Exploring New Religions. . - book review

Sociology of Religion, Spring, 2002 by Michelle Spencer-Arsenault

Exploring New Religions, by GEORGE D. CHRYSSIDES. London: Continuum Publications, 1999, 405pp. $82.95 (cloth), $24.95 (paper).

In its introduction, Chryssides' book promises to examine a number of new religious movements (NRM's), focusing on their origins, beliefs and practices, and outlining them for his readers in an impartial and empathic way. To this end, Chryssides is true to his word.

Exploring New Religions offers scholars of religion a fairly comprehensive glimpse into a wide variety of new religious movements. Covered in this book are the more "popular" or recognizable groups such as People's Temple, Heaven's Gate, TM, The Family, the Unification Church, ISKCON, Osho, Soka Gakkai and Wicca, amongst numerous others. However, also included are other, perhaps more obscure groups such as Subud and Brahma Kumaris. The result is an eclectic collection which offers an analysis that highlights the diversity of NRM's in a climate which often tends to lump them together as if they are all similar.

The book offers to students and teachers alike a broad introduction to a wide variety of NRM's at your fingertips in one book. The sheer breadth of the book, however, is both its strength and weakness. While covering a plethora of new religious movements is important in highlighting the diversity that exists amongst NRM's, it also means that the treatment of each group is forcibly limited by the fact that there is so much to cover. The student wishing to learn more about Wicca, for example, will find a solid introduction to the basics but will undoubtedly be left wanting for more.

It was here that I did tend to question Chryssides' decision to cover what he admits are less well-known groups such as Subud or Brahma Kumaris. Early in the book, he indicates that his choices were meant to offer "representative samples of each particular genre which each chapter addresses." (p. 2) By his own admission, Chryssides acknowledges that his choice inevitably lead to "some groups being mentioned in passing and in some cases not at all." (p. 2) Still, at times the trade-off was a questionable one, at least for me. I recognized that it was likely his intention to offer something unique, in the form of a discussion of an expansive list of new religious movements. However, I wondered if in lieu of this it might have been more beneficial to provide a detailed analysis of fewer NRM's. Certainly, the discussion of each group is limited given the choice to include so many.

To his credit, Chryssides does a good job of organizing the book in a manner that is helpful in the sense that each chapter is organized according to an overall theme. This organization will be particularly useful for students new to the study of NRM's, helping them to identify a theme amongst seemingly vastly disparate groups, separating them out according to themes such as older new religions, new Christian movements, new religions in the Hindu tradition, etc. Each of these chapters helps the reader to identify, at the outset, a common thread according to which the NRM's discussed within the chapter can be understood.

Another very brief note about the organization of the book is worth mentioning. While some chapters end with concluding remarks, others do not. Though this would have been helpful in terms of continuity in the organization of the book, it is probably more important to note that a brief section discussing and highlighting the important points made throughout the chapter is often very helpful to readers. As I read through the chapter on New Age, Witchcraft and Paganism, and more specifically the last section on Wicca, I was amazed to turn the page and discover that the chapter was done. A concluding remarks section here, for example, would have been useful in order to bring the chapter to a close.

The concluding chapter is a very informative one, which outlines for its readers a number of anti-cult organizations, helping us better understand the cultural milieu to which new religious movements have become acclimated. In spite of the wealth of information here, the book might have been enhanced by dedicating an additional chapter to a discussion of "NRM's -- where now?" which Chryssides outlines in only a very short section at the end of the anti-cult chapter. There is room here for a more in-depth discussion of the study of NRM's, both in terms of where we have been as well as where our current knowledge might lead us. Such a discussion might also address the issue of how this particular work fits into and contributes to the burgeoning literature on new religious movements.

Nevertheless, Chryssides' book is one that is unparalleled, as far as I know, for its coverage of such a wide variety of NRM's As such, it will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable reference tool for those interested in new religious movements.