Minority Religions and Fraud

Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist is the deputy director of Inform, a non-profit information centre specializing in minority religious and fringe political movements, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research on the second generation of sectarian movements and the impact their segregated childhoods have had, is due to be published. Further publications include an article entitled ’Beliefs in Possession’ in The Devil’s Children. From Spirit Possession to Witchcraft: New Allegations That Affect Children, edited by Inform’s research fellow Emeritus Professor Jean la Fontaine (2009), and ’Children in New Religions: Contested Duties of Care’, Journal of the International Society for the Study of New Religious Movements 1(2): 25-48 (2010).

• Introduction Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist 1 New Religions and Fraud: A Double Constructionist Approach David G. Bromley 2 Minority Religions and Fraud: Preliminary Theories on Ritual Deception Holly Folk 3 Bona Fide? Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist 4 Between Faith and Fraudulence? Sincerity and Sacrifice in Prosperity Christianity Simon Coleman 5 Folk Healing, Authenticity and Fraud Stuart McClean and Ronnie Moore 6 Sex-Work and Ceremonies: The Trafficking of Young Nigerian Women into Britain Hermione Harris 7 Food, Faith and Fraud in Two New Religious Movements Marion S. Goldman 8 Miracle Makers and Money Takers: Healers, Prosperity Preachers and Fraud in Contemporary Tanzania Martin Lindhardt 9 When Fraud is Part of a Spiritual Path: A Tibetan Lama’s Plays on Reality and Illusion Marion Dapsance 10 Faith Lends Substance? Trickery and Deception within Religious and Spiritual Movements Michael Coffey 11 The Zen Master and Dharma Transmission: A Seductive Mythology Stuart Lachs

’Almost as long as organized religions have existed, some have faced charges of fraud and deception. It is valuable, then, to have a scholarly and readable collection of chapters that allow us to understand the roots of these charges, and the reasons why some systems in particular lend themselves to abuse and manipulation. Particularly intriguing is the question of when a non-provable claim veers from a matter of faith to an issue of fraud. Impressively broad in its scope, Minority Religions and Fraud is an innovative and truly useful contribution to the literature on religious studies, as well as to criminology.’ Philip Jenkins, Baylor University, USA ’Religion sometimes presents a theatre for deception and chicanery, with the high drama that can attend these. This book provides a timely correction to the media image that only several large denominations or congregations currently experience this phenomenon, and it is a welcome addition to a growing research literature on the less-than-uplifting aspects of religious practice.’ Anson Shupe, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA