COMMENT:Defending a version of the thesis that the industrial Western world has increasingly secularized over time, Bruce shows how religious institutions evolved from churches dominating societies to denominations, and today are becoming even more individualistic and cultish. Our new religions and religious styles, even within long-established religions, are more newagey in character. Especially in Europe, cultish paranormal belief is likely to surge, while the US looks more conventionally religious because religion still serves to anchor ethnic identity. A valuable book for understanding the social context of New Age beliefs.
DATE:19990629
KEYWORDS:newage:sociology religion:sociology
MISC:272p.
PUBLISHER:Oxford University Press
SUBMITADDR:bibliographer@csicop.org
SUBMITNAME:Taner Edis
TITLE:Religion In The Modern World: From Cathedrals to Cults
