Book Description
Tackling popular misconceptions about new religious movements, Comprehending Cults summarizes, synthesizes, and assesses over 40 years of research by historians, sociologists, and psychologists. This excellent introduction to the study of new religious groups offers a balanced treatment of new movements as a source of spiritual satisfaction while confronting issues of violence, sexuality, and brainwashing within religious cults. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Certainly worth reading
Granted, the wording could use some work, but the "brainwashed" chapter was a refreshing perspective I hadn't found in six other books I have read on the subject."Who Joins" also was a chapter that included pieces I had not found elsewhere.A perfect place to start for a sociological perspective.Generally free of strong pro or anti religious bias. Recommended.

Dawson's writing is hopeless
This book is poor quality.

At McMaster University I was excited to take their Cults in North America course. After having to purchase and read Dawson's Comprehending Cults my excitement changed to agony.This is probably one of the most poorly written university texts I've had to buy.

Here is why
-miscellany of random quotes are splattered among the writing, use of quotes also seem irrelevant to the topics discussed.
-its needlessly wordy you'll read paragraph after paragraph and it just looks like an incoherent mess
-Dawson is bold enough to create his own social scientific model that would only exist in a vacuum...when it comes to examining NRMs in the real world, his model utterly falls apart
-his treatment of NRMs is very condescending: you'd have to read it (which i don't recommend doing)

I actually emailed Lorne Dawson (University of Waterloo), politely asking him about some of the things in his text.Its hard to really explain further here but he gave me a very dismissive reply.

The problem is that NRMs and cults are difficult to study scientifically, Dawson work exemplifies this fact.Mr. Dawson, that is not a compliment.

I want my money back.

Valuable Insight
A very thorough and clear coverage of the controversies raised by cults.I gained new insights into the topic and would readily recommend this book.

blah!
this book's content was good enough, but it was writen rather sloppily and with no read order, that i could see anyway.the author attempts to lose us by using hard-to-follow words and phrases.

At last: a book about the reality of "cults"
I strongly recomment this book. It discusses new religious movements from an academic perspective. An excellent antidote to the religious intolerance and panic spread by the counter-cult heresy hunters and the anti-cultthought control advocates. ... Read more

Book Description
Over the past two decades, in the United States alone, an estimate twenty million people have joined cults.Today, three to five thousand cults are working to recruit new members.At any point in time, two-and-a-half to three million Americans are active cult members.Often a cult is disguised as a legitimate business or organization: a restaurant, self-help group, psychotherapy clinic, or leadership training program could be a front for a cult.Anyone--no matter what age or income level--could be susceptible to the covert and seductive nature of a cult.The country's leading authority on cults, Margaret Thaler Singer, calls on her nearly fifty years of expertise to write the definitive book on cults.Written with author and former cult member Janja Lalich, Singer's first book is a shocking expose that reveals what cults are and how they work.Cults in Our Midst offers vital information on how to help people escape cult entrapments and recover from the experience.Cults in Our Midst is filled with practical strategies and suggestions for understanding the cult phenomenon and helping cult members break free. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Important Read
I read this book while romantically involved with someone who I thought to be in a cult. This book helped me understand what I was dealing with and made me feel reassured that my suspicions were not unfounded.

Anyone who debunks the theory of mind control or brainwashing must also be blind to the brainwashing that happens every day in our own society and I would question their motives. Look at advertising! There is no doubt that these things happen all the time.

By the same token, it's probably not a good idea to jump to conclusions about people or groups without educating yourself, which is where this book comes in. This book is informative and helpful. Read this first, then read Steven Hasaan's books if you need more.

Namaste

A must read
This book is a real eye-opener to the prevalence of cults in our society. While ou tendency is to think in terms of Scientology, Jim Jones, the Branch Davidians. It is frightening to find out how many small,mind-bending groups are peppered across the country.
Beware of the people who have all the answers or can explain away life's problems by prescribing adherence to their particular ideals and who refuse to allow their members to interact with people outside the "group."
It doesn't happen to someone else. It could be your son, daughter, mother or father.

