Summary
Title: Odd Gods: New Religions & the Cult Controversy
Author: edited by James R. Lewis
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1573928429
Pro:
• Great reference covering a wide variety of religious groups
• Addresses not only beliefs and history, but also psychological and social motivations behind “cult” membership
Con:
• None
Description:
• Comprehensive reference on “cults” and New Religious Movements
• Explains beliefs and history of groups, as well as legislation and social attitudes towards “cults”
• Discusses common assumptions about “cults” and how they aren’t usually justified
Book Review
It seems that the most common reaction to such groups is hostility — hostility created by fear of the strange and the unknown. Even in the nineteenth century this was the common reaction, as demonstrated by how Protestant groups treated both Catholics and Mormons. Each group had strange and unusual practices and beliefs that the Protestants did not understand, which helped to breed suspicion and mistrust.
Today, similar hostility is accompanied by a convenient label: cult. Although it has had a technical meaning and was not designed to be pejorative, that is no longer the case. Today, when the term is applied to a group, it is meant to be dismissive and negative. It is assumed that any group which is a “cult” engages in things like mind control, brainwashing, strange sexual practices, and more.
In the end, these implicit accusations are not justified — they are simply assumed characteristics of groups that people don’t understand. But this is not to say that negative accusations about religious groups are never justified. There are, indeed, some dangerous groups, and Lewis offers a number of genuine warning signs.
The first such sign is the possibility of the group promoting certain ethical rules for members which the leaders are exempt from. It is a good idea to distrust a religious figure whose basic attitude is “do as I say, not as I do.” Another warning sign is when a group places itself above the law.
This is actually a difficult one to use well, because there is such a large grey area. Everyone effectively puts themselves above the law, for example when they drive a couple of miles above the speed limit. And most religious groups will argue that “divine law” is higher than any human law. What is significant, however, is when such a group advocates ignoring important laws regarding theft or child molestation.
Another warning sign involves apocalyptic beliefs. This happens when the believers place themselves as soldiers in God’s coming army and begin to arm themselves in preparation of a battle that isn’t too far off. But again, such beliefs are common among many religious groups, and we can’t assume that every one of them is dangerous.
A final warning sign involves a readiness to deceive outsiders. Although it is not a problem if a religious group wishes to keep some aspects of their religious life private, it becomes a problem when they move from simply declining comment to outright lying. You simply cannot trust a religious leader who lies to people about the goals and actions of the group.
All of this only covers a small portion of the first 100 pages of Lewis’ book. Although it is not called an encyclopedia, that is ultimately an accurate label. There are another 300 pages of summaries of a large number of so-called “cults” — religious groups which are small, new, or somehow outside the usual mainstream.
A wide variety of authors have contributed articles on movements from Old Catholics to Black Judaism, Aum Shinrikyo, Wicca, Scientology, and more. There are groups in the Christian tradition, the Jewish tradition, the Islamic tradition, the Hindu tradition, and even no particular tradition. Some are harmful, some are just unusual, and others are misunderstood.
You simply won’t find a better, more informative one-volume reference work on new religions, and readers will also benefit from the in-depth discussion in the first part of the book regarding cult controversies in general. Lewis and others discuss cult stereotypes, legislation and court decisions, and more.
