Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life

<p>This book first published in 1984 examines the whole range of new religious movements which appeared in the 1960s and 1970s in the West. It develops a wide-ranging theory of these new religions which explains many of their major characteristics. Some of the movements are well-known such as Scientology Krishna Consciousness and the Unification Church. Others such as the Process Meher Baba and 3-HO are much less known. While some became international others remained local; in other ways too such as style belief organisation they exhibit enormous diversity. </p><p>The movements studied here are classified under three ideal types world-rejecting world-affirming and world-accommodating and from here the author develops a theory of the origins recruitment base characteristics and development patterns which they display. The book offers a critical exploration of the theories of the new religions and analyses the highly contentious issue of whether they reflect the process of secularisation or whether they are a countervailing trend marking the resurgence of religion in the West.</p>