Nova Religio

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History

Previously research focusing on new religious movements (often referred to as cults) was mainly published in sociology journals, which lessened the ability for researchers to engage in more qualitative methodologies. Researchers who were not sociologists wanted a publication with a broader view in which to publish; in the 1990s, more debate emerged on how to define the term "new religious movement" itself. [2] The journal was founded to give a broader and inclusive look at this topic in a period approaching the end of the millennium. With several apocalyptic groups gaining prominence, interest in the field increased. [2]

The journal was established in 1997 by Seven Bridges Press, [3] [4] founded by Phillip Lucas and Catherine Wessinger. [2] The journal came out of the American Academy of Religion (AAR)'s NRM program unit. [5] The name was chosen to include both historical "new religions" and modern ones, given the controversial nature of naming in the field itself. [2] The team founding the journal believed that "it was not their place to judge whose religion is sane, good, or otherwise". [2] As of 2001 it was one of only two English-language academic journals dedicated to NRMs and cults (the other being the Cultic Studies Journal ). [6] Jolyon Baraka Thomas described it as the "flagship journal" of NRM studies. [3]

Topics covered in early issues included a debate on the concept of brainwashing between Benjamin Zablocki and David G. Bromley, coverage of the "Cult Wars" and academic neutrality, the relationship between violence and NRMs and law enforcement. [7] [5] It also provided an avenue for the publication of "case studies" on specific groups. [5] Later on it has featured "special issues" focusing on a single theme, including topics like archaeology, food, Marian apparitions, and the legacy of Jonestown as they related to NRMs; other issues include shorter "Perspective Essays" not always based on empirical research. [7] In the 2010s, its coverage began to cover more things outside the North American context. [7]

It was initially published semi-annually, changing to tri-annually in 2003, and then quarterly in 2005. It was initially owned by the co-general editors, before ownership was passed to the Association for the Academic Studies of New Religions. [2] As of 2002 (volume 6), it was published by the University of California Press. [8] In 2024 it moved to the University of Pennsylvania Press. [9] The journal is associated with the AAR Program Unit, which holds conferences; much of the journal's content is sourced from the unit's conference papers. [2]

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

Related Research Articles

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Brainwashing is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values, and beliefs.

A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from pre-existing denominations. Some NRMs deal with the challenges that the modernizing world poses to them by embracing individualism, while other NRMs deal with them by embracing tightly knit collective means. Scholars have estimated that NRMs number in the tens of thousands worldwide. Most NRMs only have a few members, some of them have thousands of members, and a few of them have more than a million members.

The Center for Studies on New Religions, otherwise abbreviated as CESNUR, is a nonprofit organization based in Turin, Italy that focuses on the academic study of new religious movements and opposes the anti-cult movement. It was established in 1988 by Massimo Introvigne, Jean-François Mayer, and Ernesto Zucchini.

Cult is a term often applied to new religious movements and other social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, and sometimes divergent or pejorative, definitions both in popular culture and academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.

The Dialog Center International (DCI) is a Christian counter-cult organization founded in 1973 by a Danish professor of missiology and ecumenical theology, Dr. Johannes Aagaard (1928–2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen A. Kent</span> Canadian sociologist of religion

Stephen A. Kent is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new religious movements (NRMs), and has published research on several such groups including the Children of God, the Church of Scientology, and other NRMs operating in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Zablocki</span> American sociologist (1941–2020)

Benjamin David Zablocki was an American professor of sociology at Rutgers University where he taught sociology of religion and social psychology. He published widely on the subject of charismatic religious movements, cults, and brainwashing.

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The academic study of new religious movements is known as new religions studies (NRS). The study draws from the disciplines of anthropology, psychiatry, history, psychology, sociology, religious studies, and theology. Eileen Barker noted that there are five sources of information on new religious movements (NRMs): the information provided by such groups themselves, that provided by ex-members as well as the friends and relatives of members, organizations that collect information on NRMs, the mainstream media, and academics studying such phenomena.

<i>Bounded Choice</i> 2004 book by Janja Lalich

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<i>Misunderstanding Cults</i> Book by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins

Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field is an edited volume discussing various topics related to cults, including the scholarly field itself, the concept of brainwashing, and the public perception of the groups. The book was edited by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins, and was published by University of Toronto Press on December 1, 2001. It includes contributions from 12 religious, sociological, and psychological scholars, in 14 essays.

