This wide-ranging collection explores the complex relationships between religious sects and contemporary Western society and examines the controversial social, political, and religious issues that arise as sects seek to pursue a way of life at variance with that of other people. Wilson argues that sects, often subject to negative theological and moral judgements, can be understood only as social entities and as such require a scientifically neutral and unbiased approach to explore their emergence and persistence. He traces the growth and expansion of various movements--including the...

Soka Gakkai--a movement of Japanese Buddhism--is one of the world's most rapidly expanding religious movements, especially in the West. The movement sponsors a variety of cultural and educational causes, and is active in promoting world peace and preservation of the environment; as such it has established a high profile in world affairs. Soka Gakkai is also a significant social phenomenon in its own right. This study documents this in its thorough survey of the United Kingdom membership that traces the sources of the movement's appeal to its socially diverse constituency. The combination of a...

Rationality contains a selection of the best contemporary writing on one of the central issues in the philosophy of social science. The contributors address themselves to questions which have increasingly become the subject of a many-sided debate between philosophers, sociologists and anthropologists: How are we to understand the beliefs and actions of other men in other cultures? Can we translate the meanings and the reason of one culture into the language of another.
This volume is essential reading for courses on the methodology and philosophy of social science and is so arranged...