This book is neither a history nor a survey but a comparative phenomenology, concentrating on five major cults.

It explores: -- the importance and relevance of new religions -- the interaction between new religions and the economy, the law, the media, mental health, traditional religion, and the role of women -- case studies of new religions in Italy ...

This is a source of reliable information on the most important new and alternative religions covering history, theology, impact on the culture, and current status. It includes a chapter on the Branch Davidians.

Who is Kalki, and why is he planning to destroy the world -- and everything in it? And if Kalki is a mystical legend, then why does his ultimate world include only a select few chosen to breed a new human race?

Maintains that the failure of political activism led many former radicals to become involved in such groups as the Hare Krishnas, Scientology, Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, the Jesus movement, and the Children of God, and argues that ...