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Divine Light Mission An Introduction
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Download or read book Cults written by Marc Galanter and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1999 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen years of research inform this study of cults and cult behavior, an analysis that explores the psychology of cult member's minds, how cults operate, and the development of several specific cults.
Book Synopsis MODERN RELIGIONS: AN EXPERIENTIAL ANALYSIS AND EXPOSƒ by : Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D.
Download or read book MODERN RELIGIONS: AN EXPERIENTIAL ANALYSIS AND EXPOSƒ written by Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D. and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2013-10-03 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an experiential analysis of over twenty modern religious/spiritual groups. The book is divided into two generic segments, inclusive of a tri-perspective experiential analysis using a variety of cult danger rating scales, and a more personal experiential description of the author's involvement in these groups, written in stream of consciousness essay form. The groups explored include controversial religious organizations such as Scientology and The Unification Church, as well as lesser known religious groups such as Conversations with God and Avatar, and also new age retreat centers such as Omega Institute for Holistic Studies and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. The author describes both the dangers and benefits of various groups, and based upon his own experiences is able to rate these groups on a cult danger vs. spiritual benefits scale on a gradient from "high cult danger" to "favorable spiritual group."
Book Synopsis Religious Requirements and Practices by : U. S. Department of the Army
Download or read book Religious Requirements and Practices written by U. S. Department of the Army and published by The Minerva Group, Inc.. This book was released on 2001-10 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepared by the Office of the Chief of Chaplains, United States Army, this handbook provides a useful guide to the beliefs and practices of a number of religious groups. It provides a useful reference, both for professionals such as airport and hospital chaplains, and for lay readers interested in a basic guide to religious groups not readily covered in other references. A specific purpose of the handbook was also to limit the amount of information provided on each group. Thus, while the information is accurate (in most instances approved by authorities from the individual groups themselves), it is by no means comprehensive. The material presented in the handbook was derived through an extensive research effort. The handbook includes 37 different group descriptions, divided into seven categories. The categories are: Christian Heritage Groups Japanese Heritage Groups Jewish Groups Indian Heritage Groups Islamic Groups Sikh Groups Other Groups Among the uniform topics covered for each group are: historical roots, origins in the U.S., number of adherents in the U.S., organizational structure, leadership and role of priesthood, who may conduct worship services, is group worship required, dietary laws or restrictions, special religious holidays, funeral and burial requirements, autopsy, cremation, medical treatment, is a priest required at the time of death, basic teachings or beliefs, and ethical practices.
Book Synopsis Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America by : William M. Ashcraft
Download or read book Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America written by William M. Ashcraft and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2006-10-30 with total page 1500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most new or alternative religious are gravely misunderstood by members of the religious mainstream. Labeled cults or sects, groups and their members are often ridiculed or otherwise disregarded as weird and potentially dangerous by the populace at large. Despite their efforts at educating the general public, the various anti- and counter-cult activists have in fact promoted much more mis-understanding than accurate understanding of the religious lives of some of their fellow citizens. Consequently, they have helped to create a very hostile environment for anyone whose religious practices do not fit within a so-called mainstream. This set rectifies the situation by presenting accurate, comprehensive, authoritative and accessible accounts of various new and alternative religious movements that have been and are active in American society, and it addresses ways of understanding new and alternative religions within a broader context. Determining what actually constitutes a new or alternative religion is a subject of constant debate. Questions arise as to a new faith's legitimacy, beliefs, methods of conversion, and other facets of a religious movement's viability and place in a given culture. How a religion gains recognition by the mainstream, which often labels such new movements as cults, is fraught with difficulty, tension, and fear. Here, experts delineate the boundaries and examine the various groups, beliefs, movements, and other issues related to new faiths and alternative beliefs. Readers will come away with a fuller understanding of the religious landscape in America today. Volume 1: History and Controversies discusses the foundations of new and alternative religions in the United States and addresses the controversies that surround them. This volume helps readers better understand what makes a new or alternative belief system a religion and the issues involved. Volume 2: Jewish and Christian Traditions explores the various new religions that have grown out of these two Abrahamic faiths. Groups such as the Shakers, the People's Temple, the Branch Davidians, Jehovah's Witnesses and others are examined. Volume 3: Metaphysical, New Age, and Neopagan Movements looks at Shamanism, Spiritualism, Wicca, and Paganism, among other movements, as they have developed and grown in the U.S. These faiths have found new and devoted followers yet are often misunderstood. Volume 4: Asian Traditions focuses on those new and alternative religions that have been inspired by Asian religious traditions. From Baha'i to Soka Gakkai, from Adidam to the Vedanta Society, contributors look at a full range of groups practicing and worshiping in the U.S. today. Volume 5: African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations examines the various traditions linked to the African diaspora such as Rastafarianism, Santeria, and the Nation of Islam, alongside traditions that are truly American incarnations like Scientology, UFO religions, and Heaven's Gate. Some of the new and alternative religions covered in these pages include: ; Shamanism ; Wicca ; Black Israelites ; Santeria ; Scientology ; Elan Vital ; Hare Krishna ; Soka Gakkai ; and many more
