{"product_id":"controversial-new-religions-9780199315314","title":"Controversial New Religions","description":"In terms of public opinion, new religious movements are considered controversial for a variety of reasons. Their social organization often runs counter to popular expectations by experimenting with communal living, alternative leadership roles, unusual economic dispositions, and new political and ethical values. As a result the general public views new religions with a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and anxiety, sustained by lavish media emphasis on oddness and tragedy rather than familiarity and lived experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis updated and revised second edition of \u003cem\u003eControversial New Religions \u003c\/em\u003eoffers a scholarly, dispassionate look at those groups that have generated the most attention, including some very well-known classical groups like The Family, Unification Church, Scientology, and Jim Jones's People's Temple; some relative newcomers such as the Kabbalah Centre, the Order of the Solar Temple, Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, and the Falun Gong; and some interesting cases like contemporary Satanism, the Raelians, Black nationalism, and various Pagan groups. Each essay combines an overview of the history and beliefs of each organization or movement with original and insightful analysis. By presenting decades of scholarly work on new religious movements written in an accessible form by established scholars as well as younger experts in the field, this book will be an invaluable resource for all those who seek a view of new religions that is deeper than what can be found in sensationalistic media stories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames R. Lewis\u003c\/strong\u003e is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Troms?. He co-edits three book series and is the general editor for the \u003cem\u003eAlternative Spirituality and Religion Review\u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003eJournal of Religion and Violence\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJesper Aa. Petersen\u003c\/strong\u003e is Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, specializing in Religious Education and Religious Studies. He is the editor of several anthologies, most recently \u003cem\u003eThe Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity\u003c\/em\u003e, with Per Faxneld.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50911222137106,"sku":"9780199315314","price":70.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4c5846d7-ca36-41d6-9de0-ad96531e477b.jpg?v=1738734027","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/controversial-new-religions-9780199315314","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}