailed review in French of recent French literature in this field.

Books

Beckford, James A.; Richardson, James T. (Eds.).  Challenging Religion.  New York, NY: Routledge, 2003.

Chidester, David.  (2003). Salvation and Suicide: Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown; Revised Edition.

Davis, Derek H.; Hankins, Barry.  New religious movements and religious liberty in America.  2nd ed.  Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2003, 238 p.

·         Acknowledgments

·         Preface

·         Introduction by Barry Hankins

·         Controversial Christian Movements:  History, Growth, and Outlook.  Timothy Miller

·         The Cult Awareness Network and the Anticult Movement: Implications for NRMs in America.  Anson Shupe, Susan E. Darnell, and Kendrick Moxon

·         A Contemporary Ordered Religious Community: The Sea Organization.  J. Gordon Melton

·         Women in Controversial New Religions: Slaves, Priestesses, or Pioneers? Susan J. Palmer

·         Satanism and Witchcraft: Social Construction of a Melded but Mistaken Identity.  James T. Richardson

·         A Critical Analysis of Evidentiary and Procedural Rulings in Branch Davidian Civil Case. Stuart A. Wright

·         New Religious Movements and Conflicts with Law Enforcement.  Catherine Wessinger

·         Christian Reconstruction after Y2K: Gary North

·         The New Millennium, and Religious Freedom.  Adam C. English

·         A Not So Charitable Choice: New Religious Movements and President Bush's Plan for Faith-Based Social Services.  Derek H. Davis

·         Fighting for Free Exercise from the Trenches: A Case Study of Religious Freedom Issues Faced by Wiccans Practicing in the United States.  Catharine Cookson

·         The Persecution of West Virginia Jehovah's Witnesses and the Expansion of Legal Protection for Religious Liberty.  Chuck Smith

Dawson, Lorne L.  Cults and new religious movements: a reader.  Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003.

Fernández Olmos, Margarite; Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth.  Creole religions of the Caribbean: an introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo. New York: New York University Press, 2003, 262 p.

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Historical Background
• The Orisha Tradition in Cuba: Santería/Regla de Ocha
• The Afro-Cuban Religious Traditions of Regla de Palo and the Abakuá Secret Society
• Haitian Vodou
• Obeah, Myal, and Quimbois
• Rastafarianism
• Espiritismo: Creole Spiritism in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States

Gurko, A. V. (Aleksandr Viktorovich).  Novye religii v Respublike Belarus: etnologicheskoe issledovanie. Minsk : Tekhnalogiia, 2003, 242 p.

Hunt, Stephen J.  (2003). Alternative religions A sociological introduction.  University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

·         The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking! Eileen Barker

·         The Continuum Between “Cults” and “Normal” Religion. James A. Beckford

·         Three Types of New Religious Movement. Roy Wallis

·         Cult Formation: Three Compatible Models. William Sims Bainbridge and Rodney Stark

·         False Prophets and Deluded Subjects: The Nineteenth Century. Philip Jenkins

·         The New Spiritual Freedom. Robert Wuthnow

·         Who Joins New Religious Movements and Why: Twenty Years of Research and What Have We Learned? ‘ L. Dawson

·         The Joiners. Saul Levine

·         The Process of Brainwashing, Psychological Coercion, and Thought Reform. Margaret Thaler Singer

·         A Critique of “Brainwashing” Claims About New Religious Movements. James T. Richardson

·         Constructing Cultist “Mind Control.” Thomas Robbins

·         The Apocalypse at Jonestown. John R. Hall

·         “Our Terrestrial Journey is Coming to an End”: The Last Voyage of the Solar Temple. Jean-Francois Mayer

·         Women in New Religious Movements. Elizabeth Puttick

·         Women’s “Cocoon Work” in New Religious Movements: Sexual Experimentation and Feminine Rites of Passage. Susan J. Palmer

·         Why Religious Movements Succeed or Fail: A Revised General Model. Rodney Stark

·         New Religions and the Internet: Recruiting in a New Public Space.  Lorne L. Dawson and Jenna Hennebry

Levine, Robert .  The power of persuasion: How we're bought and sold.  New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons, Inc (2003). ix, 278 pp.

(from the jacket) Drawing heavily on both extensive field research and scientific findings, this book offers an incisive new take on the mindsets of those who prod, praise, debase, and manipulate others to do things they never thought they would do--and are usually later sorry they did. Professional persuaders are skilled artisans who often leave their prey unaware that they've been influenced or even conned. In researching this book, R. Levine and students went undercover to observe and expose the tactics of persuasion professionals, from hucksters selling everything from cosmetics to health, timeshares to kitchenware, as well as religious and cult leaders and others who use their skills to control others' lives. The book features vivid testimonies from individuals on the receiving end of the process, from those who are convinced they've been saved to those who believe they've been ruined by psychobabbling control freaks. Focusing on the almost invisible process of effective manipulation, this book exposes many tricks of the trade and offers rules for protecting one's self from becoming an unwitting victim of manipulation.

Lewis, James R. (Ed.).  Encyclopedic sourcebook of UFO religions. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2003, 530 p.

Lewis, James R.  Legitimating new religions. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003., 272 p.

• Introduction
• PART I: Legitimating New Religions
• Religious Experience and the Origins of Religion
• Native American Prophet Religions
• Jesus in India and the Forging of Tradition
• Science, Technology and the Space Brothers
• Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, and the Satanist Tradition
• Heavens Gate and the Legitimation of Suicide
• The Authority of the Long Ago and the Far Away
• PART II: Legitimating Repression
• Atrocity Tales as a De-legitimation Strategy
• Religious Insanity
• The Cult Stereotype as an Ideological Resource
• Scholarship and the de-legitimation of Religion
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Satanist Survey
• Appendix B: Ex-member Survey
• Bibliography
• Index

Martin, Walter Ralston.  The kingdom of the cults. (Ravi Zacharias, general editor). Rev., updated, and expanded ed. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2003, 704 p.

• The Kingdom of the Cults
• Scaling the Language Barrier
• The Psychological Structure of Cultism
• Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
• Christian Science
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)
• Spiritism
• The Theosophical Society (Gnosticism)
• Buddhism
• The Baha'i Faith
• Unitarian Universalism
• Scientology
• Unification
• Eastern Religions
• New Age
• Islam
• The Cults on the World Mission Field
• The Jesus of the Cults
• Cult Evangelism--Mission Field on Your Doorstep
• The Road to Recovery
• Appendix Section
• Appendix A: The Worldwide Church of God: From Cult to Christianity
• Appendix B: The Puzzle of Seventh-day Adventism
• Appendix C: Swedenborgianism
• Appendix D: Rosicrucianism
• Bibliography
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index

Mbuy, Tatah H. (Tatah Humphrey).  Sects, cults & new religous movements in contemporary Cameroon : the challenge of religion in a pluralistic society.  N.W. Province, Cameroon: Copy Printing Technology, Archdiocese of Bamenda, 2003, 192 p.

Okonkwo, John M.  Taming a three-headed monster : how and why Nigerian students should stay away from secret cults, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS infection. Enugu: Snaap Press, 2003.

Richardson, James T.  Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe.  2003, Kluwer

Regulation of minority faiths varies greatly around the globe, with some countries allowing them considerable freedom to exist, recruit new members, raise money, and use public facilities.  Other societies are more closed to the presence of such groups, either native or foreign.  The pattern of reactions to minority religious movements is not easily explained by reference to usual terms.  Knowledge of historical factors in the various countries, coupled with a use of selected theories from sociology of religion and sociology of law, can assist understanding of the situation in various countries.  Explicating these complex relationships is the challenge of this volume.

Saliba, John A.  Understanding new religious movements, 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2003., 293 p.

• Preface
• Introduction by J. Gordon Melton
• The New Religious Movements in Contemporary Western Culture: An Overview
• The History of New Religious Movements in the West
• The New Religious Movements in Psychological Perspective
• The New Religious Movements in Sociological Perspective
• The New Religious Movements in the Law Courts
• The New Religious Movements in Christian Theological Perspective
• Counseling and the New Religious Movements
• Index

Siskind, Amy B.  The Sullivan Institute/Fourth Wall community: The relationship of radical individualism and authoritarianism.  Westport, CT, US: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc (2003). viii, 170 pp.

(from the publicity materials) In this comprehensive study of the Sullivanian movement, Amy Siskind examines the historical and social processes that resulted in the creation of the Sullivan Institute/Fourth Wall Community and its subsequent development into a totalistic community. Over a 35-year span (1957-1992), the Institute developed from a radical experiment in therapeutic practice, with patients and therapists living together in an innovative community on Manhattan's Upper West Side, into a totalitarian society wherein leaders and therapists maintained enormous institutional and personal power over the lives of patients and group members. In The Sullivan Institute/Fourth Wall Community: The Relationship of Radical Individualism and Authoritarianism, Siskind explores generally the development of cults based on 20th century social and psychoanalytic theory, and then investigates the particulars of this one community in great detail. The result is a unique exploration of how a movement originally intended to liberate individuals from a repressive society became, over time, more repressive than mainstream society itself.

Snow, Robert L.  Deadly cults : the crimes of true believers.  Westport, CN: Praeger, 2003, 237 p.

Stein, Stephen J.  Communities of dissent : a history of alternative religions in America. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 159 p.

Books from Latin America

Erdely, Jorge (Ed).  (2003). Sectas Destructivas: Un Analisis Cientifico. Publicaciones Para el Estudio Cientifico de las Religiones.  Ciudad de Mexico.

Includes chapters by Drs. L. J. West, Jorge de la Pena, Michael Langone, Cesar Mascarenas, Elio Masferrer, Margaret Singer, John Hochman, Jorge Erdely.  For more information:  raer_mx@yahoo.com.mx.

Erdely, Jorge; Arguelles, Lourdes.  (2003).  La Nueva Jihad: Mitos y REalidades Sobre el Pan-Islamismo.  Publicaciones Para el Estudio Cientifico de las Religiones: Ciudad de Mexico.117 pages.

El fracaso de la CIA y del FBI para evitar los sucesos del 11 de septiembre de 2001 se debio a una condicion psicosocial conocida como negacion interpretative.  Esta fue producto de analisis de informacion deficientes, basados en metodos y modelos teoricos con fuertes prjuicios occidentals.  Por ello, los avatars de la tecnologia y del capital fallaron en comprender la profundidad de la propuesta de Jihad o Guerra Sagrada de Al-Qaeda.

Guerra, Manuel. Diccionario Enciclopédico de las Sectas. Editorial: EUNSA (Pamplona).  Año: 2003.  Págs.: 304.

Tercera edición con más de 1000 páginas, ha hecho un gran esfuerzo de síntesis de la información para ofrecer una guía completa y muy interesante, que será útil a todo el mundo para buscar cualquier secta. Aquí va la ficha que proporciona la editorial en su web:  Título: las sectas y su invasión del mundo hispano: una guía.   Autor: Manuel Guerra Gómez.  ISBN: 84-313-2083-4.

Books from Spain

Arroyo Menendez, Millan (2003). Cambio cultural y cambio religioso: tendencias y formas de religiosidad en la España de fin de siglo. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Servicio de Publicaciones. 1 CD-ROM. ISBN 84-669-1204-5.

Climati, Carlo (2003). Los jovenes y el esoterismo. Magia, satanismo y ocultismo: la patraña del fuego que no quema. Madrid: Ciudad Nueva, 240 p. Persona y Familia. ISBN 84-9715-030-9

Galayo Macías, María del Carmen (2003). Sectas, ¿asesinas de la mente? Madrid: Proyectos y Producciones Editoriales Cyan. ISBN 84-8198-468-X

Guerra Gómez, Manuel (2003). Las sectas y su invasión del mundo hispánico: una guía. Pamplona: Eunsa; Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, 295 p. ISBN 84-313-2083-4

Mariscal Parella, Ramón (2003). En las ramas. Saldes: Abadia Editores, 125 p. ISBN 84-933159-3-1

Moyano, Antonio Luis (2003). Sectas, amenazas en la sombra: cómo actúan, quiénes son y cómo defendernos. Madrid: Nowtilus; MEDIASAT, 239 p. ISBN 84-9763-005-X

Pascual, Roger (2003). L’ombra de les sectes. Guia bàsica de grups de manipulació mental. Barcelona: Llibres de l’índex, 159 p. Descoberta, 32. ISBN 84-95317-59-1

Vazquez Borau, Jose Luis (2003). El hecho religioso. Madrid: San Pablo, 152 p. ISBN 84-285-2564-1

Books from CESNUR.Org

Hogan, Jane Williams. Swedenborg e le chiese swedenborgiane.  Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2004, pp. 136.

Introvigne, Massimo.  Fondamentalismi. I diversi volti dell’intransigenza religiosa
Piemme, Casale Monferrato (AL) 2004, 240 pp.

Introvigne, Massimo. Hamas. Fondamentalismo islamico e terrorismo suicida in Palestina.  Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 128.

Lopez Jr., Donald S.  Il buddhismo tibetano.  Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 88.

Kranenborg, Reender .  L’induismo.  Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 96.

Sedgwick, Mark.  Il sufismo. Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003, pp. 176.

Squarcini, Federico; Fizzotti, Eugenio.  Hare Krishna (Studies in Contemporary Religions).  Signature Books; (February 2004). 100 pages.

Stark, Rodney; Introvigne, Massimo.  Dio è tornato. Indagine sulla rivincita delle religioni in Occidente.  Piemme, Casale Monferrato (AL) 2003, 160 pp.

Warburg, Margit.  Baha'i.  Signature Books; (February 2004).  00 pages.

Dissertations

Mckibben, Jodi Beth Aronoff .  Sex and cult affiliation biases in the diagnosis of dependent and narcissistic personality disorders: An empirical investigation.  Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering. Vol 64(5-B), 2003, 2396.

Numerous research investigations have been conducted to assess if the sex of either the client or the clinician has an influence on clinicians' assessments of mental health disorders (specifically, personality disorders). The present study seeks to evaluate whether or not a client's sex and/or cult affiliation status has an effect on a clinician's formulation of correct diagnoses. In other words, would an assessment sex or cult affiliation bias be detected? Eighteen hundred male and female members of the American Psychological Association were each presented with a case study describing either a male or a female who was either a cult member, a cult leader, or had no cult affiliation status. Further, the case study described symptoms meeting the diagnostic criteria for either dependent personality disorder (DPD) or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), and no other disorder. The clinicians were asked to evaluate various diagnoses regarding the extent of their applicability to the case presented. A total of 472 useable surveys were returned. The results indicated that both the sex and the cult affiliation status of the case affected the percentage of correct diagnoses assigned for both the DPD and NPD cases. The assignment of the correct diagnosis for the NPD cases was also affected by the sex of the respondent. As expected, the results showed that when cult affiliation was not a factor, females were more likely to be assigned a DPD diagnosis than were males, and that males were more likely to receive a NPD diagnosis than were females. The specific findings for the cult affiliation cases, however, were far more complex. This study has provided evidence for assessment sex and cult affiliation bias for both DPD and NPD. As such, factors aside from the client's symptoms appear to affect diagnostic decisions and a stronger adherence to the DSM, perhaps through the use of semistructured interviews and self-report inventories, is recommended. Furthermore, future research should be conducted to further understand the nature of such biases.

Wolfson, Linda Bruger .  A study of the factors of psychological abuse and control in two relationships: Domestic violence and cultic systems.  Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities & Social Sciences. Vol 63(8-A), Mar 2003, 2794.

This study explored the factors of psychological abuse and control, as it exists in different types of abusive relationships. A review of the literature reveals that this type of abuse has been noted in such relationships as domestic violence, cultic systems, prisoners of war and hostage detainment (Boulette & Anderson, 1986; Herman, 1992; Ward, 2000; West, 1993). However, although evidence regarding these factors of control across groups of abusive relationships is reported in the literature, it is only noted on a clinical basis without any empirical support. This study focused on the presence of these factors of abuse and control across two groups, victims of domestic violence and cultic systems. The first part of the research involved the development of an instrument, Across Groups Psychological Abuse and Control Scale (AGPAC), to measure psychological abuse and control in these two populations. A Factor Analysis derived three factors in the new scale, Verbal Abuse, Isolation and Activity Control and Emotional Abuse, each with a high degree of internal consistency. The second part of this study involved administering the AGPAC to 98 ex-cult and 100 domestic violence participants in order to determine how each of these groups related to the factors of psychological abuse and control. In addition, participants in the study were given a questionnaire on anxiety, the Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire (Reynolds, 1999), a frequently noted consequence of abusive relationships (Herman, 1992; Jones, 1994; Singer, 1992; Walker, 1979). Both groups were profiled as experiencing the factors of psychological abuse and control while in their respective relationships. However, the domestic violence participants were profiled as severely anxious while the ex-cult participants were mildly anxious. This study indicated that there are also differences in both groups as they relate to the subscales of the AGPAC, which warrants further investigation. This research has just begun to explore the similarities and differences in psychological abuse and control as experienced in two different types of abusive relationships. Additional investigation into a more universal understanding of this abusive behavior should provide important information for a society struggling to better serve victims of abuse.

Willey, Frank Tilghman .  The quest for "personal freedom" among the apprentices of nagual Miguel Ruiz: A participant-observer phenomenology.  Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities & Social Sciences. Vol 63(10-A), 2003, 3594.

The researcher studied the experience of "personal freedom" within a North American community of spiritual practitioners gathered around a contemporary nagual from Mexico named Miguel Angel Ruiz. The research objective was to describe and evaluate the structure, meaning and social value of this lived experience, one central to a contemporary New Religious Movement whose members claim to be following ancient Toltec traditions. The study was based on participation and observation and methodologically organized through a constructive exercise in philosophy of method. In the course of his own participation-observation and in-depth interviews with twelve apprentices, the researcher generated a hermeneutical-phenomenological description of "personal freedom" and its psychosocial locations, including and especially as it appeared within his own consciousness. In order to refine his attestation of "personal freedom" the researcher concluded the study with critical reflections upon the psychosocial locations of the phenomenon, associated problems related to knowledge, truth and human suggestibility, and the social value of the apprentice's quest. "Personal freedom," was found to be a subjective, interior state of consciousness. Accomplished through a particular psychospiritual program, "personal freedom" is experienced as a multiplication of options for living, a liberation and realization of one's "true self," and an openness to explore avenues of realities previously unknown. Moreover, as a religious, spiritual and/or transcendental experience, "personal freedom" refers to an opening of the self to possibilities beyond horizons formerly accepted as naturally, personally or socially given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

Articles

Almendros, Carmen, Carrobles, Jose Antonio, Rodriguez-Carballeira, Alvaro, & Jansa, Josep Maria.  (2003). Adaptacion Psicometrica de la Version Española de la Group Psychological Abuse Scale Para la Medida de Abuso Psicologico en Contextos Grupales.  Psicothema, 15(4), 132-138. [Reprinted in Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3 – see below for abstract in English.]

Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin .  Apocalyptic Dreams and Religious Ideologies: Losing and Saving Self and World.  Psychoanalytic Review. Vol 90(4), Aug 2003, 403-439.

Notes that the essential ingredients of the apocalyptic dream are first a total destruction of the world as we know it, with all its present evils, and then a birth of a "new heaven and a new earth" for the elect, who are only a remnant of humanity. These ideas appear both in schizophrenic or borderline individuals, and in many religious scriptures and doctrines. Millenarian groups promise imminent collective salvation for the faithful in an earthly paradise that will rise following an apocalyptic destruction ordained by the gods. In some cases this destruction will be hastened by human acts. In some contemporary groups, such dreams are clearly tied to acts of violence, including mass suicide. In this article, examples of apocalyptic thinking in old and new religions are examined, with particular attention to Aum Shinrikyo, the Peoples Temple, Heaven's Gate, and the Solar Temple. A case study of Brahma Kumaris, a contemporary group characterized by an apocalyptic vision (kept hidden from nonmembers) is presented to illuminate the possible psychodynamics of apocalyptic visions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

Bracke, Sarah.  Author(iz)ing agency: Feminist scholars making sense of women's involvement in religious "fundamentalist" movements.  European Journal of Women's Studies. Vol 10(3), Aug 2003, 335-346.

