Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements

An amazing resource for students and those interested in the scope and impact of new religious movements. The coverage is worldwide, with 300 entries not only on the movements themselves, but also on broader classification is such as the new age movement, cyberspace religions and the whole brainwashing debate. A more general feature is inner-directed spirituality based on contact with the Self and postulating that self transformation is essential for a more general social transformation. An unusual feature is articles on literature in different languages. There are entries on a great many individuals as well as techniques, groups and concepts. In view of its scope, it is surprising that Peter Deunov (Beinsa Douno) and the Bulgarian White Brotherhood does not feature. However, this is a small quibble in view of the scope and depth of coverage. The reader should also note that much of the coverage is descriptive rather than critical, like the entry on the Aetherius Society. However, this leaves the field open for further critical investigation by the reader, since there are simply too many choices and judgements that would have had to be made.