The Nature and Danger of Cults
Hugh Rosen, D.S.W., author of Silent Battlefields: A Novel (Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.)

Dr. Singer's work on cults exposes the threat they pose to individuals and society. It is a comprehensive and scholarly, albeit clearly written work that is well illustrated with many vingettes. Her expertise on the subject illuminates every page. Specific cults, such as the Moonies (AKA the Unification Church), the Hare Krishna group, and the cult ending in the Jonestown debacle. The author makes evident her view that what happened at Jonestown was not mass suicide so much as it was outright murder. In a postscript to this revised edition (2003) she also discusses contemporary terrorist groups and cites both distinctions and overlaps between them and cults.

The book exposes the coercion, intimidation, indoctrination, humilation and thought reform methods of cults. It is important to bear in mind that one of the distinguishing characteristics of cults is that they exist to enhance the wealth and power of the leader rather than the welfare and personal development of its members. Methods of recruitment and the requirement to break off relationships with outsiders (i.e. family and friends)are thoroughly discussed. Recruits are mislead and deceived regarding what they are getting into.

Dr. Singer introduces the ways in which some members eventually extricate themselves (or are helped to do so) from cults and goes into a critique of the socio-psychological damage that has been inflicted upon them. As the book nears an end, it offers and in-depth treatment of "exit counseling" which is usually needed to rehabilitate the ex-member so that he or she can become a productive, independant member of mainstream society. This requires a psychoeducational method by an expert, as well as the support of family and former friends. It also involves helping the "escapee" to overcome the dependency and guilt that is often experienced even after leaving the cult.

I believe that "Cults in our Midsts" will be the definitive work on the subject for many years to come.

Hugh Rosen, D.S.W.

Beware cult apologists
A word of warning against cult apologists - see the review by Lucille M. Cozzolino. Her suggested reading by James Lewis and Gordon Melton is nothing more than pushing the view of cult apologists.

They insist there is no such thing as brainwashing, mind control or whatever you wish to call it.

Melton, by the way, after the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attacks in Japan, was flown to Japan by the cult and once there he declared that the group could not have produced the Sarin poison gas. WRONG. They did.

For good insight into cults, try the Rick Ross website at http://www.rickross.com/ There is plenty of information on different groups, and much can also be learnt from the message boards.

It is interesting to note that the reviewer Lucille M. Cozzolino has published only one review. It is a pattern that was commonly seen when Jon Atack released A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed.

Don't be fooled, there are cults out there and they can be dangerous. Self-help seminars, so-called 'human potential' organisations, are also potentially dangerous and should be thoroughly investigated before one commits to a course with one of them.

Many of them employ mind control methods similar to those used by cults and the effects can be devastating. Again, for information on this, the Rick Ross website is excellent.

I speak from experience.

Satisfies My General Curiosity about Cults
This book was exactly what I was looking for - an authoritative overview on cults written for the general reader. Dr. Singer provided the authoritative voice. She has counseled and interviewed thousands of former cult members and their families and done extensive research into cults, their behavior, their methods of operations, and their effects on individuals and societies. "Cults..." presents much information about cults in very organized and understandable manner.

The book is divided into three parts. In the first part Dr. Singer explores what cults are. She presents a definition, a history, an overview of how they work, and the troubling aspects of cults. In the second part she presents how cults work, including chapters on their recruiting practices, their persuasion techniques, and their use of intimidation. In the final section she provides information on helping survivors escape and recover.

It is this third section on escape and recovery that makes this book a resource for friends and families of present and previous cult members. She overviews the process for extracting a member from a cult and provides information regarding the psychological needs of former cult members. The author also provides several sections at the end of the book listing resources for escape and recovery.

"Cults in Our Midst" is now more than ten years-old. I would like to read a more up-to-date book on the current threat from cults. Before reading this book I was tangentially aware of the damage cults were doing to individuals and their families. However I was unaware of the insidious threat against society in general. This insidiousness arises from some cults' often successful use ofintimidation to silence critics, media coverage, and academic inquiry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A well-done overview
Paul Elliott's book is very well-researched and entertaining to read.It doesn't go into a great deal of detail but the author manages to fit quite a bit of information into the seven chapters.The cults covered are the Greek and Roman Mystery cults (one chapter each), the Knights Templar, the Assassins of the Middle East, the Thugs of India, the Ninja clans and the Chinese Boxers.Each chapter stands by itself but there is a fair amount of cross-referencing which helps tie the whole work together.Stylistically, there are a couple of very minor problems such as strange grammar (which may just be a difference between American and British conventions) and the odd use of exclamation points here and there.These shortcomings are easily overlooked, however.If you are interested in history, martial arts or the truth behind certain myths and legends, this book is for you.

a great one of a kind book
This is a one of a kind book about cults I hope they make #2. It was very informative. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

PROTECTION AGAINST BRAINWASHING
Dr Martin shares his expertise about cults in this practical book written especially for concerned Christian parents. The book has 3 divisions: The Cult Problem, in which the author defines a cult, discusses fringe churches and examines the reason why people join cults. This section also looks at the myths of cult involvement and provides information on spotting a cult. Part 2, Teaching And Parenting Cult-Free Kids, provides tips for parents and advice on how to develop critical thinking skills in children; this chapter includes a list of books recommendedfor sharpening your critical thinking skills. It also looks at cults and friendships, cults and the church and cults and society. Part 3 is titled Recovery From Cult Involvement. It contains good advice on what to do when your child join a cult, pitfalls to recovery and the various stages of recovery. The book has a large Notes Section and the following Appendices: Resources and Organizations that offer help, a helpful curriculum and recommended reading which is a bibliography on cults in general and on some specific groups. The book concludes with a thorough index. Writing from personal experience, Martin offers some solid guidelines and provides constructive tips on how to innoculate people against the destructive influences of cults. ... Read more

Book Description
This book is about the multiplicity of gods and religions that characterized the Roman world before Constantine. It was not the noble gods such as Jove, Apollo and Diana, who were crucial to the lives of the common people in the empire, bur gods of an altogether more earthly, earth level, whose rituals and observances may now seem bizarre. As well as being of wide general interest, this book will appeal to students of the Roman Empire and of the history of religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Encyclopedic!
I used this text in preparing a 4 session workshop on ancient mystery religions (www.lukeion.org).I appreciate that this text is thourough and attempted a balanced position on the death of these religions and the rise of Christianity.I believe Turcan did a better job with task one than with task two. The primary drawback to this text is that it has the less-than-stimulating literary style of an older encyclopedia.Final summation:great reference work if you know the larger issues up for debate on Roman Cults.Excellent, scholarly, one-stop shopping for most cults of interest.

The Travels of the Gods
This book contains copius information regarding the geographic spread of various pagen "Gods" not members of the original Roman pantheon.If you need this information, the book becomes indespensible and should be in any serious students library who is concerned with the religious atmosphere of the Roman World circa 300 BCE to 400 CE.This being said, that is the long and the short of it.The translation from French is not the best. The deeper insights one might expect are largely missing.And the explanation of the triumph of Christianity as presented is shallow and of little value.This book, one of a series of translations and reissues in the English language, commissioned by the University of Manchester, hangs its hat on the fact that it is an update of the classic work of Franz Cumont.For the generalist, the book is a loss and confusing.For the specialist, who needs a travelogue of certain Gods, the book is indespensible.Expect to work hard for what you get.Expect the prose to flow like mud, and where the translation breaks down expect confusion.I stress that this was a necessary read for my interests.There is much to be gained here.You only have to decide if you wish to pay the price.

