Although religious innovation in America historically has been the norm rather than the exception, mainstream Americans have often viewed new religious movements with suspicion and occasionally with outright alarm. The question motivating many studies of new religious movements has been "why would someone join these religions?" In this dissertation I offer at least one answer to this often repeated query. I argue that followers of new religious movements in the 1960s-1980s, specifically the Unification Church, Feminist Wicca and the Nation of Yahweh, considered these religions to be legitimate because they offered members a personal religious experience, a connection to an ancient tradition, and agency in improving their world. Utilizing an historical approach, I consider the conversion narratives of adherents and primary literature of the formative years of these movements which demonstrate that the religious experiences of the adherents and a resonance with the goals of these religions propelled individuals into social action. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2007. / March 28, 2007. / New Religious Movements, American Religious History, Feminist Wicca, Nation of Yahweh, Unification Church / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, Outside Committee Member; Amanda Porterfield, Committee Member; Amy Koehlinger, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_181691 |
| Contributors | Hutchinson, Dawn L. (authoraut), Corrigan, John (professor directing dissertation), Padavic, Irene (outside committee member), Porterfield, Amanda (committee member), Koehlinger, Amy (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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