Karla Poewe

In the face of the popular crusade to link new religious movements to dangerous cults, brainwashing, and the need for deprogramming, Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe argue that many cults are in fact the product of dynamic interaction between folk religions and the teachings of traditional world religions. With the widespread loss of belief in biblica

A tragi-comic journey of fieldwork rooted in Sartre's existential philosophy in which the person of the researcher - by which is meant her past, her body, her emotional repertoire, as well as the priorities of reason and common sense - plays the main role in organizing and executing the research process. The book sits on ego-documents, like letters, diary entries, and notes of casual conversations in which the curiosity, temperament, and thought of the people harmonize or clash freely with that of the researcher. Rather than cutting us off from understanding what is strange and past, this bias is a window that initially opens it up to us, making visible the fascinating Christian, Political Party, and Kinship dynamic. The last chapter returns the reader to the ancient notion that rhetoric imitates life and nature, because nature has assigned to every emotion a look, tone of voice, and bearing of its own. It thereby invites readers to free themselves from the ideological lock-in of postmodern discursivity and, like the ethnographer, heed happenings while doing research.

Although the Great Anti-Cult Crusade links new religious movements to dangerous cults, brainwashing, and the need for deprogramming, Karla Poewe and Irving Hexham argue that many cults are the product of a dynamic interaction between folk religions and the teachings of traditional world religions. Drawing on examples from Africa, the United States, Asia, and Europe, they suggest that few new religions are really new. Most draw on rich, if localized, cultural traditions that are shaped anew by the influence of technological change and international linkages. With the widespread loss of belief in biblical mythology in the nineteenth century, new mythologies based on science and elements derived from various non-Western religious traditions emerged, leading to the growth and popularity of new religions and cults.

The charismatic movement that began in the first century currently spans the globe. The term ""charismatic"" refers to the ""gifts of the Holy Spirit""—speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy, and discernment—said to be available to Christians who have surrendered their lives to Christ. Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture takes readers on a journey to discover the history of the movement and the reasons why more and more Christians are finding the charismatic experience so meaningful. Leading scholars in the fields of religion and anthropology discuss the thought patterns and religious traditions of charismatics throughout the world. By examining believers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe, the contributors provide a comprehensive overview of a charismatic tapestry that appears to transcend national, ethnic, racial, and class boundaries. In her introduction, Karla Poewe describes how believers attempt to integrate mind, body, and spirit, thereby providing for a more holistic religious experience. Poewe points out that charismatic Christianity and Pentecostalism have suffered from academic biases in the past; this book is one of the first to place the charismatic experience in an academic framework.