Book Review: Odd Gods
Nov. 1st, 2005 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennythereaderOdd Gods: New Religions & the Cult Controversy
edited by James R. Lewis
Copyright 2001
ISBN: 1-57392-842-9
A separate section of the book is devoted to groups in each of the worlds major religious traditions. Many examples of new religions are described, with a summery of each groups history and philosophy.
Lewis and his contributers talk about how the "cult" status of a new religion is purely a matter of perspective. If there is a religious group that is different from the mainstream in some significant way, and someone decides that they dislike that group, it will be labeled as a cult, regardless of how it had been perceived before.
One bit of information that I found interesting was that even though which religious groups are targeted changes over time, the charges and fears don't seem to. For example, in the 1830's and 40's American Protestants in the cities of the east coast worried about the "state of mental bondage" to the Pope that they thought Catholics labored under and thought that convent schools were set up to subvert young girls into this strange faith. At roughly the same time, in the Mid-west, people described being mesmerized by the mere presence of Mormon leaders. This fear of "brainwashing" and mind control is still a major part of the controversy surrounding new religions.
An interesting book, that I recommend as a good starting point for anyone interested in new religions.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
edited by James R. Lewis
Copyright 2001
ISBN: 1-57392-842-9
A separate section of the book is devoted to groups in each of the worlds major religious traditions. Many examples of new religions are described, with a summery of each groups history and philosophy.
Lewis and his contributers talk about how the "cult" status of a new religion is purely a matter of perspective. If there is a religious group that is different from the mainstream in some significant way, and someone decides that they dislike that group, it will be labeled as a cult, regardless of how it had been perceived before.
One bit of information that I found interesting was that even though which religious groups are targeted changes over time, the charges and fears don't seem to. For example, in the 1830's and 40's American Protestants in the cities of the east coast worried about the "state of mental bondage" to the Pope that they thought Catholics labored under and thought that convent schools were set up to subvert young girls into this strange faith. At roughly the same time, in the Mid-west, people described being mesmerized by the mere presence of Mormon leaders. This fear of "brainwashing" and mind control is still a major part of the controversy surrounding new religions.
An interesting book, that I recommend as a good starting point for anyone interested in new religions.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