Download or read book Without the Guru written by Michael Finch and published by Booksurge Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For 30 years Mike Finch gave his total allegiance, his energy, his devotion, his dreams, and his love to Guru Maharaji (the Lord of the Universe, Prem Rawat). He also gave Maharaji and his organizations two inheritances, a house, and hundreds of thousands of dollars. As Maharaji's former chauffeur Mike was close to him personally; he lived as a renunciate in Maharaji's ashrams, and was authorized to reveal Maharaji's secret teachings. The book is a narrative of Mike's time with Maharaji, and his struggle to surrender his life to Maharaji, and to achieve the liberation that Maharaji promised. It is a story of being confined within a rigid belief system, realizing it, and learning how to break out from it. It is a story of how he came to live, think, feel, behave, and love, without 'the Guru', meaning both Maharaji, as the actual guru in his life; and in a more general sense of learning to face oneself and the world without any intermediary or negotiator, of any kind, in between. Recommendation from Steve Hassan I have recently made the time to finally read this fine book, although I was sent a review copy over a year ago. I am glad that Mike followed up and sent me another copy, and that we had the chance to sit down for lunch, along with a brief addition of his lovely life-partner Gail. I have been doing my 'work' of helping former members and raising awareness since I left my own involvement with the Unification Church (yes, the Moonies) back in 1976. I say this here, because it is rare that I get to learn from a fellow traveler, a former member from another totalistic group, with insights and perspectives that dovetail with some of my own conclusions, but from a somewhat different orientation. I heartily recommend this book for people to read. Not just former members of Guru Maharaji (aka Prem Rawat), not just former members of other eastern 'guru' groups, nor even other cult groups of every shape size and orientation. It is a book that the general public can benefit from reading - especially the last fifty or so pages. I also think people who have been devoted to a religion of any kind who have left it would find this insightful - but particularly former long term members of high demand groups and cults. In my cult experience, my recruitment and indoctrination to have utter and complete belief in Sun Myung Moon as the Lord of the Universe paralleled Mike Finch's. They achieved my total submission to Moon and his beliefs and practices and organization within a few months. I dropped out of college, donated my bank account, turned my back on poetry, art, my family, friends to work for the Messiah and to 'save the world.' I was prepared to die or be killed for Moon. I was also absolutely sure I would spend the rest of my life doing his 'will.' That ended abruptly when I fell asleep while driving a fundraising van, and my family did an intervention and rescued me. When I learn about Lifton and brainwashing, Jonestown and other cults - like Scientology, Krishna, TM, Children of God, DLM - it became clear that all of these groups were deceptively recruiting and using social influence techniques and other mind control methods to enslave people. And so I began my crusade which has lasted these several decades. Mike Finch: He walked out on his own, with the help and prodding of his life-partner Gail, who had woken up herself to the realization that not only was Maharaji not the Lord incarnate, but also that he was extremely abusive and harmful. She helped him see what he knew from his experience was true. This book, and his web site where he continues his exploration, restarts his life and continues to evolve, surely is a very important guide for the multitudes of people who are still in cult groups after twenty or thirty years. He also offers them hope, that you can come out, and reclaim your personal power and move forward. Read this book and share it with others! Steve Hassan
Book Synopsis Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups by : Kirschner Associates
Download or read book Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups written by Kirschner Associates and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis The 60s Communes by : Timothy Miller
Download or read book The 60s Communes written by Timothy Miller and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greatest wave of communal living in American history crested in the tumultuous 1960s era including the early 1970s. To the fascination and amusement of more decorous citizens, hundreds of thousands of mostly young dreamers set out to build a new culture apart from the established society. Widely believed by the larger public to be sinks of drug-ridden sexual immorality, the communes both intrigued and repelled the American people. The intentional communities of the 1960s era were far more diverse than the stereotype of the hippie commune would suggest. A great many of them were religious in basis, stressing spiritual seeking and disciplined lifestyles. Others were founded on secular visions of a better society. Hundreds of them became so stable that they survive today. This book surveys the broad sweep of this great social yearning from the first portents of a new type of communitarianism in the early 1960s through the waning of the movement in the mid-1970s. Based on more than five hundred interviews conducted for the 60s Communes Project, among other sources, it preserves a colorful and vigorous episode in American history. The book includes an extensive directory of active and non-active communes, complete with dates of origin and dissolution.
