The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism

Christian Dispensationalism, the Taiping Revolution, cargo cults in Oceania, the Baha'i Faith, and the Raelian Movement would seem to have little in common. What they share, however, is a millennial orientation--the audacious human hope for a collective salvation, which may be heavenly or earthly or both. Although many religions feature a belief in personal salvation, millennial faiths are characterized by the expectation that salvation will be accomplished for an entire group by a superhuman agent, with or without human collaboration. The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism offers readers an in-depth look at both the theoretical underpinnings of the study of millennialism and its many manifestations across history and cultures.

While the term "millennialism" is drawn from Christianity, it is a category that is used to study religious expressions in diverse cultures, religious traditions, and historical periods. Sometimes, millennial expectations are expressed in peaceful ways. Other times, millennialists become involved in violence.

The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism begins with a section that examines four primary types of millennialism. Chapters in the next section examine key issues such as charismatic leadership, use of scripture, prophetic failure, gender roles, children, tension with society, and violence. The rest of the book explores millennialism in a wide variety of places and times, from ancient Near Eastern movements to contemporary apocalyptic and new age movements, including the roles played by millennialism in national and international conflicts. This handbook will be a valuable resource for scholars of religious studies, sociology, psychology, history, and new religious movements.

Catherine Wessinger is Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J., Professor of the History of Religions at Loyola University New Orleans.

Contributors
INTRODUCTION
1. Millennialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Catherine Wessinger
MILLENNIALISM: PRIMARY CATEGORIES AND HISTORIES
2. Catastrophic Millennialism: Expecting Cataclysmic Transition to a Collective Salvation
Eugene V. Gallagher
3. Progressive Millennialism: Perfecting Society in the Millennial Future
W. Michael Ashcraft
4. Avertive Apocalypticism: Using Spiritual Techniques to Prevent Worldly Catastrophe
Daniel Wojcik
5. Nativist Millennialism: Responses to Invasion
Jean E. Rosenfeld
ISSUES RELATING TO MILLENNIALISM
6. Charismatic Leadership in Millennial Movements: Its Nature, Origins and Development
Lorne L. Dawson
7. Reading the Signs: Millennialism, Scripture and Tradition
Eugene V. Gallagher
8. Prophetic Failure in Millennial Movements
Lorne L. Dawson
9. Gender Roles, Sexuality and Children in Millennial Movements
Melissa M. Wilcox
10. Millennial Visions and Conflict with Society: Lessons from the Twelve Tribes, The Family International, and the Branch Davidians
David G. Bromley and Catherine Wessinger
11. Millennialism and Violence: Fragile Millennial Communities
John Walliss
MILLENNIALISM IN CROSS-HISTORICAL AND CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Nascent Monotheistic and Monotheistic Traditions
12. Ancient Near Eastern Millennialism
Robert Gnuse
13. They Shall Reign with Him a Thousand Years: Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Millennialism
James D. Tabor
14. Early Islamic and Classical Sunni and Shi'ite Apocalyptic Movements
David Cook
15. European Millennialism from A to Zvi: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Apocalyptic Dialogue
Rebecca Moore
Asian Millennial Movements
16. Chinese Millennial Movements
Scott Lowe
17. Millennialism in Korea
Robert Pearson Flaherty
18. Japanese Millennial Movements
Helen Hardacre
19. Millenarian Elements in the Hindu Religious Traditions
Hugh B. Urban
MILLENNIALISM IN AFRICA, THE CARIBBEAN, AND THE PACIFIC
20. Millennial and Apocalyptic Movements in Africa: From Neo-Traditionals to Neo- Pentecostals
Rosalind I. J. Hackett
21. Millennialism in the Caribbean
Barry Chevannes
22. Pacific Millennial Movements
Garry W. Trompf
Nineteenth-, Twentieth-, and Twenty-first-century Millennial Movements
23. Native American Geopolitical, Georestorative Movements
Michelene Pesantubbee
24. Babi and Baha'i Millennialism
Peter Smith and William P. Collins
25. ''The Kingdom of God Is at Hand'': Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century American Millennialisms
Jon R. Stone
26. Christian Dispensationalism
Glenn W. Shuck
27. National Socialist Millennialism
David Redles
28. Modern Catholic Millennialism
Massimo Introvigne
29. New Age Millennialism: Progressive and Catastrophic Visions of Global Transformation
Phillip Charles Lucas
30. UFOs, ETs and the Millennial Imagination
Robert Pearson Flaherty
31. Dreams Wrapped in Nightmares: Millennium, Apocalypse and American Popular Culture
Douglas E. Cowan
32. Environmental Millennialism
Robin Globus and Bron Taylor
MILLENNIALISM AND CONTEMPORARY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS
33. Millennialism on the Radical Right in America
Michael Barkun
34. Radical Movements in Contemporary Judaism in Israel: From Progressive to Catastrophic Millennialism
Yaakov Ariel
35. Millennialism and Radical Islamist Movements
Jeffrey T. Kenney
36. Millennial Glossary
Compiled by Catherine Wessinger
37. Index of Millennial Groups and Movements
Index