Download or read book The New Heretics of France written by Susan Palmer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the Age of Enlightenment, France has upheld clear constitutional guidelines that protect human rights and religious freedom. Today, however, intolerant attitudes and discriminatory practices towards unconventional faiths have become acceptable and even institutionalized in public life. Susan Palmer offers an insightful examination of France's most stigmatized new religions, or ''sectes,'' and the public management of religious and philosophical minorities by the state. The New Heretics of France tracks the mounting government-sponsored anticult movement in the wake of the shocking mass suicides of the Solar Temple in 1994, and the negative impact of this movement on France's most visible religious minorities, whose names appeared on a ''blacklist'' of 172 sectes commissioned by the National Assembly. Drawing on extensive interviews and field research, Palmer describes the controversial histories of well-known international NRMs (the Church of Scientology, Raelian Movement, and Unificationism) in France, as well as esoteric local groups. Palmer also reveals the partisanship of Catholic priests, journalists, village mayors, and the passive public who support La République's efforts to control minority faiths - all in the name of ''Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.'' Drawing on historical and sociological theory, Palmer analyzes France's war on sects as a strategical response to social pressures arising from globalization and immigration. Her study addresses important issues of religious freedom, public tolerance, and the impact of globalization and immigration on traditional cultures and national character.
Download or read book Regulating Religion written by James T. Richardson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe presents, through the inclusion of contributions by international scholars, a global examination of how a number of contemporary societies are regulating religious groups. It focuses on legal efforts to exert social control over such groups, especially through court cases, but also with selected major legislative attempts to regulate them. As such, this analysis falls within the broad area of the sociology of social control and more specifically, legal social control, a topic of great interest when studying how contemporary societies attempt to maintain social order. The factual details about social and legal developments in societies where religion has been defined as problematic include Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in the sociology of religion, the sociology of law, social policy, and religious studies as well as policy makers.
Download or read book Ordinary Anti cultism written by Sergey Ivanenko and published by Vladimir Kuropyatnik. This book was released on 2013 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cult Controversies written by James A. Beckford and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1985 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cults written by James R. Lewis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cults examines the history and current status of cults across the United States, Europe, and East Asia. Focusing on the principal controversial religions and movements that have attracted major media attention, the book also includes profiles of hundreds of minority religions, from Jesus People and Rastafarians to voodoo practitioners and the human-cloning Raelians. All the issues central to the practice and the fear of cults are examined - apocalypticism, deprogramming, social isolation, cults and the media, the use and threat of violence, child custody, libel, tax evasion, solicitation, and the techniques of persuasion and conviction - as are the many charismatic cult leaders. Cults presents a comprehensive and authoritative reference, offering a balanced view of the controversy surrounding these new religious movements, assessing the movements themselves as well as the legal and governmental responses to them, including attempts to quantify membership.
Download or read book New Religious Movements written by Jamie Cresswell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Religious Movements: Challenge & Response is the most comprehensive, wide-ranging study on the global impact of new religions. * New religions discussed include Hare Krishna, Sikh Dharma, The Unification Church, The Church of Scientology, The Jesus People and Wicca. * Focuses on the rise of new religious movements in Italy, Brazil, United States, Germany and Britain. * The contributors are among the most respected and reputable experts in the field.
Download or read book State Responses to Minority Religions written by David M. Kirkham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The response of states to demands for free exercise of religion or belief varies greatly across the world. In some places, religions come as close as imaginable to autonomous existences with little interference from government. In other cases religion finds itself grinding out a meagre living, if at all, under the jealously watchful eye of the state. This book provides a legal and normative overview of the variety of responses to minority religions available to states. Exploring case studies ranging from Islamic regions such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and the wider Middle East, to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Russia, Canada, and the Baltics, contributors include international scholars and experts in law, sociology, religious studies, and political science. This book offers invaluable perspectives on how minority religions are currently being received, reviewed, challenged, or ignored in different parts of the world.
Download or read book Religion Rights and Secular Society written by Peter Cumper and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ÔReligion, Rights and Secular Society by Peter Cumper and Tom Lewis is a both timely and important publication. In a series of highly interesting and well-written essays Ð some of which are case studies covering many different European nations whereas others are more theoretical Ð the book looks at a key paradox in contemporary Europe: the relatively high levels of secularity in most European countries on the one hand, and the marked resurgence of religion in public debates on the other. While never pretending that there are ready answers to the problems of reconciling secular and religious values in Europe, the contributors make it quite clear that Europeans need to return to questions about religion that they had previously regarded as being settled. This is food for thought at a very high level!Õ Ð Helle Porsdam, University of Copenhagen, Denmark This topical collection of chapters examines secular society and the legal protection of religion and belief across Europe, both in general and more nation-specific terms. The expectations of many that religion in modern Europe would be swept away by the powerful current of secularization have not been realised, and today few topics generate more controversy than the complex relationship between religious and secular values. The Ôreligious/secularÕ relationship is examined in this book, which brings together scholars from different parts of Europe and beyond to provide insights into the methods by which religion and equivalent beliefs have been, and continue to be, protected in the legal systems and constitutions of European nations. The contributorsÕ chapters reveal that the oft-tumultuous legacy of EuropeÕs relationship with religion still resonates across a continent where legal, political and social contours have been powerfully shaped by faith and religious difference. Covering recent controversies such as the Islamic headscarf, and the presence of the crucifix in school class-rooms, this book will appeal to academics and students in law, human rights and the social sciences, as well as law and policy makers and NGOs in the field of human rights.
Download or read book The Deterioration of Religious Liberty in Europe written by United States. Congress. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Of Gods and Men written by British Sociological Association. Sociology of Religion Study Group. Conference and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements written by James R Lewis and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-17 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements both covers the current state of the field and breaks new ground. Its contributors, drawn form both sociology and religious studies, are leading figures in the study of NRMs.
Download or read book Limitations of religious freedom by privileged state religions ecclesiae particularly in authoritarian states but also in democracies written by Gerhard Besier and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume deals with the topic of Religious Freedom in Europe and North America, although not exclusively.The contributions argue that a clear separation of State and Church prevents privileged religions, as well as evangelical movements supported by state interests, from becoming power-political factors that seek to mould a society according to their own values and to their benefit. All too often, politicians are happy to accept ideological support on behalf of a religious community or a religious grouping, and then seek to further the interests and to promote these groups. Even though the two countries demonstrate differences such constellations may be identified in both the USA and in Russia.
Download or read book The Cultic Milieu written by Jeffrey S. Kaplan and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2002-07-31 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1999, a seemingly incongruous collection of protestors converged in Seattle to shut down the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Union leaders, environmentalists dressed as endangered turtles, mainstream Christian clergy, violence-advocating anarchists, gay and lesbian activists, and many other diverse groups came together to protest what they saw as the unfair power of a nondemocratic elite. But how did such strange bedfellows come together? And can their unity continue? In 1972—another period of social upheaval—sociologist Colin Campbell posited a 'cultic milieu': An underground region where true seekers test hidden, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge. Ideas and allegiances within the milieu change as individuals move between loosely organized groups, but the larger milieu persists in opposition to the dominant culture. Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow find Campbell's theory especially useful in coming to grips with the varied oppositional groups of today. While the issues differ, current subcultures often behave in similar ways to deviant groups of the past. The Cultic Milieu brings together scholars looking at racial, religious and environmental oppositional groups as well as looking at the watchdog groups that oppose these groups in turn. While providing fascinating information on their own subjects, each essay contributes to a larger understanding of our present-day cultic milieu. For classes in the social sciences or religious studies, The Cultic Milieu offers a novel way to look at the interactions and ideas of those who fight against the powerful in our global age.
Download or read book Cults That Kill written by Wendy Joan Biddlecombe Agsar and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-12-18 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A true crime author explores what happens when cults cross the line in this anthology of false prophets, true believers, and tragic consequences. Thousands of religious, political and self-improvement cults are active around the world, and an estimated two to five million Americans have been involved in a cult at some point in their lives. While not all cults are destructive, these stories demonstrate how unwavering faith in an infallible leader can lead lay the groundwork for criminal acts a heinous as murder or mass suicide. True crime author Joan Biddlecombe Agsar uncovers what really happened inside some of modern history’s most notorious cults, including: • The Manson Family Hippie devotees turn violent to manifest God’s race war • The Peoples Temple Hundreds of utopia seekers meet their end in the Guyanese jungle by ingesting a cyanide-laced drink • The Vampire Clan Teenagers consume blood and bludgeon an unsuspecting Florida couple to death • Heaven’s Gate Nike-adorned disciples commit suicide to transport onto a spaceship approaching • Earth Silvia Meraz Moreno’s Santa Muerte Cult Members collect sacrificial blood by slicing open victims’ veins while their hearts are still beating
Download or read book The Centrality of Religion in Social Life written by Eileen Barker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-18 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James A. Beckford's work is internationally acclaimed not only in the sociology of religion, but also in other fields of the social sciences. Beckford has long been arguing that the barriers that have grown up between the different sub-disciplines should be broken down, with those specialising in religion becoming more cognisant of new theoretical developments, and sociologists in general becoming more aware of the significance of developments in the religious scene. This book is a collection of essays written in Beckford's honour, drawing on a number of religious themes that have been central to Beckford's interests, whilst also offering a significant contribution to our understanding of the wider society. A central theme is modernity (and its relation to the post-modern), and how religion affects and is affected by the dynamics of contemporary society, with the primary focus of many of the chapters being a concern with how society copes with the minority religions that have become visible with the globalising tendencies of contemporary society. The contributors, who come from America, Asia and various parts of Europe, are all internationally renowned scholars. Beckford's most important publications are listed in an Appendix and the volume opens with a short account of his contribution to sociology by Eileen Barker (the editor) and James T. Richardson.
Download or read book Religion and Cyberspace written by Morten Hojsgaard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-09-15 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the twenty-first century, religious life is increasingly moving from churches, mosques and temples onto the Internet. Today, anyone can go online and seek a new form of religious expression without ever encountering a physical place of worship, or an ordained teacher or priest. The digital age offers virtual worship, cyber-prayers and talk-boards for all of the major world faiths, as well as for pagan organisations and new religious movements. It also abounds with misinformation, religious bigotry and information terrorism. Scholars of religion need to understand the emerging forum that the web offers to religion, and the kinds of religious and social interaction that it enables. Religion and Cyberspace explores how religious individuals and groups are responding to the opportunities and challenges that cyberspace brings. It asks how religious experience is generated and enacted online, and how faith is shaped by factors such as limitless choice, lack of religious authority, and the conflict between recognised and non-recognised forms of worship. Combining case studies with the latest theory, its twelve chapters examine topics including the history of online worship, virtuality versus reality in cyberspace, religious conflict in digital contexts, and the construction of religious identity online. Focusing on key themes in this groundbreaking area, it is an ideal introduction to the fascinating questions that religion on the Internet presents.
Download or read book Globalization written by JoAnn Chirico and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globalization: Prospects and Problems, by JoAnn Chirico, provides a comprehensive and enlightening overview of globalization issues and topics. Emphasizing the theory and methods that social scientists employ to study globalization, the text reveals how macro globalization processes impact individual lives—from the spread of scientific discourse to which jobs are more or less likely to be offshored. The author presents a clear image of “the big globalization picture” by skillfully exploring, piece by piece, a myriad of globalization topics, debates, theories, and empirical data. Compelling chapters on theory, global civil society, democracy, cities, religion, institutions (sports, education, and health care), along with three chapters on global challenges, help readers develop a broad understanding of key topics and issues. Throughout the text, the author encourages readers to relate their personal experiences to globalization processes, allowing for a more meaningful and relevant learning experience.
