Overview

Conspiracy theories are a ubiquitous feature of our times. The Handbook of Conspiracy Theories and Contemporary Religion is the first reference work to offer a comprehensive, transnational overview of this phenomenon along with in-depth discussions of how conspiracy theories relate to religion(s). Bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and philosophy to political science and the history of religions, the book sets the standard for the interdisciplinary study of religion and conspiracy theories.

Full Product Details

Author:   Asbjørn Dyrendal ,  David G. Robertson ,  Egil Asprem
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   17
Weight:   1.018kg
ISBN:  

9789004381506

ISBN 10:   9004381503
Pages:   558
Publication Date:   01 November 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

Foreword  Michael Barkun List of Authors Introducing the Field: Conspiracy Theory in, about, and as Religion  David G. Robertson, Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal Part 1: Explanations 1 Conspiracy Theories and the Study of Religion\s: What we are Talking about, and Why it is Important  Asbjørn Dyrendal, Egil Asprem and David G. Robertson 2 Rational Enchantments: Conspiracy Theory between Secular Scepticism and Spiritual Salvation  Stef Aupers and Jaron Harambam 3 Is a Belief in Providence the Same as a Belief in Conspiracy?  Brian L. Keeley 4 Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God?  Michael Wood and Karen Douglas 5 A Web of Conspiracy? Internet and Conspiracy Theory  Joseph E. Uscinski, Darin DeWitt and Matthew D. Atkinson Part 2: Correspondences 6 The Satanism Scare in Apartheid South Africa  Nicky Falkof 7 “Trust Me, You Can’t Trust Them”: Stigmatised Knowledge in Cults and Conspiracies  Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist and Suzanne Newcombe 8 Popular Music, Conspiracy Culture, and the Sacred  Christopher Partridge 9 Close Companions? Esotericism and Conspiracy Theories  Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal 10 The Counter-Elite: Strategies of Authority in Millennial Conspiracism  David G. Robertson Part 3: Locations 11 Buddhism Endangered by Hidden Enemies: Conspiracy Narratives in Sri Lankan Buddhist Present and Past  Sven Bretfeld 12 Buddhist Islamophobia: Actors, Tropes, Contexts  Iselin Frydenlund 13 Islamism and the Instrumentalisation of Conspiracism  Willow J. Berridge 14 Anti-Jewish and Anti-Zionist Conspiracism in the Arab World: Historical and Political Roots  Barbara De Poli 15 A Fantastic People and Its Enemies: An Analysis of an Emerging Albanian Mythology  Cecilie Endresen 16 Was Aristotle an Anti-Semitic Alien? Conspiracy Theory, Ufology, and the Colonisation of the Past in Contemporary Greece  Tao T. Makeeff 17 The Role of Conspiracy Theory in the Aum Shinrikyo Incident  Tsuji Ryutaro 18 Framing of a Conspiracy Theory: The Efendi Series  Turkay Nefes 19 The Third Rome Against the Third Temple: Apocalypticism and Conspiracism in Post-Soviet Russia  Michael Hagemeister 20 Alexander Dugin: Between Eschatology, Esotericism, and Conspiracy Theory  Victor Shnirelman 21 Conspiracy Theories and Neo-Nazism in the Cultic Milieu  Paul Jackson 22 Evil Cult or Persecuted Minority? Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Falun Gong and the Government of the People’s Republic of China  Helen Farley 23 The Messiah is a Salesman, Yet Consumerism is a Con(spiracy): The Church of the SubGenius, Work, and the Pursuit of Slack as a Spiritual Ideal  Carole M. Cusack Afterword: Further Reflections, Future Directions  Egil Asprem, David G. Robertson and Asbjørn Dyrendal Index

Reviews

No one before has undertaken the tremendously important and timely task of compiling a volume, dealing with the relationship between conspiracy theories and religion (...) The book not only examines the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories, but also provides a survey about the global phenomenon of conspiracy theories by discussing examples in different times and cultural environments. - Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018.

No one before has undertaken the tremendously important and timely task of compiling a volume, dealing with the relationship between conspiracy theories and religion (...) The book not only examines the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories, but also provides a survey about the global phenomenon of conspiracy theories by discussing examples in different times and cultural environments. - Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018. As I read the chapters in this volume, I thought about how I might use this material in a course on conspiracy theories and religions. (...) I highly recommend this book for college or university libraries. - W. Michael Ashcraft, Truman State University, Reading Religion, September 15, 2020.

"""No one before has undertaken the tremendously important and timely task of compiling a volume, dealing with the relationship between conspiracy theories and religion (...) The book not only examines the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories, but also provides a survey about the global phenomenon of conspiracy theories by discussing examples in different times and cultural environments."" - Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018. "" As I read the chapters in this volume, I thought about how I might use this material in a course on conspiracy theories and religions. (...) I highly recommend this book for college or university libraries."" - W. Michael Ashcraft, Truman State University, Reading Religion, September 15, 2020."

Author Information

"Asbjørn Dyrendal (b.1965), PhD., is Professor in the History of Religion at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He has published widely on conspiracy beliefs and new religious movements, including the recently co-authored The Invention of Satanism (Oxford UP, 2016). David G. Robertson (b. 1975), PhD., is Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and co-founder of the Religious Studies Project. His work applies critical theory to the study of alternative and emerging religions, and to ""conspiracy theory"" narratives. He is the author of UFOs, the New Age and Conspiracy Theories: Millennial Conspiracism (Bloomsbury 2016) and co-editor of After World Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies (Equinox 2016). Egil Asprem (b. 1984) , PhD., is Associate Professor in the History of Religion at Stockholm University, Sweden. He has published extensively on Western esotericism, occultism, and magic, including the monographs Arguing with Angels: Enochian Magic and Modern Occulture (SUNY, 2012) and The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900–1939 (Brill, 2014). Contributors are: Asprem, Egil; Atkinson, Matthew D.; Aupers, Stef; Berridge, Willow; Bretfeld, Sven; Cusack, Carole M.; DeWitt, Darin; Douglas, Karen M.; Dyrendal, Asbjørn; van Eck Duymaer van Twist, Amanda; Endresen, Cecilie; Falkof, Nicky; Farley, Helen; Frydenlund, Iselin; Hagemeister, Michael; Harambam, Jaron; Jackson, Paul; Keeley, Brian L.; Makeeff, Tao Thukier; Nefes, Türkay Salim; Newcombe, Suzanne; Partridge, Christopher; Poli, Barbara De; Robertson, David G.; Shnirelman, Victor A.; Ryutaro, Tsuji; Uscinski, Joseph E.; Wood, Michael J."

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions