Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements - Tapa dura

This Encyclopedia offers a truly fascinating, authoritative overview of new religious movements in a global context. What sets this work apart is its assessment of the global significance of a movement (how it progresses cross-culturally) with attention to its transformative appeal (how it seeks to transform its individual adherents or the larger society). This is an outstanding reference source – scholarly, timely, important, and worth the price for academic libraries. Summing Up: Essential." - Choice

"An extensive and authorative resource that challenges its single volume format." - Reference Reviews

"Its 'global' perspective differentiates it from other reference resources currently available." - Reference Reviews

"Clarke uses this eclectic definition throughout this book to provide examples of the many kinds of NRMs that have arisen in various parts of the world, with the aim of illustrating how widespread they have become."-- Kris Veldheer, Graduate Theological Union

"For those interested in biographical information on prominent figures in NRMs this work also has much to offer. Clarke has gone to great lengths to include individuals who have had a formative influence in the beginning of a movement, or have had otherwise great impact." --Kris Veldheer, Graduate Theological Union

"his Encyclopedia will provide an important starting point for those interested in further studies of NRMs" --Kris Veldheer, Graduate Theological Union

"This Encyclopedia breaks new ground by helping to clarify and redefine what constitutes a NRM. Because of its global perspective and its interaction with literature from various parts of the globe, this compact volume will be a worthy addition to any religion/theology reference collection." --Kris Veldheer, Graduate Theological Union

New Religious Movements (NRMs) can involve vast numbers of followers and in many cases are radically changing the way people understand and practice religion and spirituality. Moreover, many are having a profound impact on the form and content of mainstream religion. The Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements provides uniquely global coverage of the phenomenon, with entries on over three-hundred movement from almost every country in the world. Coverage includes movements that derive from the major religions of the world and to neo-traditional movements, movements often overlooked in the study of NRMs.

In addition to the coverage of particular movements there are also entries on topics, themes, key thinkers and key ideas, for example the New Age Movement, Neo-Paganism, New Religion and gender, NRMs and cyberspace, NRMs and the law, the Anti-Cult Movement, Swedenborg, Jung, Teilhard de Chardin, Lovelock, Gurdjieff, al-Banna, Qutb.

The marked global approach and comprehensiveness of the encyclopedia enable an appreciation of the innovative energy of NRMs, of their extraordinary diversity, and the often surprising ways in which they can propagate geographically. The most ambitions publication of its sort, the Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements is a major addition to the reference literature for students and researchers of the field in religious studies and the social sciences. Entries are cross-referenced with short bibliographies for further reading. There is a full index.