Violence and New Religious Movements

James R. Lewis is an extensively published scholar of new religious movements. He currently teaches in the History and Religious Studies Department of the University of Tromsø in Norway. His reference books have won New York Public Library, American Library Association, and Choice book awards. He has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, the BBC, and Meet the Press.

• Introduction ; I. THEORIZING NRM VIOLENCE ; 1. Deciphering the NRM-Violence Connection David G. Bromley ; 2. Minority Religions and the Context of Violence: A Conflict/Interactionist Perspective James T. Richardson ; 3. Reciprocal Totalism: The Toxic Interdependence of Anticult and Cult Violence Dick Anthony, Thomas Robbins, Steven Barrie-Anthony ; II. THE <"BIG FIVE>" (PLUS ONE) ; 4. Narratives of Persecution, Suffering, and Martyrdom: Violence in Peoples Temple and Jonestown Rebecca Moore ; 5. Revisiting the Branch Davidian Mass Suicide Debate Stuart A. Wright ; 6. Explaining the murder-suicides of the Order of the Solar Temple: A survey of hypothesises Henrik Bogdan ; 7. Religion and Violence in Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo Martin Repp ; 8. The Euphemization of Violence: The Case of Heaven's Gate Benjamin Zeller ; 9. <"There will follow a new generation and a New Earth>": From Apocalyptic Hopes to Destruction in the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

Violence and New Religious Movements is an outstanding, admirably comprehensive volume that persuasively investigates one of the most troubling, yet fascinating areas in the study of contemporary religion. Building on recent theoretical work, this intriguing and rewarding collection consolidates and advances the analysis of violence and new religions, as well as providing fresh insights into particular groups and events. Including studies by some of the most important researchers in the field, it is unarguably the most authoritative contribution to date and, as such, will very quickly become essential reading in the study of new religions.