Psychobiographies and Godly Visions

Stephen A. Kent (PhD—McMaster University) is an Emeritus Sociology Professor (and, formerly, an Adjunct Professor in the Religion program in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion) at the University of Alberta in Canada. He taught courses and published on alternative and sectarian religions. His articles have appeared in such diverse journals as the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, Utah Law Review, Sociological Analysis, Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, Philosophy East and West, Aggression and Violent Behavior, The Canadian Journal of Sociology, The British Journal of Sociology, and The International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation. He has offered over thirty-five expert court testimonies and reports on alternative religions in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and has appeared in over 375 media presentations in fifteen countries. His 2001 book, From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era, was selected by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, as an “Outstanding Academic Title for 2002.”

• Chapter 1. Mental Health and Mental Illness: Narcissism, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and the Debate over Psychopathy, Sociopathy, and Anti-Social Personality Disorder.- Chapter 2. Brainwashing, Bipolar Disorder, Delusions, Hallucinations, and Schizophrenia.- Chapter 3: Trauma-Coerced Attachment and Religiously Directed Corporal Punishment.- Chapter 4: A Neurological Disorder Often with Religious Manifestations: Epilepsy.- Chapter 5: The Historical Debate about Muhammad and Epilepsy.- Chapter 6: The Epileptic Muhammad: A Reexamination Based Upon the Qur’an, Hadiths, and Recent Medical Research.- Chapter 7: Sociology and Religious Studies on Disordered Minds and the Origins of Godly Visions.- Chapter 8: Mental Disorders, Neurological Illness, and Psychobiographies about Religions’ Creators.