There has long been animosity between law enforcement officials and members of new religious movements, with each viewing the other as either a threat to religious freedom or to public safety. But that chill may be easing up as law enforcement officials are making new attempts to understand and incorporate scholarly insights regarding unconventional religious […]

Aum Shinrikyo, the apocalyptic group that engaged in a terrorist gas attacks in Japan over four years ago, continues to grow, while facing new ostracism in Japanese society. An issue of Millennial Stew notes that the numbers vary on Aum’s membership. The police report that after being disbanded after the attacks, Aum now has 700 followers living […]

A millennial movement is growing rapidly in Peru, tapping into the nation’s tradition of messianic fervor. Millennial Stew (Summer), the newsletter of  Boston University’s Center for Millennial Studies, reports that the popularity of the 200,000-strong Israelites of the New Covenant stems from  the history of both Christian millennialism and existing messianic ideologies in the Andes. Like several messianic […]

In the 1990s, Mormons have especially incorporated images and styles from the popular media into such mass-produced objects (called kitsch) as clothing, plaques, and toys. In the independent Mormon magazine Sunstone (June), Jana Reiss writes that the tension between popular culture and Mormon values are evident in such projects as rings and T-shirts using a “CTR” slogan […]

The numbers of American-Muslim women wearing scarves have increased dramatically in the past few years, reports New Jersey’s Bergen Record newspaper (July 11). One official of the Kentucky-based International Union of Muslim Women says that “In the last year in particular, the number of inquiries we’ve had from women dealing with the issue of whether to wear […]

In a report on Pentecostalism in RNA Extra (July/August), the newsletter of the Religious Newswriters Association, one priest forecasts a resurgence of the charismatic movement in American Catholicism. Msgr. Vincent Walsh of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Wynnewood, Pa., predicts that the next wave of the charismatic renewal among Catholics will be the Pentecostal “holy […]

A major issue among religionist scholars in recent years has been why and how the Christian faith of Americans is being “globalized” by the greatly increased knowledge of other world religions. This process, however, is a two-way street. Along with Americans absorbing world religions into their smorgasbord understanding, millions of seekers on all continents are […]

“No longer simply the avocation of big-hearted church volunteers, prison ministry has become a sophisticated and competitive business. The new generation of ministers has moved beyond Bible study to recognize the seductive power of electric bands, celebrities, videotapes and glossy posters to lure captive men and women to God,” reports the Wall Street Journal (Sept. 7). The […]