This article discusses ways in which feminist scholars draw upon agency in relation to the complex subject matter of women's engagement in so-called "fundamentalist" movements. While postcolonial critiques generally reject the term "fundamentalism", and in particular the way it is linked to Islam, feminist perspectives have a vested interest in looking at contemporary developments in different religions from the perspective of women's lives. Against the patriarchal reputations of fundamentalist movements, feminist scholarship increasingly tends to emphasize women's agency, thereby effectively breaking with widespread notions of "false consciousness". After briefly discussing two such examples, the question is raised whether this emphasis on agency does not risk evacuating structural constraints in the construction of subjectivity, thus neutralizing the productive tension, at the heart of women's studies, between structure and agency. In conclusion, the article joins other calls for new ways of thinking about subjectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Brothers, Doris .  Clutching at certainty: Thoughts on the coercive grip of cult-like groups: Comment.  Group. Vol 27(2-3), Sep 2003, 79-88.

This response to Richard Raubolt's (see record 2003-07265-002) article, "Attack on the Self," attempts to understand the intense and enduring connection that often develops between charismatic leaders of cult-like groups and their followers in terms of their mutual need to regulate uncertainty. After describing "the intersubjective regulation of uncertainty," a concept influenced by self psychology and intersubjectivity systems theory, a number of uncertainty regulating modes that emerged in the training program are examined including (1) the denial of difference, (2) the denial of sameness, (3) alter ego relating, (4) the inflamation of passion, and (5) faith-keeping fantasies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Lai C-T.  Hong Kong Daoism: A Study of Daoist Altars and Lü Dongbin Cults.  Social Compass, December 2003, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 459-470(12)

The author examines the development of Daoist institutions in Hong Kong. He focuses on the historical factors behind that development, in the context of transplantation from parent institutions in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province since 1940. The origin of most Hong Kong Daoist temples and altars cannot be disassociated from the larger Lü Dongbin cults that flourished in Guangdong during late imperial China. Many of the Daoist institutions are volunteer religious organizations whose members are recruited from different strata in Hong Kong. Since the 1970s, in identifying themselves more as charitable societies in a modern sense, major Daoist organizations are changing their nature and integrating into the Hong Kong community.

Nishida, Kimiaki; Kuroda, Fuzuki .  A study of psychological problems after leaving destructive cults: The effects of the progress period after leaving and counseling. Japanese Journal of Social Psychology. Vol 18(3), Mar 2003, 192-203.

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological problems experienced after leaving destructive cults and the effects of the progress period after leaving and non-professional counseling. The study analyzed the psychological problems by using a questionnaire survey administrated to 157 former cult members from two different cults. The results of factor analysis revealed the following eleven factors for psychological problems. 1) tendencies for depression and anxiety, 2) loss of self esteem, 3) remorse and regret, 4) friendship building and socializing difficulties, 5) family relationship difficulties, 6) floating, 7) fear of sexual contact, 8) emotional instability, 9) tendency for psychosomatic disease, 10) concealment of past life, and 11)anger toward the group. The results of an analysis of variance showed that tendencies for depression and anxiety, tendency for psychosomatic disease, and concealment of past life decreased during the progress period after leaving the group and counseling, while loss of self-esteem and anger toward the group increased by counseling.

Norlander, Torsten; Gard, Lisette; Lindholm, Lena; Archer, Trevor.  New Age: exploration of outlook-on-life frameworks from a phenomenological perspective.  Mental Health, Religion & Culture. Vol 6(1), 2003, 1-20.

Examined outlook-on-life frameworks of members of the New Age religious movement from a phenomenological perspective. Four men and four women (aged 33-60 yrs), professionally active within the New-Age movement, completed in-depth interviews regarding 3 aspects with outlook-on-life conceptualization: theoretical assumptions of humans and the world, a central system of values, and an emotional foundation. Results show that New Age is a religious outlook on life which is strongly imprinted with a global outlook, processes of development and the individual. It offers a package or theme during an age of upheavals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

Whitsett, Doni; Kent, Stephen A.  Cults and Families. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services (www.familiesinsociety.org), vol. 84, No. 4, 2003, pp. 491-502.

This article provides an overview of cult-related issues that may reveal themselves in therapeutic situations.  These issues include: families in cults; parental (especially mothers') roles in cults; the impact that cult leaders have on families; the destruction of family intimacy; child abuse; issues encountered by noncustodial parents; the impact on cognitive, psychological, and moral development; and health issues.  The authors borrow from numerous theoretical perspectives to illustrate their points, including self psychology, developmental theory, and the sociology of religion.  They conclude with a discussion of the therapeutic challenges that therapists face when working with cult-involved clients and make preliminary recommendations for treatment.

