Religion21

Publications

Forthcoming --

Religion in the 21st Century

For a full list of publications,
please click here.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Foreword, Eileen Barker
Introduction, George D. Chryssides and Benjamin E. Zeller

Part I: Methods and Theoretical Issues
1.Fieldwork in New Religious Movements, George D. Chryssides and Stephen E. Gregg
2.Insider/Outsider Issues, George D. Chryssides
3.Material Culture, Amy R. Whitehead
4.Media Studies, Aled Thomas
5.Vernacular/Lived Religion, Marion Bowman

Part II: Traditions and Regions
6.Old New Religions, Jeremy Rapport
7.Pagan Movements, Ethan Doyle White
8.New Age, Benjamin E. Zeller
9.UFO Religions, Christopher Partridge
10.Esotericism, Manon Hedenborg White
11.Invented Religions, Carole Cusack
12.Digital New Religious Movements, Adam Possamai and Alphia Possamai-Inesedy
13.African New Religious Movements, Afe Adogame
14.Korean New Religious Movements, Lucas K. Pokorny
15.Japanese New Religious Movements, Yuri Inose
16.New Religious Movements in China and Taiwan, Fiona Hsin-Fang Chang
17.Islamic New Religious Movements, Fathie Ali Abdat
18.South American New Religious Movements, Bettina E. Schmidt

Part III: Themes and Topics
19.Westernization, George D. Chryssides
20.Conversion and Brainwashing: Controversies and Contrasts, James T. Richardson,
21.Charisma and Leadership, David G. Bromley,
22.Changing Perspective on Jonestown and the Peoples Temple, Rebecca Moore
23.Prophecy, Jon R. Stone
24.Millennialism, Catherine Wessinger
25.Violence, James R. Lewis† and Benjamin E. Zeller
26.Opposition to New Religious Movements, George D. Chryssides
and Benjamin E. Zeller
27.Law and New Religious Movements, Anthony Bradney
28.Science, Stefano Bigliardi, Adam Chin, and Benjamin E. Zeller
29.Race, Ethnicity, and the Study of New Religions, Marie W. Dallam
30.Gender and Sexuality, Milda Ališauskiene and Morta Vidunaite
31.Children and Generational Issues, Sanja Nilsson
32.Healing, Holly Folk
33.New Religious Belief and Psychoactive Substances, Christopher Partridge

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Introduction, George D. Chryssides and Edward Graham-Hyde

1. Origins and history; structure and organisation
2. Adventist influences on Russell: William Miller and Second Adventism
          Jeff Mezera
3. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Historical Perspective.   [tbc]
4. Early African-American converts.   J. Gordon Melton
5. Studying JWs: Fieldwork among Jehovah’s Witnesses.   Joseph Webster
6. The Bible - New World Translation. Kevin Van Alstin
7. Distinctive doctrines. George D. Chryssides
8. Biblical chronology and history / Prophecy.   Mathew Schmalz
9. “Publishing” - evangelism.   Danny Cardoza
10. Children and education.   Sanja Nilsson
11. Popular / folk beliefs.   Bernard Doherty
12. Worship and music.   Miquel Angel Plaza
13. The role of women.   Margaret Wilkins
14. Internet and technology.   Gabriella Lee
15. JWs after Covid.   Donald Jacobs
16. Conscientious objection.   Gary Perkins
17. Blood.   Zoe Knox
18. Legal cases.   James T. Richardson
19. JWs in the Third Reich.   Christine King
20. Judicial procedures: disfellowshipping and “shunning”.   Windy Grendele
21. Sexual abuse controversies.   Holly Folk
22. Persecution.   Emily Baran
23. Media portrayals / Monitoring.   Sarah Harvey
24. Early 20thcentury schisms.   Don Allen
25. Christian opposition.   Jason Wright
26. ‘Cult’ rhetoric & Ex-member narratives.
          Edd Graham-Hyde & Aled Thomas
27. Anti-cult opposition.   Anatolii Tokmantcev
28. Reinstatement / reconversion.   Ollimatti Peltonen

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Jehovah's Witnesses will be a unique volume, containing contributions from members, ex-members and neutral scholars.

It introduces the Watch Tower organization, and highlights various aspects of its history, doctrines and controversial issues.

The vast majority of publications on Jehovah’s Witnesses have been highly critical in the past. In recent years, however, the Watch Tower Society has attracted interest from a number of scholars, who have collaborated on this project.

Although scholarly in content, the style is lucid and accessible to the general reader as well as the student of religion.

It will be published in late 2026 or early 2027.

George D. Chryssides is an honorary research fellow at York St John University, and formerly Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Edward Graham-Hyde is Director of Research at the Salvation Army.

George D. Chryssides is an honorary research fellow at York St John University, and formerly Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Benjamin E. Zeller is the Irvin L. & Fern D. Young Presidential Professor of Religion at Lake Forest College. Zeller serves as co-general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, and as President of the Association for the Academic Study of New Religions.

Guidelines for contributors --
Please click here.