New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century

Introduction; Alternative Religions, the State, and the Globe - Thomas Robbins; Section 1. Western Europe General Overview of the 'Cult Scene' in Great Britain - Eileen Barker; Religious Minorities and New Religious Movements in Denmark - Armin W. Geertz and Mikael Rothstein; France's Obsession with the 'Sectarian Threat' - Daniele Hervieu-Leger; The Secte Response to Religious Discrimination: Subversives, Martyrs, or Freedom Fighters in the French Sect Wars - Susan J. Palmer; Italy's Surprisingly Favorable Environment for Religious Minorities - Massimo Introvigne; New Religions in Germany: The Publicity of the Public Sphere - Brigitte Schoen; Section 2. Eastern Europe and Eurasia New Religions in the New Russia - Marat Shterin; New Religious Minorities in the Baltic States - Solveiga Krumina-Konkova; Crushing Wahhabi Fundamentalists in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Sub-plot to the Global Struggle against Al-Qaeda or Suppression of Legitimate Religious Opposition? - Brian Glyn Williams; Section 3. Africa, Asia, and Australia Prophets, 'False Prophets', and the African State: Emergent Issues of Religious Freedom and Conflict - Rosalind I. J. Hackett; Religion on a Leash: NRMs and the Limits of Chinese Freedom - Scott Lowe; Consensus Shattered: Japanese Paradigm Shift and Moral Panic in the Post-Aum Era - Ian Reader; New Religions in Australia: Public Menace or Societal Salvation - James T. Richardson; Section 4. North and South America The Mainstreaming of Alternative Spirituality in Brazil - Robert T. Carpenter; The Fate of NRMs and their Detractors in Twenty-First Century America - J. Gordon Melton; New Religions and the Anticult Movement in Canada - Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe; Section 5. Theoretical Considerations New Religious Movements and Globalization - James A. Beckford; Apocalypse 9/11 John R. Hall Establishments and Sects in the Islamic World - Mark Sedgwick; Research on New Religious Movements in the Post-9/11 World - Benjamin Zablocki and J. Anna Looney; Cults, Porn, and Hate: Convergent Discourses on First Amendment Restriction - Dick Anthony and Thomas Robbins; Conclusion: The Future of New and Minority Religions in the 21st Century: Religious Freedom under Global Siege - Phillip Charles Lucas