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Beyer P. Constitutional Privilege and Constituting Pluralism: Religious Freedom in National, Global, and Legal Context.  Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, iss. 3, pp. 333-339(7)

Lori Beaman argues that religious freedom in Canada and the United States is well established in theory (or myth) but limited in practice, privileging Protestantism in particular and varieties of Christianity in general. Focusing on the treatment of other religions in the courts of the two countries, she defends the hypothesis that these legal systems tend to reinforce the hegemony of Christianity, using this as an implicit model of what constitutes a religion, and thereby maintaining the marginalization and restricting the freedom of other religions. The present article sets Beaman's arguments in a wider global context, exploring the extent to which Christianity does and does not serve as a global standard for religion; and addressing the question of why issues of religious freedom so frequently end up being the subject of legal judgment and political decision. The main conclusions drawn from this global contextualization are that maintenance of some kind of religious hegemony is the rule all across global society, not just in Canada and the United States, and that unfettered freedom of religion or genuine religious pluralization is correspondingly rare, if it exists anywhere. Moreover, it is argued that such limitations, frequently expressed in legal judgments and political decisions, are more or less to be expected because they flow from the peculiar way that religion has been constructed in the modern and global era as both a privileged and privatized, as both an encompassing and marginalized social domain. The article thereby simultaneously reinforces and takes issue with Beaman's position: the modern and global reconstruction of religion invites its infinite pluralization at the same time as it encourages its politicization and practical restriction. Religions act as important resources both for claims to inclusion and for strategies of relative exclusion.

Gill A. Lost in the Supermarket: Comments on Beaman, Religious Pluralism, and What it Means to be Free. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, iss. 3, pp. 327-332(6).

Beaman L.G. Response to Beyer and Gill. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, September 2003, vol. 42, iss. 3, pp. 341-346(6).

Hackney C.H.; Sanders G.S. Religiosity and Mental Health: A Meta–Analysis of Recent Studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, iss. 1, pp. 43-55(14).

A meta–analysis was performed in an attempt to clarify the proposed relationship between religiosity and psychological adjustment. Specific focus was given to the issue of definition, namely, whether differences in researchers’ conceptualizations of religiosity and mental health could account for the various contradictory findings by psychologists of religion. Analysis of 34 studies conducted during the past 12 years revealed that the definitions of religiosity and mental health utilized by psychologists in this field were indeed associated with different types and strengths of the correlations between religiosity and mental health. Discussion of results assesses the fit between relevant theory and the pattern of change in effect size across categories of religion and adjustment, and concludes with implications for therapeutic uses of religious involvement.

Rice T. W. Believe It Or Not: Religious and Other Paranormal Beliefs in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, iss. 1, pp. 95-106(12).

Paranormal beliefs are often divided between those that are central to traditional Christian doctrine, such as the belief in heaven and hell, and those that are commonly associated with the supernatural or occult, such as the belief in ESP and psychic healing. This study employs data from a recent nationwide random sample general population survey to catalog the social correlates of paranormal beliefs and to examine the relationships between religious and other paranormal beliefs. The results indicate that standard social background factors do a poor job of accounting for who believes in paranormal phenomena and that the importance of specific background factors changes dramatically from phenomenon to phenomenon. The results also show that the correlations between belief in religious phenomena and other paranormal phenomena are largely insignificant. These findings call into question many prevailing theories about paranormal beliefs.

Merrill R.M.; Lyon J.L.; Jensen W.J. Lack of a Secularizing Influence of Education on Religious Activity and Parity Among Mormons. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, March 2003, vol. 42, iss. 1, pp. 113-124(12).

Research conducted in the early 1980s indicated that education does not have a secularizing influence on Mormons. Based on data from two cross–sectional surveys involving Utah residents in 1996 and 2000, we provide an updated assessment of the association between education and religiosity in Mormons and also consider this association in non–Mormons. We also evaluate the association between educational attainment and parity (i.e., number of children born to a woman) according to religious preference and religious activity. Consistent with previous research, we did not find education to have a secularizing influence on Mormons, but rather to have a positive association with religiosity for both Mormon men and women. Little or no association was observed in non–Mormons. Mean parity tended to decrease with higher education for both Mormons and non–Mormons. However, within categories of age and education, mean parity was considerably higher among religiously active Mormon women.

Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, University of California Press

Urban, Hugh B.  The Beast with Two Backs: Aleister Crowley, Sex Magic and the Exhaustion of Modernity. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 7-25.

Infamous for his drug use and extreme sexual practices, and proclaiming himself the "Great Beast 666," Aleister Crowley remains to this day one of the most influential and yet most often misunderstood figures in the history of Western new religious movements. This article offers a fresh approach to Crowley, by placing him within contemporary debates about modernism and postmodernism. By no means the outcast enemy of modern Western society so often depicted in the media, Crowley was, I argue, a stunning reflection of some of the most acute cultural contradictions at the heart of modern Western civilization in the early twentieth century. A uniquely Janus-faced character, he reflects both the "Faustian" will of modernism as well as its tragic failure and exhaustion at mid-century in the aftermath of the two World Wars.

Flaherty, Robert Pearson.  JeungSanDo and the Great Opening of the Later Heaven: Millenarianism, Syncretism, and the Religion of Gang Il-sun.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 26-44.

Korea's JeungSanDo is a syncretistic religion in which elements of religious Taoism, Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Roman Catholicism, and Korean shamanism are combined with a unifying millenarian vision that was initially formulated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the late Joseon Dynasty. JeungSanDo is based on the teachings of Gang Il-sun (1871-1909), who was/is regarded by his followers as the incarnation of SangJe (Shangti), the Ruler of the Universe in religious Taoism, as well as Maitreya, the Future Buddha of Buddhist eschatology. The religion of Gang Il-sun arose as a compensatory response to the defeat of the Donghak Revolution in 1894. The central belief of JeungSanDo is Hu-Cheon GaeByeok, the Great Opening of the Later Heaven, the new age of JeungSan Gang Il-Sun's millenarian vision. A glossary of Korean and Chinese terms follows the endnotes.

Geaves, Ron.  From Divine Light Mission to Elan Vital and Beyond: An Exploration of Change and Adaptation.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 45-62.

The following article will put forward the argument that it is necessary to take into account the worldview of the insider in order to appreciate the coherence or "rationality" of actions of a religiousspiritual teacher or organization. As a case study, the article examines the transformations that have occurred in the organizational forms utilized by Prem Rawat (a.k.a. Maharaji). While bringing readers up to date with Maharaji's activities since the 1980s, I argue that these developments owe more to Maharaji's self-perception of his role as a master and his wish to universalize the message historically located in the teachings of individual sant iconoclasts, than to external or internal pressures brought to bear upon the organizational forms themselves.

Simmons, John K.  Eschatological Vacillation in Mary Baker Eddy's Presentation of Christian Science.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 63-80.

This article clarifies a number of terms used in end-time theology with a view to illuminating the theology of Christian Science. "Eschaton continuum" refers to a range of eschatological expectations in which a prophetic religious leader vacillates between the polar extremes of apocalyptic eschatology and ethical eschatology; and between catastrophic apocalypticism and progressive apocalylpticism. The author tracks the eschatological vacillation in Mary Baker Eddy's conceptualization of Christian Science in the hope of introducing a typology useful in analyzing other emergent religious movements.

Kranenborg, Reender.  Field Notes: Efraim: A New Apocalyptic Movement in the Netherlands.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 81-91.

At the end of 2001 an unknown apocalyptic movement, Efraim, became hot news in the Netherlands. It was reported that the members expected the end of the world and the coming of the Messiah before 2002, and had changed their lives dramatically. These Field Notes report on this new group. The article first discusses what happened and the role the media played. Second, the article provides a description of the movement, including a portrait of the leader and his teachings about the end of the world, i.e., the rapture of the Bride (the faithful), the predictions on what will happen in the future, ideas concerning Elijah and the twelve tribes ("geo-theology") and the Bride of Christ. Third, the reactions of the leader, when the rapture of the Bride did not take place, are examined. Finally some conclusions are given. It can be seen that Efraim started as a Pentecostal group, but developed into an independent Christian movement, which has a new content, due to the revelations the leader receives.

Lucas, Phillip Charles.  Enfants Terribles: The Challenge of Sectarian Converts to Ethnic Orthodox Churches in the United States.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 5-23.

This article considers two case studies of collective conversions to Eastern Orthodoxy to illustrate the most pressing challenges faced by ethnic Orthodox congregations who attempt to assimilate sectarian groups into their midst. I argue that these challenges include: 1) the different understandings of ecclesiology held by former Protestant sectarians and by "cradle" Orthodox believers; 2) the pan-Orthodox aspirations of sectarian converts versus the factionalism found in ethnically-based American Orthodox jurisdictions; 3) the differing pastoral styles of former sectarian ministers and Orthodox priests; 4) the tendency of sectarian converts to embrace a very strict reading of Orthodoxy and to adopt a critical and reformist attitude in relations with cradle Orthodox communities; and 5) the covert and overt racism that sometimes exists in ethnic Orthodox parishes. I suggest that the increasing numbers of non-ethnic converts to ethnic Orthodox parishes may result in increased pressure to break down ethnic barriers between Orthodox communities and to form a unified American Orthodox Church. These conversions may also lead to the growth of hybrid Orthodox churches such as the Charismatic Episcopal Church.

Adogame, Afe.  Betwixt Identity and Security: African New Religious Movements and the Politics of Religious Networking in Europe. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 24-41.

African New Religious Movements (ANRMs) are creating local-global religious networks to further their self-insertion (self-assertion) in the European religious landscape. Intrareligious engagement of ANRM members derives not so much from doctrinal affinities or leadership preferences, but from the quest for spiritual satisfaction, religious identity, and a place to feel at home. The complexity of the motives for participating in networks is due to religious, socio-cultural, and economic considerations. While religious communities identify this networking as a vital strategy for global mission and evangelism ("mission reversed"), such networks serve also as conduits for maintaining identity and ensuring security, as well as facilitating status improvement and legitimacy in Europe.

Reichl, Christopher A.  Ijun in Hawaii: The Political Economic Dimension of an Okinawan New Religion Overseas.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 42-54.

