Overview

The cultural products of new religions and spiritualities are frequently ignored or dismissed within academia, often stemming from a hesitation to acknowledge these movements as genuine. This volume explores the impact of new religions upon cultural production, exemplifying the theological and spiritual principles of particular movements and demonstrating their substantial impact on wider society. Contributions explore the realms of music, architecture, food, art, books, films, video games, and more. This scholarship will be of interest to those who wish to explore the gamut of modern religious expression, and those who wish to broaden their knowledge of the spiritual origins of human culture.

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9789004221871

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is an authoritative and exciting set of case studies on the many cultural products created and disseminated by the new religions in modern times. The collection is an impressive addition to the Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion and opens up new lines of enquiry into the societal impact of new religions. Chapters cover a fascinating array of new forms and products ranging from material artifacts, architecture, music, dance, diet, education and popular narratives. Many of these creations have developed independent life and status within the wider society, showing the fecundity and adaptability of the generative forces behind them. Shaped by expert editing and a lively team of contributors, the volume invites a fresh perspective on the study of new religions. It encourages scholars away from constructing their data as marginalia and exotica and towards analysis of new religions as serious cultural agents and pioneers of new aesthetics. - Dr. Steven J. Sutcliffe, Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religion University of Edinburgh.

This is an authoritative and exciting set of case studies on the many cultural products created and disseminated by the new religions in modern times. The collection is an impressive addition to the Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion and opens up new lines of enquiry into the societal impact of new religions. Chapters cover a fascinating array of new forms and products ranging from material artifacts, architecture, music, dance, diet, education and popular narratives. Many of these creations have developed independent life and status within the wider society, showing the fecundity and adaptability of the generative forces behind them. Shaped by expert editing and a lively team of contributors, the volume invites a fresh perspective on the study of new religions. It encourages scholars away from constructing their data as marginalia and exotica and towards analysis of new religions as serious cultural agents and pioneers of new aesthetics. - Dr. Steven J. Sutcliffe, Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religion University of Edinburgh. With this volume, Cusack and Norman have done a great service to scholars of new religions. It is both descriptively rich and informative and theoretically and methodologically suggestive. - Kevin A.Whitesides,University of California, Santa Barbara It is an affirmation that this is a thoroughly stimulating collection of essays. Whatever conclusions one might reach about the various movements and the cultural products to which we are introduced, one cannot but be left marvelling at the imaginative and inventive creativity of the human species. It is unlikely that many scholars will be able to purchase this volume for purely personal use, but anyone at all interested in the development and place of new religions in society, or in cultural studies in general, should ensure that they and others can have access to the book by persuading their libraries to purchase a copy. - Eileen Barker, London School of Economics, U.K. in: International Journal for the Study of New Religions, Vol 5. (2015), Equinox.

Author Information

Carole M. Cusack, Ph.D. (1996) in Studies in Religion, University of Sydney, is Associate Professor of this department. She has published extensively on contemporary religious trends, medieval religion, and method and theory in the study of religion, including Invented Religions (Ashgate, 2010). Alex Norman, Ph.D. (2010) in Studies in Religion, University of Sydney, is a lecturer at the University of New South Wales and the University of Western Sydney. His research interests include religion and travel, leading to the publication of Spiritual Tourism (Continuum, 2011).

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