THE NEW BELIEVERS: Young Religion in America

Cohen appears to have done his legwork, but these personal investigations cover only the more exotic manifestations of ""young religion."" Cohen's skeptical appraisal of such highly visible and/or notorious sects as Guru Maharaj Ji's Divine Light Mission, the Children of God, Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, and Hare Krishna is potentially useful. He is generous in assessing the motives of followers (though surely he overestimates the number of former addicts in their number) and rightfully suspicious of the autocratic leaders. When it comes to less publicized groups such as Subud, The Process/Foundation, the Charismatic Revival movement and even organized witchcraft, Cohen is far more tentative though at least he admits his own puzzlement. With neither muckraking gossip nor the sociological or spiritual commitment that might be brought to bear on this intriguing topic, this book is far duller than it should be. It nevertheless might be a minimally controversial beginning for the curious.