Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America [5 volumes]

Most new or alternative religious are gravely misunderstood by members of the religious mainstream. Labeled cults or sects, groups and their members are often ridiculed or otherwise disregarded as weird and potentially dangerous by the populace at large. Despite their efforts at educating the general public, the various anti- and counter-cult activists have in fact promoted much more mis-understanding than accurate understanding of the religious lives of some of their fellow citizens. Consequently, they have helped to create a very hostile environment for anyone whose religious practices do not fit within a so-called mainstream. This set rectifies the situation by presenting accurate, comprehensive, authoritative and accessible accounts of various new and alternative religious movements that have been and are active in American society, and it addresses ways of understanding new and alternative religions within a broader context.Determining what actually constitutes a new or alternative religion is a subject of constant debate. Questions arise as to a new faith's legitimacy, beliefs, methods of conversion, and other facets of a religious movement's viability and place in a given culture. How a religion gains recognition by the mainstream, which often labels such new movements as cults, is fraught with difficulty, tension, and fear. Here, experts delineate the boundaries and examine the various groups, beliefs, movements, and other issues related to new faiths and alternative beliefs. Readers will come away with a fuller understanding of the religious landscape in America today. Volume 1: History and Controversies discusses the foundations of new and alternative religions in the United States and addresses the controversies that surround them. This volume helps readers better understand what makes a new or alternative belief system a religion and the issues involved. Volume 2: Jewish and Christian Traditions explores the various new religions that have grown out of these two Abrahamic faiths. Groups such as the Shakers, the People's Temple, the Branch Davidians, Jehovah's Witnesses and others are examined. Volume 3: Metaphysical, New Age, and Neopagan Movements looks at Shamanism, Spiritualism, Wicca, and Paganism, among other movements, as they have developed and grown in the U.S. These faiths have found new and devoted followers yet are often misunderstood. Volume 4: Asian Traditions focuses on those new and alternative religions that have been inspired by Asian religious traditions. From Baha'i to Soka Gakkai, from Adidam to the Vedanta Society, contributors look at a full range of groups practicing and worshiping in the U.S. today. Volume 5: African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations examines the various traditions linked to the African diaspora such as Rastafarianism, Santeria, and the Nation of Islam, alongside traditions that are truly American incarnations like Scientology, UFO religions, and Heaven's Gate. Some of the new

"Edited by Gallagher and Ashcraft, this work consists of five volumes with topics ranging from New Religious Movements in Colonial America in volume 1 to UFOs and Religion near the end of volume 5. Contributions are by various scholarly authors with chapters averaging 15-20 pages. Extensive notes follow each entry, along with suggestions for further reading....Recommended. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers." - Choice, "Altogether, a solid and readable course in alternative religions suitable for high school and college students and particularly laudable for its inclusive stance on alternative faiths. Best purchased for circulating collections." - Library Journal, "This scholarly five-volume introduction to religions in America provides readers with histories of traditional American religious groups as well as analytical perspectives on new and alternative religions that many conventional treatments have either stereotyped or misrepresented....Achieving its purpose of rectifying much of the misinformation of the past that has condemned many of America's alternative faiths, these clearly written entries provide the general public with accurate, comprehensive, authoratative, and accessible accounts of traditional religious groups and many of the new and alternative religious movements in American society....This set includes an ample index and a selected but comprehensive bibliography. The clarity of these entries makes them intelligible to a wider audience and are recommended for both the high school and college levels, as well as to the general public, including public libraries and churches." - American Reference Books Annual, "[A]n impressive set....The authors provide rich historical background and also address specific issues with clarity that renders the volume very informative....The entire set is highly recommended for all libraries and scholars looking for handy reference to New Religious Movements in America." - Religious Studies Review, "This is a fascinating study of societal reactions to new religious movements, including the secular anti-cult movement and the religious conter-cult movement." - Multicultural Review

Eugene V. Gallagher is the Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies at Connecticut College. He is the author of Divine Man or Magician? Celsus and Origen on Jesus (1980), Expectation and Experience: Explaining Religious Conversion (1990), The New Religious Movements Experience in America (2004), and, with James D. Tabor, Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (1995) as well as articles on ancient Mediterranean religions and contemporary new religious movements.W. Michael Ashcraft is Associate Professor of Religion at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He is the author of The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture (2002) and co-editor with Dereck Daschke of New Religious Movements: A Documentary Reader (2005).