Encyclopedia Of New Religious Movements

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 movements from almost every country in the world. Coverage includes neo-traditional movements as well as movements that derive from the major religions of the world, which are often overlooked in the study of NRMs. In addition to the coverage of particular movements there are also entries on broad classifications and themes, and key topics, thinkers, and ideas- the New Age Movement, Neo-Paganism, gender and NRMs, cyberspace and NRMs, the Anti-Cult Movement, Swedenborg, Jung, de Chardin, Lovelock, Gurdjieff, al-Banna, and 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 in the field of religious studies and the social sciences. Entries are cross-referenced, many with short bibliographies for further reading. There is a full index.