The Sociology of Religious Movements

While the world seems to be undergoing a process of secularization, the countervailing force of religious intensification is occurring simultaneously. We are not at all facing the end of religion, but as denominations that have become too worldly are replaced by more spiritually rich denominations, we see a growth in religious revivals and innovations like televangelism and megachurches.

The Sociology of Religious Movements is the culmination of work begun in The Future of Religion (the 1986 award winner of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion) and A Theory of Religion (1993 award winner of the Pacific Sociological Association). Explaining religious schism, innovation, and conversion to show how religion and society transform each other, this book explores such movements as: Holiness, Adventism, religious communes, Children of God, Satanism, New York City Mission Society, New Age, Asian imports, and democratization.