Susan Jean Palmer is a Canadian sociologist of religion and author whose primary research interest is new religious movements. Formerly a professor of religious studies at Dawson College in Westmount, Quebec, she is currently an Affiliate Professor at Concordia University. She has authored and edited several books on NRMs.

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James Roger Lewis was an American philosophy professor at Wuhan University. He was a religious studies scholar, sociologist of religion, and writer, who specialized in the academic study of new religious movements, astrology, and New Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Anthony</span> American psychologist (1939–2022)

Dick Anthony was a forensic psychologist noted for his writings on the validity of brainwashing as a determiner of behavior, a prolific researcher of the social and psychological aspects of involvement in new religious movements.

<i>Sex, Slander, and Salvation</i> 1994 book by James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton

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Johannes Monrad Aagaard was a Danish theologian and evangelist. He was a professor of missiology at the University of Aarhus. He founded the Department of Missiology and Ecumenical Theology and the Center for New Religious Studies at the University of Aarhus. He was active in the Christian countercult movement as the founder of the Dialog Center International, an international educational organization concerned with groups it defines as cults and other new religious movements. He was a former president of the International Association for Mission Studies. He was a member of the Faith and Order Commission and was on the board of the Theological Educational Fund. He co-founded and chaired the Nordic Network for Missiology and Ecumenical Studies.

Suzanne Newcombe researches the modern history of yoga and new and minority religions. She states that she is particularly interested in "the interfaces between religion, health and healing." She is known in particular for her work on yoga for women and yoga in Britain.

The World Religions and Spirituality Project publishes academic profiles of new and established religious movements, archive material related to some groups, and articles that provide context for the profiles. It is referenced by scholars, journalists, and human rights groups to provide a scholarly representation of threatened communities.

<i>How the Millennium Comes Violently</i> 2000 book by Catherine Wessinger

How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven's Gate is a book about millennialist violence by Catherine Wessinger, published in 2000 by Seven Bridges Press. The book covers various millennialist new religious movements (NRMs) and their relation to violence, including the Peoples Temple, the Branch Davidians, Aum Shinrikyo, the Order of the Solar Temple, and Heaven's Gate, and attempts to set out a typology for dealing with millennial NRMs.

<i>Violence and New Religious Movements</i> 2011 book by James R. Lewis

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References

  1. ↑ "Submit". Nova Religio. University of California Press. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ochoa, Cristina (November 13, 2020). "Paying It Forward: The Interdisciplinary Mentorship Ethos of Nova Religio". American Theological Library Association . Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Thomas, Jolyon Baraka (March 25, 2019). Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan. University of Chicago Press. p. 235. ISBN   978-0-226-61882-1.
  4. ↑ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2016). 'Cult Wars' in Historical Perspective: New and Minority Religions. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN   978-1-317-15667-3.
  5. 1 2 3 Zeller, Benjamin E. (2016). "Writing and Researching on New Religious Movements: A View from the American Academy". In Gallagher, Eugene V. (ed.). 'Cult Wars' in Historical Perspective: New and Minority Religions. Routledge. pp. 58–59. ISBN   978-1-317-15667-3.
  6. ↑ Zablocki, Benjamin; Robbins, Thomas (2001). Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. University of Toronto Press. p. 515. ISBN   978-1-4875-9844-0.
  7. 1 2 3 Zeller, Benjamin E. (April 17, 2020). "New Religious Movements: A Bibliographic Introduction". Theological Librarianship. 13 (1): 38–49. doi: 10.31046/tl.v13i1.564 . ISSN   1937-8904.
  8. ↑ "Nova religio: NR: The journal of alternative and emergent religions". LC Catalog . Library of Congress.
  9. ↑ "Penn Press to become publisher of Nova Religio". University of Pennsylvania Press . August 9, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Master Journal List". Intellectual Property & Science. Clarivate Analytics . Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Title and Product Update Lists". ATLA Religion Database . American Theological Library Association . Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 "Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions". MIAR: Information Matrix for the Analysis of Journals. University of Barcelona . Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Source details: Nova Religio". Scopus Preview. Elsevier . Retrieved November 23, 2019.
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