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You are here: Home / Findings & Footnotes / July/August 1997

Findings & Footnotes: July/August 1997

July 1, 1997 by Richard Cimino

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01: Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism (Oxford, $27.50) by Michael W. Cuneo, provides an intereresting  look at the subcultures of the Catholic right.

Cuneo, a Fordham University sociologist,  examines such movements as conservative Catholicism; prolife activism; traditionalism (which emphasizes a return to pre-Vatican II Catholicism); and radical Marian-apocalyptic  movements, such as the one gathered  around Veronica Lueken in Queens, N.Y., and  the Apostles of Infinite Love, a Canadian group that claims the true papacy.

Through interviews and vivid descriptions,  Cuneo puts flesh and bones on these renegade priests and others rebelling against the modern church, as well as showing how  they are influenced by the individualism and utopianism of American religion.  (It should be noted that  RW‘s editor helped in researching the book).

02: Anyone interested in a relatively brief but thorough and clear discussion of new religious movements is advised to read New Religions as Global Cultures (Westview Press, $18.95) by Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe.

The authors  look at new religions in the perspective of the world religions,  tracking how popular Western movements,  such as the charismatic momenta and Unificationism, were shaped by traditional religious insights and practices. In other words, the controversial features of many new religions, such as radical conversion experiences, are also found in primitive and other forms of religion around the world.

The book, which carries a helpful glossary of terms,  presents a critical look at the anti-cult movement while also examining the abusive elements of some new religious movements.

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Filed Under: Findings & Footnotes

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  • Indigenous fold religion finds public and government support
  • On/File: July/August 1997
  • Hong Kong Christians cautious on China rule
  • Current Research: July/August 1997
  • Growing momentum in healing Pentecostal rift
  • Devotional promoting generic spirituality, healing still going strong
  • American Muslims create own business network
  • Sufism reconciling with Islam after long divorce
  • Catholic growth found in conservative or liberal dioceses?
  • Darwinism comes under increasing attack from religious and secular critics
  • Supreme court decisions open new era in church-state relations
  • Money matters stymie clergy and laity

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