2016/06/01 by Lewis, James R. 1949-2022, Tøllefsen, Inga B. ca. 20./21. Jh. · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices #Religion and Society Interactions #Religious Tourism and Spaces #Section (typography) #Mythology #History #Classics #Computer science
paper · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190466176.001.0001
openalex publication_date 2016/06/01 · openalex created_date 2022/10/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The first edition of The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements appeared in early 2004. At the time, it was a much-needed overview of a rapidly-expanding area of study; it received recognition in the form of a Choice book award. The second edition brings this task up to date. In addition to updating most of the original topics, the new edition takes in more topics by expanding the volume from 22 to 32 chapters, and enlarges the scope of the book by doubling the number of contributors from outside of North America. Following an introductory section devoted to social-scientific approaches to New Religious Movements (NRMs), the second section focuses on what has been uppermost in the minds of the general public, namely the controversies that have surrounded these groups. The third section examines certain themes in the study of NRMs, such as the status of children and women in such movements. The fourth section presents religious studies approaches by looking at NRM mythologies, rituals and the like. The final section covers the subfields that have grown out of NRM studies and become specializations in their own right, from the study of modern Paganism to the study of the New Age Movement. Finally, the present volume has a thematic focus; readers interested in specific NRMs are advised to consult the second edition of James R. Lewis and Jesper Aa. Petersen’s edited volume, Controversial New Religions (Oxford University Press 2014).