The New Franz Cumont
Turcan has given us the needed updating on Franz Cumont's work. The Cults of the Roman Empire, for the most part, avoids the unwarrented history-of-religions inferences Cumont made. Turcan sticks mainly to geographical evidence and iconographic description and analysis. This book is a necessary companion to Keith Hopkins' "A World Full of Gods" in that is conveys the individual and collective power of the so-called Oriental cults, which, in fact, were Romanized when they reached their zenith in the Antonine Age. According to Turcan the oriental gods who had the greatest following were Magna Mater (Cybele) and Isis. Mithras occupied a second tier in the popularity pole as did Jupiter Dolichenus. Other deities interested primarily local cultists. The chapter on Dionysus and his rites is especially interesting in that the author details the ritual and presents instructive data on the belief in afterlife. Turcan does stray from the positivist historian to offer his psychological explanations for the victory of christianity over the cults. While sympathizing with his views, I think he has glossed over the more important socio-political explanation: episcopal christianity alone provided the strongest social cohesiveness enforced by ecclesiastical sanctions. It was this strength that moved Constantine to attempt to co-opt the episcopal church rather than throw the future of his empire in with Mithras or Isis. The Cults of the Roman Empire is a must for students of christian origens. If they ignore the evidence contained in this volume, they will not fully appreciate some of the dynamic possessed by the victor. ... Read more

Book Description
This book sets new questions and offers innovative models for exploring the economic and artistic formations and reformations of the cult of saints in Medieval Europe together with its underlying social and political dynamic. The author examines a spectrum of cultural practices through more than thirty illustrated cycles of saints' lives in a range of media, published together for the first time: painted manuscripts; silver, gold, and ivory reliquaries; bronze doors; and stained glass. These are set against the history of one monastery, Saint-Amand d'Elnone, where three distinct illustrated versions of its saint's life survive from a hundred-year period, each adapted to a phase within the changing political and economic fortunes of the abbey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mystical Beauty and Spiritual Mayhem
This is a strikingly beautiful book that discusses the history of the cult of saints in Medieval Europe. In a largely illiterate world various saints were championed by their follwers largely through the use of visual media. This book brings together for the first time all of the medieval hoopla associated with this phenomenon in a fascinating and highly informative text. Like NFL fans today, fans of various saints carried on public campaigns cheering their favorite saint, collecting funds to purchase relics and displaying visual stories in public venues telling the miraculous story of their saintly guy or gal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Full of Great Information
This book is an almost encyclopedia like account of the many and varied non-traditional religious groups. It offers a brief history as well as a beliefs and practices section for each of the more than 50 different sects that it covers. These range from large Christian based religions, such as the Mormons, to Asian influenced groups such as the Hare Krishnas. In addition, many smaller sects are covered that Barrett classifies as beither being esoteric or neo-pagan.

I was impressed by how objective Barrett remained throughout the book, no matter how ridiculous some of these groups may seem to the average person. His writings were largely based on the information provided by the groups themselves. However, he sometimes does offer an opinion or warning, especially when a particular group is known as being potentially violent or dangerous such as the Branch Davidians in Waco. Overall, the book is well written and researched

I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in reading about a wide-range of "alternative" religions.

... Read more

Book Description
THIS 20 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Strange Cults and Secret Societies of Modern London, by Elliott O'Donnell. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766102858. ... Read more

Book Description
THIS 22 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Strange Cults and Secret Societies of Modern London, by Elliott O'Donnell. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766102858. ... Read more

Book Description
THIS 18 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Strange Cults and Secret Societies of Modern London, by Elliott O'Donnell. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766102858. ... Read more

Book Description
Created as a symbol of imperial power by the south Indianconquerors ofOrissa in the 12th century, the temple of Jagannathaendures as one of India'sgreat monuments and centres of pilgrimage.This authoritative study assemblesall the evidence, old and new, toproduce a definitive account of the buildingand its cult.Topicsinclude Puri as a Sacred City of Light and its major festivals; the architecture, sculpture, and associated paintings of the Temple; and anewanalysis of the origins of the extraordinary icons worshipped init.The only exhaustive account of this major shrine, this studyincludes unique19th century and contemporary photographs, the latterrevealing features inits ongoing restoration. Its new, integratedinterpretation of the Purusottamacult places its iconography firmlyin the traditions of Hindu festival art. ... Read more