With reference to an Okinawan new religion called Ijun and its branch on the island of Hawaii, this article analyzes the international expansion of new religious organizations from the perspective of political economy. I develop questions concerning the flow of capital and the relationship between central church and branch by the application of a center-periphery model. I argue that the development of an international organization allows the Okinawan group to become a center with respect to its overseas branches, replicating the centern

Hallum, Anne.  Ecotheology and Environmental Praxis in Guatemala.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 55-70.

One can argue that religious beliefs have more influence for changing societal behavior than does scientific knowledge. Thus, the rediscovery of ecological themes in a variety of religious texts (ecotheology) can be a step toward environmental activism and conservation behavior, where science alone has been relatively ineffective. The article presents this argument, reviewing relevant literature. Next, the article tests this argument for the potential influence of religion in promoting environmentalism through a comparative case study of three Guatemalan villages: one in which religious traditions are quickly disintegrating because the population was forced to move; one in which religious traditions remain largely intact; and one in which Guatemalans, Europeans, and North Americans practice environmental preservation in a pluralistic religious setting. Shared values and the common religious theme of caring for creation can be a motin

Cowan, Douglas E.  Confronting the Failed Failure: Y2K and Evangelical Eschatology in Light of the Passed Millennium.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 71-85.

If the Y2K "bug" entered the collective consciousness of evangelical Christians, two principal patterns of response emerged: either evangelicals acknowledged Y2K as a problem that required the readiness and reply of Christians, but rejected it as a component of prophetic fulfillment; or they interpreted it in some measure as a fulfillment of prophecy and a part of God'splan to facilitate the endtime. For those who believed Y2K to be a part of the eschatological schema, its status as a non-event required a variety of dissonance management techniques. This article explores the methods deployed by dispensationalist Christians to manage the cognitive dissonance generated by Y2K's "failed failure." Following a brief summary of evangelical predictions regarding Y2K, I offer a typology of responses ranging from denial that Y2K had ever been a problem to declaration that the Y2K problem occurred exactly as predicted. In each response, the central organizing principles of evangelical dispensationalism hold firm, and the cognitive dissonance created by the "failed failure" is successfully managed.

Stephenson, Denice A., Hollis, Tanya M.  Before and After Jonestown: The Peoples Temple Collection at the California Historical Society. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 86-91.  

The California Historical Society is the chief repository for materials pertaining to the Peoples Temple. There are five collections that together form the Peoples Temple Collection, and each represents a unique perspective on the membership and the events leading up to the tragedy on 18 November 1978 at Jonestown, Guyana. Ongoing efforts at the Society to make these collections more accessible to researchers have resulted in new approaches for research into the Peoples Temple, its membership, and the nature of the church as a new religious movement.

Moore, Rebecca.  Drinking the Kool-Aid: The Cultural Transformation of a Tragedy. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 92-100.

The expression "drinking the Kool-Aid" has entered the American idiom with little reference to its origins in the Jonestown tragedy of 18 November 1978. Instead, people are using Jonestown, the event, and Kool-Aid, the phrase, to signify a number of contradictory meanings and values. This is because those who died in Jonestown were ritually excluded from cultural consideration. The more traumatic the original incident, the more likely memory of that event will be forgotten or repressed. The author identifies the ways Kool-Aid and Jonestown are used in the news and on the Internet, and catalogues four main groups of uses: cult disasters, including 9/11; political uses; entertainment; and business uses. The categories of cult disasters and politics use Jonestown references negatively, thereby indicating a tenuous connection with the origins of the concepts. The entertainment and business worlds, however, use the references both negatively and positively, thus revealing dissociation and amnesia about the reality of Jonestown.

Wrights, Stuart A.  A Decade After Waco: Reassessing Crisis Negotiations at Mount Carmel in Light of New Government Disclosures. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 2, Pages 101-110.

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the disastrous federal siege of the Branch Davidians, the tragedy is revisited in light of new government disclosures regarding negotiations during the 51-day standoff. Some of the newly available records - post-incident interviews with negotiators conducted by Justice Department investigators and memoranda written by negotiators or members of the FBI command structure - were concealed by the government for six years because they contained incriminating information. The new evidence reveals the degree to which negotiators at Mount Carmel recognized and roundly condemned the actions taken by the Hostage Rescue Team during the standoff that ultimately led to the insertion of deadly CS gas. Some negotiators even predicted the violent and fatal outcome of the siege weeks before it ended. Indeed, two veteran negotiators challenged the decisions of FBI commanders and were banished from Waco for their remonstrance.

Pinn, Anthony B.  Introduction: African American Religion Symposium. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 7-10.

This essay introduces five articles in a Nova Religio symposium focusing on African American Religion. The essays provide some means for re-imagining the study of African American religion in ways that allow for a much better understanding of African American participation in traditional and new religious movements.

Long, Charles H.  African American Religion in the United States of America: An Interpretative Essay.  Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.  2003, Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 11-27.

This essay addresses the problematical nature of the meaning of religion as it is related to the formation and destiny of peoples of African descent in the United States. Moving beyond a narrow understanding of the nature of religion as expressed in much of Black Theology, for example, this essay proposes a "thick" and complex depiction of religion in the African American context through recognition of its relationship to the contact and conquest that marked the modern world.

Anderson, Victor. A Relational Concept of Race in African American Religious Thought.