Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality

From popular culture to religion

Carole M Cusack editor Pavol Kosnáč editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:11th Nov '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality cover

The twentieth century was a period of rapid change for religion. Secularisation resulted in a dramatic fall in church attendance in the West, and the 1950s and 1960s saw the introduction of new religions including the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the Church of Scientology, and the Children of God. New religions were regarded with suspicion by society in general and Religious Studies scholars alike until the 1990s, when the emergence of a second generation of 'new new' religions – based on popular cultural forms including films, novels, computer games and comic books – and highly individualistic spiritualities confirmed the utter transformation of the religio-spiritual landscape. Indeed, Scientology and ISKCON appeared almost traditional and conservative when compared to the radically de-institutionalised, eclectic, parodic, fun-loving and experimental fiction-based, invented and hyper-real religions.

In this book, scholarly treatments of cutting-edge religious and spiritual trends are brought into conversation with contributions by representatives of Dudeism, the Church of All Worlds, the Temple of the Jedi Order and Tolkien spirituality groups. This book will simultaneously entertain, shock, challenge and delight scholars of religious studies, as well as those with a wider interest in new religious movements.

"This book’s goal is to serve as an introductory text on a variety of new religions and spiritualities, their worldview, and the complexity of their ongoing fight for legitimacy. The contributors to Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality successfully demonstrate that these “phenomena have real life consequences.”"

- Tarryl Janik, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

"This volume takes readers on a truly marvelous journey. Insightful and a pleasure to read."

- Lukas Pokorny, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review

ISBN: 9781472463029

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 566g

314 pages