Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series) Rating :
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Excellent and worthy of Evangelical consideration
By John W. Morehead
My review published in Journal of Asian Mission 14:1 (2013):
Evangelicals have many options for books addressing "cults" or new religious movements. Although there aren't as many volumes written
on the topic for Evangelical consumption today as in the past, a visit to a Christian bookstore in the United States, for example, typically demonstrates a large number of books and other materials on the topic.
Sadly, in this reviewer's opinion, much of this material is limited in its helpfulness. It draws upon a simple comparative template, which
is often accompanied by shallow theological analysis. Evangelicals would do well to consider additional resources beyond that produced
within the Evangelical subculture, and Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements is a good example of a helpful resource that can
serve this purpose.
The author is well suited for the production of this volume. George Chryssides has spent many years working in this fi eld, and he brings
his educational background in philosophy, theology and philosophy ofreligion to the subject matter. He has also written several books and
other materials related to new religious movements,
This book is part of an extensive collection of works by the publisher devoted to the historical exploration of a variety of subject
matter. In the preface the author informs the reader that in this historical consideration of new religions a diachronic and synchronic approach is undertaken. The author chooses to use the academic term "new religious movements" rather than terms like "cults" or "fringe religions" commonly found in Evangelical treatments of the subject. Since this volume represents an academic exploration of new religions, it attempts to avoid value judgments, and this informed the author's choice of terminology. Chryssides also notes that, "inclusion [in this volume] does not make it a `destructive cult' or a `spiritual counterfeit'" (xii).
A wide variety of elements are included in this dictionary, and the author tells us that the decision as to what to include was based on
pragmatism. He writes, "I have endeavored simply to create entries that the informed reader would expect to fi nd" (xii). This includes not only groups and their leaders with whom Evangelicals are familiar, but also those they encounter for the fi rst time in this volume. In addition, readers will fi nd "key concepts used within NRMs and in the study of them" (xiv) incorporated into this dictionary. This approach provides a greater depth to the subject matter than found in many Evangelical treatments that often select material based upon the dual criteria of Evangelical familiarity and the perception of proselytizing threat.
The methodology used by this author is an academic one, drawing upon religious studies. Evangelicals used to the theological and
apologetic critique within their own subculture on new religions should note the perspective Chryssides brings to the subject, and that he is not writing as "a sociologist, a counselor, or a Christian theologian attempting a `cult critique'" (xv). The book also includes a helpful chronology of new religions so that the reader can understand the chronological and historical development of new religions, not only as they arose themselves, but also in relation to other new religions of a given period.
This book includes a helpful glossary of terms, a bibliography for further study; and a list of significant websites, including general
ones; and a long list of primary websites related to the new religions, as well as those critical of new religions from anti-cult and counter-cult perspectives.
Another helpful facet of this book is its introduction. Here the author provides a nice overview of the subject matter that sets the stage for the material that follows. The introduction also draws attention to significant aspects of the history of new religions. Examples include the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg who in turn infl uenced Ralph Waldo Emerson and his Transcendentalism. Chryssides also discusses the significance of New Thought, the Theosophical Society, G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky and their influence on the development of Western Sufism, the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions and Spiritualism, as well as various facets of the Western esoteric tradition (or "occultism"), such as Templarism, Rosicrucianism, magick, Witchcraft, and the New Age Movement or New Spirituality. The Introduction also draws attention to various conservative Christian movements; this includes groups like
Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and Pentecostals. It notes the significance of the 1960s counterculture to the rise and development of new religions and discusses "'third-millennium' religion" (17). The latter section includes apocalyptic elements such as the Mayan calendar fears of December 2012, various schisms that have arisen in certain new religions and the place of technology in the new religions, such as the Internet and its impact upon groups like the Church of Scientology.