Book Synopsis America's Religions by : Peter W. Williams
Download or read book America's Religions written by Peter W. Williams and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A panoramic introduction to religion in America, newly revised and updated
Book Synopsis Introduction to World Religions by : Christopher Partridge
Download or read book Introduction to World Religions written by Christopher Partridge and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading textbook for world religion, this new edition is designed to help students in their study and research of the world's religious traditions. Known and valued for its balanced approach and its respected board of consulting editors, this text addresses ways to study religion, provides broad coverage of diverse religions, and offers an arresting layout with rich illustrations. The second edition has new and extended primary source readings, a stronger section on the Religions of South Asia, additional maps, a new full-color, student-friendly format, and more.
Book Synopsis Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: Asian traditions by : Eugene V. Gallagher
Download or read book Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: Asian traditions written by Eugene V. Gallagher and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Vedanta for the West by : Carl T. Jackson
Download or read book Vedanta for the West written by Carl T. Jackson and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 1994-05-22 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This important book fills a gap in our knowledge.... Highly recommended."Â -- Library Journal "... highly recommended... " -- Choice "With admirable clarity and remarkable brevity, Jackson surveys the history of the movement and raises... important issues... " -- The Journal of American History An important history of the Ramakrishna movement, the very first and in many ways the most important Asian religious group to appear in the United States.
Download or read book Soul Rush written by Sophia Collier and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Introducing American Religion by : Charles H. Lippy
Download or read book Introducing American Religion written by Charles H. Lippy and published by JBE Online Books. This book was released on 2009 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis What is Alcoholics Anonymous? by : Marc Galanter
Download or read book What is Alcoholics Anonymous? written by Marc Galanter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alcoholics Anonymous has two million members worldwide; yet this fellowship remains a mystery to most people, and is even viewed by some as a cult or a religion. Written by an award-winning psychiatrist and educator in the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, What Is Alcoholics Anonymous? provides the most in-depth overview to date of this popular and established yet poorly understood recovery movement. The result is a thorough, objective, and accessible investigation into what AA is, how it works, and how the organization might be considered and used by both healthcare professionals and anyone affected by pursuit of recovery.
Download or read book Jumping Sundays written by Nick Bollinger and published by Auckland University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-11 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1969, thousands of people defied Auckland city bylaws and came to party in Albert Park. A rock band played on the rotunda. Some people held hands, some danced alone, some sat under trees with guitars, flutes and bongos and made music of their own. They wore kaftans, ponchos and leather-fringed jerkins, floppy hats, headbands, beads and flowers. Poetry and political diatribes were delivered from a podium, improvised from an upturned tea chest. There were bikies, balloons, bubbles, sack races and a lolly scramble, lots of dogs and a pet possum. Someone brought a canoe and paddled it around the fountain, until it capsized. As the afternoon wore on there were joss sticks, skyrockets and what some will have recognised as the musky smell of marijuana. . . —From the PrologueIn Jumping Sundays, award-winning writer and broadcaster Nick Bollinger tells the story of beards and bombs, freaks and firebrands, self-destruction and self-realisation, during a turbulent period in New Zealand's history and culture.
Book Synopsis What the Bible Says About God the Creator by : Jack Cottrell
Download or read book What the Bible Says About God the Creator written by Jack Cottrell and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2000-10-24 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Religion in the Contemporary World by : Alan Aldridge
Download or read book Religion in the Contemporary World written by Alan Aldridge and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the new edition of this widely praised text, Alan Aldridge examines the complex realities of religious belief, practice and institutions. Religion is a powerful and controversial force in the contemporary world, even in supposedly secular societies. Almost all societies seek to cultivate religions and faith communities as sources of social stability and engines of social progress. They also try to combat real and imagined abuses and excess, regulating cults that brainwash vulnerable people, containing fundamentalism that threatens democracy and the progress of science, and identifying terrorists who threaten atrocities in the name of religion. The third edition has been carefully revised to make sure it is fully up to date with recent developments and debates. Major themes in the revised edition include the recently erupted ‘culture war’ between progressive secularists and conservative believers, the diverse manifestations of ‘fundamentalism’ and their impact on the wider society, new individual forms of religious expression in opposition to traditional structures of authority, and the backlash against ‘multiculturalism’ with its controversial implications for the social integration of ethnic and religious minority communities. Impressive in its scholarly analysis of a vibrant and challenging aspect of human societies, the third edition will appeal strongly to students taking courses in the sociology of religion and religious studies, as well as to everyone interested in the place of religion in the contemporary world.
