Odd Gods: New Religions and the Cult Controversy

by James R. Lewis Shewmaker & Shewmaker LLC (Editor)

Emphasizing the complex nature of new religions & the wide variety of cult phenomena, this encyclopedic study reviews the history & major tenets of diverse religious sects across the spectrum of belief. With contributions from over three dozen specialists in alternative religions, this is an authoritative source of information on an important public issue. Editor Lewis points out that the negative perception of cults is often an inaccurate stereotyping which turns nonconformists into scapegoats for repressed public fears. Altho there are certainly dangerous or socially pathological cults, there are also many unorthodox religious sects consisting of harmless people exercising their religious freedom rights. Distinguishing the harmful from the harmless has generated controversy, with outsiders often accusing cultists of brainwashing & violation of generally accepted mores, & insiders defending their lifestyles on religious libertarian grounds. Lewis analyzes the characteristics of dangerous groups compared to those of the unusual but innocuous. He discusses what people find attractive about membership in minority religions, as well as community suspicions & media hype promoting misunderstandings. The bulk of the book is devoted to a broad survey of unusual religious groups. Included are minority sects stemming from Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist & Sikh tradition, as well as unrelated groups such as the Moonies, Wiccans, Satanists, Spiritualists, Channelers, Scientologists & the Heaven's Gate, a host of New Age & UFO groups etc. This is a sourcebook for understanding & researching the crazy-quilt landscape of free religious expression in the USA.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Overview
Court decision, legislation & governmental actions
The Christian tradition
Millerism & the Adventist tradition
controversial Christian groups
More controversial groups
Jewish tradition
Islamic tradition
Hindu tradition
More controversial Hundu Groups (Yoga groups)
Sikhism & the sound current tradition
Buddhist tradition
Theosophy & the theosophical societies
Other Esoteric Groups
Neopaganism
Christian Science & the new thought tradition
Spiritualism & channeling
UFO religions
Other Groups and movements
Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Index

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, College, Cults

435 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2001

Reviews

[Fiona van Dahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

About 10 pages in, the author introduces the Cult Awareness Network as an evil organization known primarily for kidnapping and counter-brainwashing cult members. What it doesn't mention anywhere (I checked) is that Scientology sued them out of existence and then bought their name and assets.

Sure enough, every indexed mention of Scientology and L Ron Hubbard in the book is pleasant and even positive, with zero mention of controversies like Operation Snow White or Lisa McPherson. They are painted as victims of a villainous raid by the FBI and over-scrutiny from the IRS. Finally, the copyright page thanks the Church of Scientology for allowing the use of a photo of L Ron Hubbard, but does not do the same for any of the other groups/leaders pictured.

This leads me to believe that the author has some kind of pro-Scientology bias, or self-censored to avoid making enemies with the Church. Based on that alone, I put the book down.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've long been interested in religion. Having grown up in a basically irreligious family surrounded by a substantially conservative Christian community and having seen many of my peers enter--and usually leave--fundamentalist groups, I've long marvelled at the appeal of groups which make extraordinary and, to my eye, unsupportable claims about the nature of reality. This interest led me to a religion major in college, to four years in seminary and to a graduate degree in philosophy. This interest led me to purchase this book at Evanston's Amarynth Bookstore.

While billed as an encyclopaedia of fringe religious groups, Odd Gods is actually more of a sampler produced by dozens of authors under the apparent guidance of editor Lewis. Lewis' own material is pretty good, particularly his introductory chapters on cults, religious freedom, litigation and the history of Christianity. As an editor, however, he did a mediocre job. The quality of others' contributions varies widely. Some entries are thorough enough, others are comparatively meagre. Many have typographical errors, misspelling, repititions and other evidences of inadequate proofreading.

The tenor of the book as a whole is tolerant and libertarian. Even such extreme groups as Heaven's Gate and Jonestown (both known for their suicides) are given a sympathetic hearing.