Download or read book American Cult A Graphic History of Religious Cults in America from the Colonial Era to Today written by Robyn Chapman and published by Silver Sprocket. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its earliest days, America was a home for spiritual seekers. In 1694, the religious tolerance of the Pennsylvania Colony enticed a Transylvanian monk and his forty followers to cross the Atlantic. Almost two hundred years later, a charismatic preacher founded a utopian community in Oneida, New York, that practiced socialism and free love. In the 1960s and '70s, a new generation of seekers gathered in vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles, Satanic coffee shops in New Orleans, and fortified communes in Philadelphia. And in the twenty-first century, gurus find their flocks through self-help seminars and get-rich-quick schemes. Across the decades, Americans in search of divine truths have turned to unconventional prophets for the answers. Some of these prophets have demanded their faith, fortunes, and even their very lives. In American Cult, over twenty cartoonists explore the history of these groups with clarity and empathy--digging deep to find the human stories within.
Download or read book Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America written by J. Gordon Melton and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1992 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book American Messiahs False Prophets of a Damned Nation written by Adam Morris and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A history with sweeping implications, American Messiahs challenges our previous misconceptions about “cult” leaders and their messianic power. Mania surrounding messianic prophets has defined the national consciousness since the American Revolution. From Civil War veteran and virulent anticapitalist Cyrus Teed, to the dapper and overlooked civil rights pioneer Father Divine, to even the megalomaniacal Jim Jones, these figures have routinely been dismissed as dangerous and hysterical outliers. After years of studying these emblematic figures, Adam Morris demonstrates that messiahs are not just a classic trope of our national culture; their visions are essential for understanding American history. As Morris demonstrates, these charismatic, if flawed, would-be prophets sought to expose and ameliorate deep social ills—such as income inequality, gender conformity, and racial injustice. Provocative and long overdue, this is the story of those who tried to point the way toward an impossible “American Dream”: men and women who momentarily captured the imagination of a nation always searching for salvation.
Download or read book Cultish written by Amanda Montell and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of those life-changing reads that makes you see—or, in this case, hear—the whole world differently.” —Megan Angelo, author of Followers “At times chilling, often funny, and always perceptive and cogent, Cultish is a bracing reminder that the scariest thing about cults is that you don't realize you're in one till it's too late.”—Refinery29.com The New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how “cultish” groups, from Jonestown and Scientologists to SoulCycle and social media gurus, use language as the ultimate form of power. What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . . Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day. Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.
Download or read book Mystics and Messiahs written by Philip Jenkins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2000 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this full-length account of cults and anti-cult scares in American history, Jenkins gives accurate historical perspective and shows how many of today's mainstream religions were originally regarded as cults.
Download or read book Why Waco written by James D. Tabor and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-11-10 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1993 government assault on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, resulted in the deaths of four federal agents and eighty Branch Davidians, including seventeen children. Whether these tragic deaths could have been avoided is still debatable, but what seems clear is that the events in Texas have broad implications for religious freedom in America. James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher's bold examination of the Waco story offers the first balanced account of the siege. They try to understand what really happened in Waco: What brought the Branch Davidians to Mount Carmel? Why did the government attack? How did the media affect events? The authors address the accusations of illegal weapons possession, strange sexual practices, and child abuse that were made against David Koresh and his followers. Without attempting to excuse such actions, they point out that the public has not heard the complete story and that many media reports were distorted. The authors have carefully studied the Davidian movement, analyzing the theology and biblical interpretation that were so central to the group's functioning. They also consider how two decades of intense activity against so-called cults have influenced public perceptions of unorthodox religions. In exploring our fear of unconventional religious groups and how such fear curtails our ability to tolerate religious differences, Why Waco? is an unsettling wake-up call. Using the events at Mount Carmel as a cautionary tale, the authors challenge all Americans, including government officials and media representatives, to closely examine our national commitment to religious freedom.
Download or read book The Four Major Cults written by Anthony A. Hoekema and published by [Exeter, Eng.] Paternoster Press [1969. This book was released on 1963 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cults in America written by James R. Lewis and published by ABC-CLIO. This book was released on 1998-11-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the controversy surrounding the alternative and controversial religious movements sometimes referred to as cults. Featuring a chronology that documents the milestones in the evolution of alternative religions, this book also contains informative sketches of alternative religious groups in the United States today. Readers will find an overview that discusses the cult controversy; descriptions of important court cases, legislation, and other documents; and a directory of organizations. A comprehensive listing of print and electronic sources completes a volume that will prove beneficial to general readers, students, parents, psychologists, and policymakers.
Download or read book The History of Cults written by Robert Schroeder and published by Carlton Books. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling and sometimes disturbing look into more than 50 mysterious cults, complete with stories from ex-members and profiles of their often-enigmatic leaders. With a decline in organized religion and an explosion in social-media followers and factions, our interest in cults, sects, and radical religions continues unabated. While groups such as the Moonies or the Children of God have been dismissed as harmless, the mass suicides, atrocities, attacks, extremist rhetoric, and spiraling wealth and power of some of the more recent movements suggest a darker side. Robert Schro der places 50 ancient and modern cults--from Osiris and the Knights Templar to the Branch Davidian, Hellfire Clubs, Manson "family," Jonestown, Concerned Christians, Jesus Army, Rajneeshis, and The Apotheosis of Elvis--in historical and cultural context, tracing their existence back to the earliest days of mankind. Investigating the essence of their continued appeal through the experiences of ex-members and explorations of their leaders, he provides compelling and sometimes disturbing insight into these shadowy societies. This edition is fully updated to reflect the aftermath of the millennium, the rise of extremism, and the influence of the internet age.
Download or read book America s Alternative Religions written by Timothy Miller and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a source of reliable information on the most important new and alternative religions covering history, theology, impact on the culture, and current status. It includes a chapter on the Branch Davidians.
Download or read book Religious Cults of the Caribbean written by George Eaton Simpson and published by Institute of Caribbean Studies University of Puerto Rico. This book was released on 1980 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America written by Robert Ellwood and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text explores the major new or unconventional religions and spiritual movements in America that exist outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Download or read book Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America written by J. Gordon Melton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-22 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the history, founders, beliefs, and literature of over five hundred nonconventional and alternative religious movements.
Download or read book Cults and New Religious Movements A Reader written by Lorne Dawson and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2003-06-09 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a cult? Why do they emerge? Who joins them? And why do tragedies such as Waco and Jonestown occur? This reader brings together the voices of historians, sociologists, and psychologists of religion to address these key questions about new religious movements. Looks at theoretical explanations for cults, why people join and what happens when they do. Brings together the best work on cults by sociologists, historians, and psychologists of religion. A broad-ranging, balanced and clearly organized collection of readings. Includes coverage of topical issues, such as the 'brainwashing' controversy, and cults in cyberspace. Section introductions by the editor situate the nature, value, and relevance of the selected readings in context of current discussions.
Download or read book Black Gods of the Metropolis written by Arthur Huff Fauset and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 1971 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stemming from his anthropological field work among black religious groups in Philadelphia in the early 1940s, Arthur Huff Fauset believed it was possible to determine the likely direction that mainstream black religious leadership would take in the future, a direction that later indeed manifested itself in the civil rights movement. The American black church, according to Fauset and other contemporary researchers, provided the one place where blacks could experiment without hindrance in activities such as business, politics, social reform, and social expression. With detailed primary accounts of these early spiritual movements and their beliefs and practices, Black Gods of the Metropolis reveals the fascinating origins of such significant modern African American religious groups as the Nation of Islam as well as the role of lesser known and even forgotten churches in the history of the black community. In her new foreword, historian Barbara Dianne Savage discusses the relationship between black intellectuals and black religion, in particular the relationship between black social scientists and black religious practices during Fauset's time. She then explores the complexities of that relationship and its impact on the intellectual and political history of African American religion in general.
Download or read book The House of Yahweh My Side of the Story written by Kay Hawkins and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2012-07-31 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many years have elapsed since I was excommunicated from The House of Yahweh in Abilene, Texas. In the interim, this religious organization has come to be known as the largest doomsday cult in America. How did The House of Yahweh, Abilene, get this sordid reputation? As you read, you will come to understand. Buffalo Bill Hawkins, now known as Yisrayl B. Hawkins, the Elder and Overseer of this organization, declared to me, I am The House of Yahweh. He also declares, I am without sin. The scriptures in the editions of the bible that he now publishes have been rewritten, cleverly twisted to fit his own personal doctrines. The scriptures plainly show that you will know him by his fruit, in other words, by what he has produced. I am sharing these fruits with you. How did this organization begin? Why do people who seem rational, who seem to have a sound mind, get wrapped up in something that Yisrayl Hawkins has caused The House of Yahweh to become? Why do these people change their last names to Hawkins? Why do they pierce their ear to a door of The House of Yahweh building in order to go into servitude to a mere man? Why do the men secretly practice polygamy? How would a person stay in a religion like this? Why did I stay as long as I did? Why did I leave? I am writing my personal account to tell you my side of these events. I was there at the beginning when The House of Yahweh was actually a wonderful place to be. I was also there when things slowly began to change for the worse, like a frog placed in a cool pot of water which the fire slowly brings to a boil.
Download or read book Daughter of Gloriavale written by Lilia Tarawa and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2017-08-23 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices. When her parents fled with their children, Lilia was forced to make a desperate choice: to stay or to leave. No matter what she chose, she would lose people she loved. In the outside world, Lilia struggled. Would she be damned to hell for leaving? How would she learn to navigate this strange place called 'the world'? And would she ever find out the truth about the criminal convictions against her grandfather? 'A powerful and revealing book...' Kirsty Wynn, New Zealand Herald 'An affecting parable and testament, in the most commendably secular senses.' David Hill, New Zealand Listener
