Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of NoahThe burning in Waco of the Branch Davidian compound and the Oklahoma City bombing have heightened fear of American extremist groups. Jeffrey Kaplan combines interviews, correspondence, and publications not hitherto accessible to examine the cultic milieu in which these religious movements exist. Kaplan discusses several radical belief systems, but concentrates on three of the more prominent groups. They include the Christian Identity, whose members believe they are the true Aryan descendants of Israeli biblical tribes; Odinism and the related Asatru movement, which attempts to reconstruct the practices of Norse-Germanic paganism; and B'bai Noah, the anti-Christian movement in favor of God's covenant with Noah. To explain the existence and durability of religious cults, he applies the philosophy of Colin Campbell. From Martin Marty, he employs the mapping theory to place the movements in the sphere of American spirituality. His work details how the groups interact, the internal organizational friction, and how the private anti-cult groups—the Anti-Defamation League, Klanwatch, and Cult Awareness Network—monitor the activity of the movements. He argues that right-wing violence is primarily an impulsive act carried out by part-time revolutionaries against convenient targets or against that which represents change in the status quo. Thought provoking in his analysis, Kaplan lays bare the issues for current debate—how sectarian organizations, far outside the mainstream of American religious life, pose a significant challenge to prevailing conceptions of the First Amendment. He questions the extent to which even the most antagonistic and despised groups can carry out fanatical actions and still benefit from such protection. |
Contents
The American Millennial Community | 1 |
Christian Identity | 47 |
Odinism and Ásatrú | 69 |
The Bnai Noah | 100 |
The AntiCult MovementWatchdog Groups | 127 |
A Confederacy of Seekers? | 164 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Althing American anti-cult movement Anti-Defamation League anti-Semitic apocalyptic Aryan Nations Ásatrú Alliance Ásatrú community Ásatrúers B'nai Noah Bainbridge belief system Ben Klassen British Israelism Center Chisholm Christian Identity Church of Israel contemporary COTC covenant cult cultic milieu culture doctrine Edred Thorsson faith Gamlinginn Gayman gentile Gerald L. K. Smith gods groups Gundarsson hermeneutics idem Identity Christians Identity movement idolatry interview with author James Jesus Jewish Jews Judaism Kindred Klan Klanwatch Klassen KveldúlfR leader letter magical McNallen messianic metagenetic Mike Murray millenarian Mountain Thunder National Socialism National Socialist Nazi neopagan newsletter Noahide code Noahide laws Noahide movement occult Odinism Odinist organization pagan Pastor political Press primary prison Rabbi racial racialist racist religion Religious Movements revolutionary Ring of Troth runes Satanism spiritual Stephen McNallen Talmud telephone conversation Temple of Set theology tion tradition Trú Univ violence watchdog white race white supremacist Wotan York