Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of FaithIn the years since Doomsday Cult was first published, much has happened to the movement. This enlarged edition brings us up to the present. Doomsday Cult analyzes the first five years in America (1959-1964) of an obscure end-of-the-world religion that went on to become nationally and internationally famous in the 1970s. The movement went from identification as a small and laughable bunch of kooks to public definition as a powerful and nefarious social force that had to be countered. Such a truly dramatic change in the status of a movement (and the activities of the movement itself) demands the question: Why and how did it happen? The change provides an important opportunity, moreover, to increase our understanding of the dynamics of social movements more generally: their resource mobilization, internal organization, strategies, citizen responses to them and the like. These topics are discussed in the Epilogue to the Enlarged Edition, added since the original edition was published. - Preface to the enlarged edition. |
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accept activities affective bonds Alice American appeared attended Bay City became become began believers Bertha Bible Chang chapter Christian coercive persuasion continued converts cosmic course covert presentations Dagna Divine Precepts Doomsday Cult DP book DP Center DP world DP's early Elmer Eric Hoffer experience faith felt front front organizations gatherings God's ideology interaction interest invited Jesus Korean leader lecture Lee's Lester living Lord Ludwig mass media meeting membership ment Merwin millenarian minister Minnie Mae Miss Lee mission months moral moved movement Newsletter Northwest Town occasion occult organization parents participants period persons places political prayer pre-converts problems promotion proselytization prospects religion religious reported residence restoration revelation Santini Satan Second Advent seekers seemed social spirit world spiritualist churches strategy student study group success tactics talk tape tension thought Tinkertown tion week world view Yankee Stadium