This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by INTROVIGNE, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

"There is No Place for Us to Go but Up": New Religious Movements and Violence

CESNUR, Via Confienza 19, 10121 Torino, Italy cesnur{at}tin.it

While the "cult wars" of the 1970s-1980s largely ended in the USA with the Fishman decision (1990), between 1994 and 2000 mass suicides and homicides perpetrated respectively by the Solar Temple, Aum Shinri-kyo, Heaven's Gate and the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God revived anti-cult feelings which eventually led to administrative and legislative action in several European countries. The author criticizes two anti-cult explanations of the incidents, one based on brainwashing and the other on psychopathology and fraud, and suggests that scholars of new religious movements and critics of "cults" may both learn from these cases and start a fruitful dialogue by revisiting the original literature on thought reform and the works of Robert Jay Lifton and Edgar H. Schein. Ultimately, and without denying that "cults" may carry out illegal activities other than those involving the actual loss of human lives, as far as "critical incidents" are concerned content-neutral models of persuasions and influence should be supplemented by an examination of which ideologies may be more conductive to suicide and violence.

Social Compass, Vol. 49, No. 2, 213-224 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/0037768602049002006


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?