Includes bibliographical references (pages 73-95).
Contents:
Introduction -- Some caveats and definitions -- Historical cases -- Cults before Jonestown: the 1960s and 1970s -- After Jonestown: the 1980s -- After Waco: the 1990s -- 9/11 changed everything: Islam and new religious movements -- The twenty-first century: NRMs under attack -- Conclusions.
Summary:
This analysis reviews the state of the question regarding theories of cultic violence. It introduces definitions and vocabulary and presents relevant historical examples of religious violence. It then discusses the 1960s and 1970s, the period immediately before the Jonestown tragedy. Considerations of the post-Jonestown (1978), and then post-Waco (1993), literature follow. After 9/11 (2001), some of the themes identified in previous decades reappear. The book concludes by examining the current problem of repression and harassment directed at religious believers. Legal discrimination by governments, as well as persecution of religious minorities by non-state actors, has challenged earlier fears about cultic violence.
Series:
Cambridge elements: elements in religion and violence, 2514-3786
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.