The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements , edited by David G. Bromley

David G. Bromley

David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. He has written extensively about "cults", new religious movements, apostasy, and the anti-cult movement.- Education and career :Bromley received his...

, presents studies by several sociologists of new religious movements on the role played by apostates

Apostasy

Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...

 (described as individuals that leave new religious movements to pursue opposition against their former group.) The volume examines the apostate's testimonies, their motivations, the narratives they construct to discredit their former movements, and their impact on the public controversy between such movements and society.

Contents

Introduction

• Sociological Perspectives on Apostasy: An Overview by David G. Bromley
  David G. Bromley
  David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. He has written extensively about "cults", new religious movements, apostasy, and the anti-cult movement.- Education and career :Bromley received his...
  
  
• A Comparative Approach to Organizational Exit
• The Social Construction of Contested Exit Roles: Defectors, Whistleblowers, and Apostates, by David G. Bromley

The Apostate Role and Career

• In Defense of Self: Apostasy as Spoiled Identity, by Armand L. Mauss
• The Politics of Marginal Heresy, by Eileen Barker
  Eileen Barker
  Eileen Vartan Barker OBE, born in Edinburgh, UK, is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics , and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights...
  
  
• Exploring the Varieties of Apostate Roles, by Stuart A. Wright
  Stuart A. Wright
  Stuart A. Wright is Professor of Sociology and Director of Research in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Lamar University with primary research interests in religious and political movements, sectarian conflict, violence and terrorism...
  
  
• Apostates Who Never Were: The Social Construction of Absque Facto Apostate Narratives, by Daniel Carson Johnson

The Organizational Context of Apostasy

• Apostasy, Apocalypse, and Religious Violence: An Exploratory Comparison of Peoples Temple, the Branch Davidians, and the Solar Temple, by John R. Hall and Philip Schuyler
  Philip Schuyler
  Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
  
  
• Apostates, Defectors, Law and Social Control, by James T. Richardson
• Apostates and Their Role in the Construction of Grievance Claims Against the Northeast Kingdom/Messianic Communities, by Susan J. Palmer
  Susan J. Palmer
  Susan Jean Palmer is a Canadian sociologist and author with a primary research interest new religious movements. She is a professor of Religious Studies at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at Concordia University, teaching sociology of religion courses.-Biography:Palmer...
  
  
• The Changing Apostate Role in the Evolution of the North American Anti-cult Movement, by Anson Shupe
  Anson Shupe
  Anson D. Shupe is an American sociologist noted for his studies of religious groups and their countermovements, family violence and clergy misconduct.-Work:...
  
  

Methodological Issues in the Study of Apostasy

• Carriers of Tales: On Assessing Credibility of Apostate and Other Outsider Accounts of Religious Practices, by Lewis F. Carter

Reception

The Social Science Journal refers to the book as a "superb effort to examine in depth the complexity and significance of the apostate role, and to illuminate the processes through which subversive evil is socially constructed. Taken together, the authors contribute a diverse array of theory, data and substantive insights that add to our knowledge of the inner-workings of new religious movements. I recommend this book for classes in organizations, sociology of religion, psychology of religion, group dynamics and related subjectss"

The book was reviewed in the American Journal of Sociology

American Journal of Sociology

The American Journal of Sociology was established in 1895 by Albion Small and is the oldest academic journal of sociology in the United States. The journal is attached to the University of Chicago's sociology department and it is published bimonthly by The University of Chicago Press. Its...

, that found this work to be a "remarkably unified collection of high-quality essays by many leading sociologists of new religious movements."

Michael Langone

Michael Langone

Michael D. Langone, is an American counseling psychologist who specialises in research about "cultic groups" and alleged psychological manipulation. He is executive director of the International Cultic Studies Association, editor of the journal Cultic Studies Review.Langone is author and co-author...

argues that some will accept uncritically the positive reports of current members without calling such reports, for example, "benevolence tales" or "personal growth tales". He asserts that only the critical reports of ex-members are called "tales", which he considers to be a term that clearly implies falsehood or fiction. He states that it wasn't until 1996 that a researcher conducted a study to assess the extent to which so called "atrocity tales" might be based on fact.