The shocking mass suicide of the Heaven's Gate cult forced the issue of group think back into the spotlight, alerting people worldwide to the dangers of cults, sects, and new religions.
The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions is the most wide-ranging and accessible resource on the historically significant and more obscure, sinister, and bizarre religious groups, from the early days of alternative religiosity to sects practising today. This volume explains more than 1,000 diverse groups and movements including the well-known Aum Shinrikyo. the Branch Davidians, The Church of Satan, Heaven's Gate, Solar Temple, the obscure Church of All Worlds, the Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon, the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, and the Nudist Christian Church of the Blessed Virgin Jesus. Lewis includes a valuable introduction that outlines the framework of the encyclopedia, the nature of religion. the process of sect formation, religious freedom, and the controversy surrounding cults This book will endure as the first and only point of reference for researchers, scholars. students, and anyone interested in cults and similar groups.
James R. Lewis (Goleta, CA), a world-recognized authority on nontraditional religions, is professor and chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at the World University of America.
Est. 600 pages (Illustrations) ISBN 1-57392-222-6 Cloth
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