American Cult A Graphic History Of Religious Cults In America From The Colonial Era To Today

NOW AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER!From its earliest days, America was a home for spiritual seekers. In 1694, the religious tolerance of the Pennsylvania Colony enticed a Transylvanian monk and his forty followers to cross the Atlantic. Almost two hundred years later, a charismatic preacher founded a utopian community in Oneida, New York, that practiced socialism and free love. In the 1960s and '70s, a new generation of seekers gathered in vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles, Satanic coffee shops in New Orleans, and fortified communes in Philadelphia. And in the twenty-first century, gurus find their flocks through self-help seminars and get-rich-quick schemes.Across the decades, Americans in search of divine truths have turned to unconventional prophets for the answers. Some of these prophets have demanded their faith, fortunes, and even their very lives. In American Cult, over twenty cartoonists explore the history of these groups with clarity and empathydigging deep to find the human stories within.

From its earliest days, America was a home for spiritual seekers. In 1694, the religious tolerance of the Pennsylvania Colony enticed a Transylvanian monk and his forty followers to cross the Atlantic. Almost two hundred years later, a charismatic preacher founded a utopian community in Oneida, New York, that practiced socialism and free love. In the 1960s and '70s, a new generation of seekers gathered in vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles, Satanic coffee shops in New Orleans, and fortified communes in Philadelphia. And in the twenty-first century, gurus find their flocks through self-help seminars and get-rich-quick schemes. Across the decades, Americans in search of divine truths have turned to unconventional prophets for the answers. Some of these prophets have demanded their faith, fortunes, and even their very lives. In American Cult, over twenty cartoonists explore the history of these groups with clarity and empathy--digging deep to find the human stories within.

At a time when Asian American theater is enjoying a measure of growth and success, Josephine Lee tells us about the complex social and political issues depicted by Asian American playwrights. By looking at performances and dramatic texts, Lee argues that playwrights produce a different conception of "Asian America" in accordance with their unique set of sensibilities. For instance, some Asian American playwrights critique the separation of issues of race and ethnicity from those of economics and class, or they see ethnic identity as a voluntary choice of lifestyle rather than an impetus for concerted political action. Others deal with the problem of cultural stereotypes and how to reappropriate their power. Lee is attuned to the complexities and contradictions of such performances, and her trenchant thinking about the criticisms lobbed at Asian American playwrights -- for their choices in form, perpetuation of stereotype, or apparent sexism or homophobia -- leads her to question how the presentation of Asian American identity in the theater parallels problems and possibilities of identity offstage as well. Discussed are better-known plays such as Frank Chin's The Chickencoop Chinaman, David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, and Velina Hasu Houston's Tea, and new works like Jeannie Barroga's Walls and Wakako Yamauchi's 12-1-a.

Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for any true crime fan. Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick. The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Raël, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing. Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.

Covers the history, founders, beliefs, and literature of over five hundred nonconventional and alternative religious movements.

No area of public policy and law has seen more change than lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and trans-gender rights, and none so greatly needs careful comparative analysis. Queer Inclusions, Continental Divisions explores the politics of sexual diversity in Canada and the United States by analyzing three contentious areas - relationship recognition, parenting, and schooling. It enters into long-standing debates over Canadian-American contrasts while paying close attention to regional differences. David Rayside's examination of change over time in the public recognition of sexual minorities is based on his long experience with the analysis of trends, as well as on a wide-ranging search of media, legal, and social science accounts of developments across Canada and the United States. Rayside points to a 'take off' pattern in Canadian policy change on relationship recognition and parenting, but not in schooling. At the same time, he explores the reasons for a 'pioneering' pattern in early gains by American LGBT activists, a surprising number of court wins by American lesbian and gay parents, and changes in American schooling that, while still modest, are more substantial than those instituted by the Canadian system. Queer Inclusions, Continental Divisions is a timely examination of controversial policy areas in North America and a reasoned judgment on the progress of lesbian and gay issues in our time.

This volume examines the controversy surrounding the alternative and controversial religious movements sometimes referred to as cults. Featuring a chronology that documents the milestones in the evolution of alternative religions, this book also contains informative sketches of alternative religious groups in the United States today. Readers will find an overview that discusses the cult controversy; descriptions of important court cases, legislation, and other documents; and a directory of organizations. A comprehensive listing of print and electronic sources completes a volume that will prove beneficial to general readers, students, parents, psychologists, and policymakers.

The long-overdue, definitive career retrospective of an early-20th-century gag cartoonist. From the 1880s to the Roaring 1920s, Sullivant took to the drawing board and dreamed up all manner of hilarious gag cartoons featuring animals of all stripes, perennial American "types" like hayseeds and hobos, and classic characters from myths and biblical tales. These comics haven’t seen the light of day since their initial appearance in pioneering humor magazines like Puck and Judge over a century ago. Includes essays by John Cuneo, Peter de Seve, Barry Blitt, Steve Brodner, Rick Marshall, Nancy Beiman, and R.C. Harvey, with a foreword by cartoonist Jim Woodring.

A compelling and sometimes disturbing look into more than 50 mysterious cults, complete with stories from ex-members and profiles of their often-enigmatic leaders. With a decline in organized religion and an explosion in social-media followers and factions, our interest in cults, sects, and radical religions continues unabated. While groups such as the Moonies or the Children of God have been dismissed as harmless, the mass suicides, atrocities, attacks, extremist rhetoric, and spiraling wealth and power of some of the more recent movements suggest a darker side. Robert Schro der places 50 ancient and modern cults--from Osiris and the Knights Templar to the Branch Davidian, Hellfire Clubs, Manson "family," Jonestown, Concerned Christians, Jesus Army, Rajneeshis, and The Apotheosis of Elvis--in historical and cultural context, tracing their existence back to the earliest days of mankind. Investigating the essence of their continued appeal through the experiences of ex-members and explorations of their leaders, he provides compelling and sometimes disturbing insight into these shadowy societies. This edition is fully updated to reflect the aftermath of the millennium, the rise of extremism, and the influence of the internet age.