Understanding New Religious Movements 2nd Edition

By (author) Saliba, John A; Foreword by Melton Gordon J.
Short description/annotation:
This balanced textbook looks at emerging religions through the lenses of history, psychology, sociology, law, theology, and counseling. The Second Edition is updated throughout and includes a new foreword by J. Gordon Melton.
Description:
Discussions of any religion can easily raise passions. But arguments tend to become even more heated when the religion under discussion is characterized as new. Divisions around the study of new religious movements (NRMs), or cults, or nontraditional or alternative or emergent religions are so acute that there is even controversy over what to call them. John Saliba strives to bring balance to these discussions by offering perspectives on new religions from different academic perspectives: history, psychology, sociology, law, theology, and counseling. This approach provides rich descriptions of a broad range of movements while demonstrating how the differing aims of the disciplines can create much of the controversy around NRMs. The new second edition has been updated and revised throughout and includes a new foreword by noted historian of religion, J. Gordon Melton. For classes in religion or the social sciences, or for interested individuals, Understanding New Religious Movements offers the most objective introduction possible.
Table of contents:

Chapter 0 Foreword
Chapter 1 New Religious Movements in Contemporary Western Culture: An Overview
Chapter 2 The History of New Religious Movements in the West
Chapter 3 The New Religious Movements in Psychological Perspective
Chapter 4 The New Religious Movements in Sociological Perspective
Chapter 5 The New Religious Movements in the Law Courts
Chapter 6 The New Religious Movements in Christian Theological Perspective
Chapter 7 Counseling and the New Religious Movements

Review quote:
An ideal text for undergraduate courses as well as the single most important volume to recommend to someone who knows virtually nothing about New Religious Movements and their study.
Biographical note:
John A. Saliba, S.J., is professor of religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy.