1st Edition
Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements
As we approach the Millennium, apocalyptic expectations are rising in North America and throughout the world. Beyond the symbolic aura of the millennium, this excitation is fed by currents of unsettling social and cultural change. The millennial myth ingrained in American culture is continually generating new movements, which draw upon the myth and also reshape and reconstruct it. Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem examines many types of apocalypticism such as economic, racialist, environmental, feminist, as well as those erupting from established churches. Many of these movements are volatile and potentially explosive.
Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem brings together scholars of apocalyptic and millennial groups to explore aspects of the contemporary apocalyptic fervor in all orginal contributions. Opening with a discussion of various theories of apocalypticism, the editors then analyze how millennialist movements have gained ground in largely secular societal circles. Section three discusses the links between apocalypticism and established churches, while the final part of the book looks at examples of violence and confrontation, from Waco to Solar Temple to the Aum Shinri Kyo subway disaster in Japan.
Contributors: James Aho, Dick Anthony, Robert Balch, Michael Barkun, John Bozeman, David Bromley, Michael Cuneo, John Dimitrovich, John Hall, Massimo Introvigne, Philip Lamy, Ronald Lawson, Martha Lee, Barbara Lynn Mahnke, Vanessa Morrison, Mark Mullins, Ansun Shupe, Susan Palmer, Thomas Robbins, Philip Schuyler and Catherine Wessinger.
Biography
Thomas Robbins is an independent sociologist of Religion. He is the author of Cults, Converts and Charisma (1988) and has co-edited numerous books, among them In Gods We Trust (1990) and Between Sacred and Secular (1994). Susan J. Palmer teaches at Dawson College and Concordia University and specializes in new religious movements. She is the author of Moon Sisters, Krishna Mothers, Rajneesh Lovers and AIDS as an Apocalyptic Metaphor.
"This is a fine collection of high-quality papers concerning millenarianism in Western culture." -- American Journal of Sociology
"...a significant contribution as a general scholarly introduction to the subject of apocalyptic and millennial movements in contemporary North American society." -- Nathan Rousseau, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
"This is a fine collection of high-quality papers concerning millenarianism in Western culture...enlightening...fascinating." -- American Journal of Sociology
"This volume makes a worthwhile contribution to the literature. There is no question that the subject matter makes this a timely and important book...the book raises the standard for future studies." -- Contemporary Sociology
"This volume documents the richness and diversity of the contemporary apocalyptic imagination." -- Stephan Stein, Religious Studies Review, April 2002
"Robbins and Palmer's book...goes far toward filling the need for a broad, scholarly, and yet accessible overview of contemporary millennialism in North America... The case studies that constitute the bulk of this volume are highly effective in addressing many of the fundamental questions that face scholars of millennialism... it is unquestionably a significant contribution as a general scholarly introduction to the subject of apocalyptic and millennial movements in contemporary North American society." -- Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
"...excellent collection of original papers by 21 qualified authors from nine academic fields... Highly recommended for seminary, graduate, and professional libraries." -- R.L. Herrick Choice
"...excellent... the contributors ... analyze contemporary religious movements from the Mormons to Waco and Aum Shinrikyo, and explain the central significance of prophecy in these movements." -- Elaine Showalter, Washington Post
"Robbins and Palmer have gathered a number of essays that take a sober look at the phenomenon of apocalypticism in the modern world... In all of the essays, the authors attempt to show how apocalyptic groups may be defined by their attention to the signs of the millennium and the signs of a messiah, a figure who will draw to a close one epoch and usher in a new one, and the ways in which these dual beliefs often lead to mayhem." -- Publishers Weekly
"This collection gives a good overview of a complicated topic by delving into the various movements that are looking at the millennium as a watershed event for their particular set of beliefs." -- Library Journal
"[This book] provide[s] a wealth of details on groups arising out of Roman Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, and Seventh-day Adventist churches, as well as those originating from a diverse number of secular movements ranging from the militas to environmentalist." --Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX for Journal of Church and State."
