Massimo Introvigne - Böcker

Branded as "the new Falun Gong" by local authorities, The Church of Almighty God is the most persecuted religious movement in China today. Thousands of police officers are deployed full time to identify and arrest its members. Hundreds of thousands of its devotees are in jail. Authorities claim, perhaps hyperbolically, that it has some four million members and accuse the group of serious crimes. Yet, the movement continues to grow.In this ground-breaking study, Massimo Introvigne offers an inside look at this once-elusive movement, sharing interviews with hundreds of members and the Chinese police officers who hunt them down. The story of The Church of Almighty God is one of rapid growth, dramatic persecution, and the struggle of believers to seek asylum in countries around the world. In his telling of the story, Introvigne reconstructs the Church's idiosyncratic theology, centered in the belief that Jesus Christ has returned in our time in the shape of a Chinese woman, worshipped as Almighty God, to eradicate the sinful nature of humans, and that we have entered the third and final time period in the history of humanity: the Age of Kingdom. A major book from one of the world's leading scholars of new religious movements, Inside The Church of Almighty God is a critical addition to the scholarship of Chinese religion.

Plymouth Brethren offers the first scholarly treatment of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), one of the largest denominations within the Brethren movement that originated with John Nelson Darby and a 19th-century revival in the British Isles. The Brethren believed in restoring the purity of primitive Christianity. While some saw this dream in ecumenical terms, those who would eventually be called Exclusive Brethren came to believe that true Christians should separate themselves from the corruption of existing denominations, and break bread in their assemblies only with those sharing their interpretation of the Bible. This book, based on both historical research and participant observation of contemporary communities, focuses on a case study of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, one of the largest groups of the Exclusive Brethren. Massimo Introvigne discusses their beliefs, daily life, international school system, and charitable activities. The book also examines the controversies surrounding their practice of strict separation from those who are not part of their community, and the accusations of cult-like behavior brought against the Brethren by the media and some former members.

The events of January 6, 2021 gave new currency to the idea of brainwashing. Some claimed that Trump's followers had been brainwashed, while others insisted that a 'deep state' had brainwashed most Americans into accepting a rigged election. Scholars who explain that brainwashing theories have long been rejected by most academics and courts of law find it difficult to be heard. Brainwashing nevertheless remains a convenient explanation of how seemingly normal citizens convert to unusual religious or political ideologies. This Element traces its origins to the idea that conversion to deviant beliefs is due to black magic. A more scientific hypnosis later replaced magic and the Cold War introduced the supposedly infallible technique of brainwashing. From the 1960s, new religious movements, more commonly called cults, were accused of using brainwashing. Most scholars of religion reject the theory as pseudoscience, but the controversy continues to this day.

Africa hosts thousands of new religious organizations, yet those that have attracted academic attention are mainly derived from Christianity. Less studied is the phenomenon of African Indigenous Spirituality (AIS), including new groups whose program is restoring forms of pre-Christian and pre-Islamic spirituality. After a general introduction to AIS and some historical and contemporary examples, this Element presents an ethnography of what may well be the largest pan-African AIS group, The Revelation Spiritual Home (TRSH). Founded in Johannesburg by Samuel Radebe in 2009, it now has more than seventy branches in southern Africa. Based on fieldwork in TRSH centers and interviews with both Radebe and other leaders and members, as well as with participants in other AIS activities and groups, this Element examines the history, ideas, rituals, and business and educational activities of TRSH, and discusses the reasons for both its success and the opposition it has encountered.

Africa hosts thousands of new religious organizations, yet those that have attracted academic attention are mainly derived from Christianity. Less studied is the phenomenon of African Indigenous Spirituality (AIS), including new groups whose program is restoring forms of pre-Christian and pre-Islamic spirituality. After a general introduction to AIS and some historical and contemporary examples, this Element presents an ethnography of what may well be the largest pan-African AIS group, The Revelation Spiritual Home (TRSH). Founded in Johannesburg by Samuel Radebe in 2009, it now has more than seventy branches in southern Africa. Based on fieldwork in TRSH centers and interviews with both Radebe and other leaders and members, as well as with participants in other AIS activities and groups, this Element examines the history, ideas, rituals, and business and educational activities of TRSH, and discusses the reasons for both its success and the opposition it has encountered.