Richard A. Landes – Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements

Автор: Richard A. Landes
Название книги: Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Политология и Социология
Страницы: 864
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

The Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements is a guide to the religious
or spiritual social movements throughout history and around the world that have
promised to create a better world or usher in a new one. These movements are given
many names: crisis cults, nativistic movements, messianic cults, cargo cults, chiliastic
movements, revitalization movements, utopian movements, apocalyptic movements, and
millennial movements. All share a number of common features. They are collective
movements, drawing people together in a common belief and often a common cause.
They depend on what are known as millennial or millenarian beliefs—the idea that the
world can, and will, be transformed or improved or saved. They look to the supernatural
or spiritual world—whether to a god or to aliens from another galaxy—for assistance and
guidance.
Throughout history and across cultures millennial movements have been a common
form of social protest and a mechanism for seeking societal change. In fact, all of the
major world religions, with the exception of Hinduism, began as millennial movements.
And even when they are small—like the Ghost Dance or the Branch Davidians—
millennial movements often draw considerable attention from society in general. Such
movements often draw much attention because they are perceived by those in power to be
a threat to the existing social and political order. In part motivated by such perceptions,
the United States government sent more than half of its cavalry forces in pursuit of a few
thousand Plains Indian Ghost Dancers in 1890; similarly, heavily armed federal agents
attacked the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas in 1993.
Many millennial movements have, naturally enough, been triggered by calendar dates
considered of spiritual or magical significance. The concept of the millennium has long
fascinated people in the Christian world. But a millennial time or moment can be
determined by non-European calendars, by signs in the stars or in nature, by numerology,
or by particular events that a group considers to be millennial. The explosion at the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in 1986, for example, is considered
by some a millennial event.
The desire for magical transformation–of individual lives, of communities and groups,
of entire societies, or of the whole world—is not new. Nor is it fading in this age of
technological and scientific advance. Even as technology influences every aspect of our
lives, and science explains and alters human genes and human behavior, technology and
science inspire new anxieties and fears. Social change–such as women and minority
groups achieving greater rights and more significant roles in private and public life—can
lead to millennialism in others threatened by these changes. Readers who seek a general
introduction to millennialism and millennial movements should consult the article
“Millennialism in the Western World,” which provides a broad overview of the rise,
spread, and various manifestations of millennialism. The encyclopedia is historical, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary, covering
movements in the Western World and also in Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and among
native North and South Americans. It draws upon the work of anthropologists, historians,
sociologists, political scientists, religious scholars, and others who study millennial
movements. Millennial studies is still a young field. First launched by the anthropologists
who studied cargo cults in the post-World War II period, developed by medievalists like
Norman Cohn and Marjorie Reeves, and theoretically refined by sociologists like Leon
Festinger, it has, in the past generation, become an international field of research.
Because of the unusual dynamics of millennial manifestations—the brief intensity, the
seemingly irrational passions, the range of responses to apocalyptic disappointment—the
study of them often demands counterintuitive thinking and calls for a multidisciplinary
approach that engages a wide range of fields and specialties. At the approach of the third
millennium, however, the field is popular not only among scholars, but also among
policymakers.
The Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements covers dozens of
movements, including many associated with Christianity and the Western World as well
with other world religions including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism,
Baha’i, Mormonism, and Zoroastrianism. It also gives much attention to non-Western
movements including those among indigenous peoples in the Americas, the cargo cults of
Melanesia, and indigenous churches in sub-Saharan Africa. Although much attention is
given to the history of millennialism, equal attention is given to movements in the
modern world, including Seventh-Day Adventism, Christian Identity, Heaven’s Gate,
Peoples Temple, Davidians, numerous UFO cults, and millennial thinking connected with
the technological threat known as Year 2000, the Millennial Bug, or Y2K.
In addition to descriptions of specific movements, there are also articles covering the
concepts and theories that guide the scholarly study of millenarianism, such as utopia,
cult, and end signs; articles on general topics such as charismatic leadership, the role of
women, and markers of millennial moments; and articles on relevant theological topics
such as dispensationalism, premillennialism, and defilement. By including articles on this
broad range of topics we have tried to provide a full summary of the state of our
knowledge of millennialism at the year 2000 and to enhance the reader’s understanding
of the interaction of religion and society. While most of the articles were written prior to
the beginning of the year 2000, articles have been updated and the article “Year 2000
Celebrations” was added after the beginning of the year 2000 to make the volume as up
to date as possible.
There are many people to acknowledge and thank for their contributions to this
encyclopedia. The volume as well as the Religion and Society series were developed by
David Levinson and Karen Christensen of Berkshire Reference Works and then refined
through consultation with Routledge. The key event in the development of this work was
the Conference on “Knowing of a Time, Knowing the Time,” convened by the Center for
Millennial Studies (CMS) at Boston University in December 1998. At that conference the
plans for the encyclopedia were publicly announced for the first time, and scholars were
first asked to participate. And participate they did. Several dozen people at the conference
met with us to revise the preliminary headword list, suggest scholars to write the articles,
and many volunteered or agreed to write and review articles. And after the conference, as
word of the project spread, other scholars came on board with more suggestions and a willingness to participate themselves. While these people are listed here as authors of
articles, we also want to acknowledge their other contributions in helping the project
develop and move along to completion. In this regard, deserving of special thanks are
Michael Barkun, Chip Berlet, Gene Gallagher, Tom Long, Cathy Wessinger, and Robert
Whalen.
Also deserving of special acknowledgment and thanks are those at the Center for
Millennial Studies and Berkshire Reference Works who brought this volume to fruition.
At BRW the project was ably managed by Ben Manning, and at CMS David Kessler and
Beth Forrest were especially helpful with promoting the project in its early stages and in
getting various ends wrapped up at the conclusion of the project. We also want to thank
Kevin Ohe at Routledge for his support and help in developing the project and in
bringing it to fruition.
Richard A.Landes and David Levinson