DAVID G. BROMLEY is Professor of Sociology and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the past editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Among his recent books are The Satanism Scare (1991), edited with James Richardson and Joel Best, Handbook on Cults and Sects in America (1993), edited with Jeffrey K. Hadden, and Anticult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective (1994), edited with Anson Shupe.

• IntroductionSociological Perspectives on Apostasy: An Overview by David G. BromleyA Comparative Approach to Organizational ExitThe Social Construction of Contested Exit Roles: Defectors, Whistleblowers, and Apostates by David G. BromleyThe Apostate Role and CareerIn Defense of Self: Apostasy as Spoiled Identity by Armand L. MaussThe Politics of Marginal Heresy by Eileen BarkerExploring the Varieties of Apostate Roles by Stuart A. WrightApostates Who Never Were: The Social Construction of Absque Facto Apostate Narratives by Daniel Carson JohnsonThe Organizational Context of ApostasyApostasy, Apocalypse, and Religious Violence: An Exploratory Comparison of Peoples Temple, the Branch Davidians, and the Solar Temple by John R. Hall and Philip SchuylerApostates, Defectors, Law and Social Control by James T. RichardsonApostates and Their Role in the Construction of Grievance Claims Against the Northeast Kingdom/Messianic Communities by Susan J. PalmerThe Changing Apostate Role in the Evolution of the North American Anti-cult Movement by Anson ShupeMethodological Issues in the Study of ApostasyCarriers of Tales: On Assessing Credibility of Apostate and Other Outsider Accounts of Religious Practices by Lewis F. Carter