This section also discusses what Chryssides labels "invented religions" (21), alternatively labeled by other scholars as "hyper-real" or "fiction-based" spiritualities. These include Jediism and Matrixism, spiritualities that draw upon aspects of science fi ction, fantasy or horror in popular culture for inspiration. For those tempted to dismiss the significance of such groups, Chryssides states, "The phenomenon of cyber-religions and `invented religions' raises the question of where the boundaries lie between religion, popular culture that acquires spiritual significance, and parodies and critiques of existing religion" (21).
In the entries that make up the rest of this volume, the following may be of particular interest to Evangelical readers.
The entry on the anti-cult movement summarizes the secular opposition to new religious movements. It mentions some of the most
significant groups that made up this movement in the past, and those that continue in the present.
There is a discussion of brainwashing (also called "mind control" or "coercive persuasion"), an explanatory cause for group recruitment
and conversion advocated largely by secular anti-cult movement participants, but also adopted by some Evangelicals often in combination
with theological understandings. This entry brings the reader up to date on the controversy, which is really not much of a controversy anymore given the data refuting brainwashing theories through scholars like Eileen Barker in her volume The Making of a Moonie in 1984 which has never been disproved.
This book also includes an entry on the Evangelical counter-cult movement, those ministries devoted to the opposition of new religions
by way of theological contrast and apologetic refutation. This discussion would have been stronger with a mention of other major organizations, such as the Christian Research Institute founded by the late Walter Martin. In the listing of prominent countercult personalities, additional individuals could have been included to update the material which is as somewhat dated. And curiously, Bob Passantino is listed as a "present day" author even though he passed away in 2003, a fact noted in the separate entry under his name. This entry might also have noted that while the countercult movement continues to infl uence the way in which Evangelicals understand and engage new religions, their size and influence has waned since their peak in the 1980s.
Evangelicals should also consider the entry on "cult apologists," a pejorative label used by those in the secular anticult and Evangelical
countercult movements for those scholars whose work on new religions is viewed as unnecessarily positive, and as advancing the cause of what are conceived of as "destructive cults." Individuals in this category include respected scholars such as Eileen Barker, David Bromley, Douglas Cowan, Jeffrey Hadden, Massimo Introvigne, and Anson Shupe, as well as Methodist scholar J. Gordon Melton, and Irving
Hexham, an Evangelical.
This volume This volume includes entries on Jediis and Matrixism, two hyper-real or fiction-based spiritualities mentioned previously in this review. Those readers interested in exploring in more depth this interesting intersection between spirituality and popular culture are encouraged to seek out the writings of Adam Possamai on this phenomenon. There is also an entry on vampirism, which should be understood as a social identity that at times can have religious or spiritual implications for the individual claiming this identity. The works of scholars like Joseph Laycock explore this topic in depth for those wishing to investigate
more deeply.
The Historical Dictionary of New Religions is a helpful volume that should be drawn upon by pastors, members of congregations,
missionaries, and missiologists interested in gaining an initial introduction to and summary of various new religions. This volume,
coupled with Chryssides's Exploring New Religions (Cassell, 1999), would make for a good companion set in ecclesiological and academic
settings for Evangelicals.
Product Description
New religious movements—commonly known as cults—are defined as organizations that have arisen within the last 200 years. Most treatments of these movements have typically resorted to sensationalism rather than objectivity, and New religious movements tend to receive negative media publicity. Despite their unfavorable portrayal in popular culture, however, new religious movements are a global phenomenon and much remains to be studied about these movements.
In this newly updated second edition of the Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements, George D. Chryssides traces the rise and development of new religious movements throughout the world. An updated introduction summarizes the phenomenon of new religious movements and lays out the changes to the dictionary since the 2001 edition, while the main body of the dictionary consists of close to 600 cross-referenced entries on key figures, ideas, themes, and places related to various new religious movements. An index organizes the information in the dictionary, and a comprehensive bibliography leads the researcher to further sources. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about new religious movements.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2635607 in Books
- Published on: 2012-01-16
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x5.98" w x1.38" l,1.80 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 416 pages
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