Odyssey of New Religious Movements Persecution, Struggle, Legitimation. A Case Study of the Unification Church
| Author: | Biermans, John | |
| Year: | 1988 | |
| Pages: | 388 | |
| ISBN: | 0-88946-710-2 978-0-88946-710-1 | |
| Price: | $239.95 + shipping | |
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Presents the thesis that all new, conversion-oriented religious movements which call their members to a radical change of life normally receive persecution. Includes ample reference to such contemporary researchers in the sociology of religion as A. Shupe, E. Barker, and J. Richardson, in order to identify and contextualize the main lines of attack upon the new religion that is the subject of this case study, the Unification movement (UM).
Reviews
". . . will be very useful for classes on new religions, sociology of religion, religious conversion, and religion in America. The prose is clear and nontechnical . . . . It draws upon virtually no UM sources or interpretations." - Church History
". . . a veritable resource library on the topics of `brainwashing,' religious bigotry, ex-members, and the relation of religion to psychiatry, law, the media, and economics. There is an extensive bibliography and an index. Bierman's book is an apologia but not propaganda." - Religious Studies Review
". . . highly readable and informative . . . provide[s] a candid and informative case study of religious freedom, showing how tenuous a matter such freedom can be, especially for a new religion." - The Christian Century
". . . will be very helpful to those who actually want to know what is going on and to those willing to take a stand against bigotry and racism." - Dr. Henry O. Thompson in The New York Times Book Review
". . . a veritable resource library on the topics of `brainwashing,' religious bigotry, ex-members, and the relation of religion to psychiatry, law, the media, and economics. There is an extensive bibliography and an index. Bierman's book is an apologia but not propaganda." - Religious Studies Review
". . . highly readable and informative . . . provide[s] a candid and informative case study of religious freedom, showing how tenuous a matter such freedom can be, especially for a new religion." - The Christian Century
". . . will be very helpful to those who actually want to know what is going on and to those willing to take a stand against bigotry and racism." - Dr. Henry O. Thompson in The New York Times Book Review