This book presents case studies and empirical data of a phenomenon which increasingly
gains popularity in Western societies: deconversion. There is, the authors argue, no better …

I examine the microlevel processes involved when members of an organization seek to
persuade others to internalize a new institutional logic. To do so I conduct a qualitative study …

While scholars, media, and the public may be aware of a few extraordinary government
raids on religious communities, such as the US federal raid on the Branch Davidians in …

JAMES A. BECKFORD AND JAMES T. RICHARDSON many of the conflicts and
controversies that characterise life in the early twenty-first century (Beckford 2003; …

Scholars of new religious movements (NRMs) have spent considerable energy studying the
role of news media in constructing public narratives about religious innovation. This article …

Research in religious studies has traditionally focused on adult subjects since working with
children presents significantly more challenges to the researcher, such as getting the …

The role of communications and information media long has been acknowledged as a key
factor in religious controversy. Since the 1970s “cult wars,” new religions scholars have …

France, with its approach to managing religion known as laïcité, has been almost unique
among Western nations in its approach to religious freedom for minority religious groups …

Theorizing about leadership in new religious movements has often assumed that leaders
have a powerful form of charisma with magical powers allowing leaders to exercise total …

Negative perceptions resulting from heavy media exposure surrounding membership in
minority religions affect how individuals process information about such group membership …