Stuart A. Wright

Media Coverage of Unconventional Religion: Any "Good News" for Minority Faiths?

With disturbing frequency, media coverage of new or nontraditional religions has been challenged by scholars as inflammatory, distorted, and infused with disparaging stereotypes. Though occasional abuses and excesses do occur in such groups, it appears that the assumption of misdeed is the norm among news reporters. The tendency to cast unconventional religions in an unfavorable light raises the unsettling question of bias. This paper examines the substance of these claims and suggests possible sources of news bias, both cultural and organizational. An overview of major issues and concerns is provided and directions for future dialogue between scholars and journalists are discussed.

Families and Cults: Familial Factors Related to Youth Leaving or Remaining in Deviant Religious Groups.

Continuing debates and controversies center on the role offamily-relatedfactors inhibiting or contributing to youth involvement in cults. But empirical research has been scant and much of the debate is mired in polemical warfare. Therefore, a study of 90 former and current members of three highly controversial religious cults (Unification Church, Hare Krishna, and Children of God) was conducted in order to assess the extent of family influence upon decisions by youth to remain or withdraw. Some studies suggest that the participation of youth may be explained by family deprivation, but this relationship has not yet been fully explored in studies of cult disaffiliation. Our findings reveal a strong correlation between measures of family affinity and choices by cult devotees to leave or stay. Important differences between leavers and stayers are shown with regard to perceived parental attitudes toward involvement, prior familial closeness, and adolescent experiences with families. The results of this study suggest a critical revaluation of the alleged link between cult involvement and family deprivation.

TOXIC WASTE SITING AND COMMUNITY RESISTANCE: How Cooptation of Local Citizen Opposition Failed

Cooptation is used as a conceptual framework for analyzing a case of environmental conflict over a proposed toxic waste site that ended with allegations of betrayal aimed at community leaders who participated in structured negotiations with a waste disposal company. Though the negotiations committee challenging the waste companys proposal was stacked with veteran environmental activists, evidence suggests that they were effectively coopted. However, cooptation eventually failed when local activists not on the committee lost confidence in the negotiating process and accused committee members of “selling out” to the waste company and compromising the interests of the community. As a result of protests and citizen awareness campaigns, the opposition forces successfully convinced the regulatory agency to deny the companys permit. We find that cooptation theory helps to explain the short-lived success of corporate efforts during the early stages of negotiations, as well as the dynamics of failure in the long run. Three major components of cooptation are identified and discussed: (a) channeling, (b) inclusion/participation, and (c) salience control. The eventual failure of the siting process is linked to the latent demise of salience control.

Anatomy of a government massacre: Abuses of hostage‐barricade protocols during the Waco standoff

A systematic evaluation of the FBIs crisis negotiations with the Branch Davidians during a 51‐day standoff in 1993 is conducted. The analysis uncovers extensive violations of basic hostage‐barricade standards and protocols. The violations appear shortly after negotiations began indicating a premature disregard for the publicly declared goal of a peaceful resolution. Failed negotiations subsequently were cited by FBI officials as a rationale for organizing a violent and dangerous CS gas assault on the barricaded group, resulting in the destruction of the religious community and the deaths of 74 people. The violations do not appear to be random, incidental, or the result of disorganization, as officials claim. The data indicate that the FBIs on‐scene commanders and tactical component of the Hostage‐Rescue Team (HRT) contributed largely to the failed negotiations through methods of increased tactical pressure and psychological warfare providing justification for the high‐risk assault. The thesis is advance...

Strategic Framing of Racial-Nationalism in North America and Europe: An Analysis of a Burgeoning Transnational Network

Following the deadly Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, far-right racialist leaders responded rapidly to changes in the political environment, disavowing militia and Patriot violence and exploiting increased public concerns about immigration and the growth of nonwhite populations. Evidence suggests that Patriot movement demobilization may have actually helped to swell the ranks of racial-nationalists. As attention to political violence shifted to international terrorism in the aftermath of September 11, racial-nationalist movement actors again moved quickly to seize the opportunity. The strategic framing of the crisis by racial-nationalist leaders revealed the existence of a transnational network of allies promoting a two-pronged message, 1) a virulent anti-Semitic assault on pro-Israel U.S. foreign policy and 2) a broadside on immigration and multiculturalism. The lineaments of these transnational networks are analyzed in an effort to explain a “trajectory of contention” regarding this emergent movement. Possible links between racial-nationalists and Islamic militants are also explored.

Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Empowerment in Mormon Fundamentalist Communities

Following the 2008 Texas state raid on the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS), there was considerable public debate surrounding polygamy and the alleged victimization of women in these communities (Wright and Richardson 2011). While some of this debate clearly focused on underage marriage—a valid but separate issue2—there was still significant attention given to polygamy, plural marriage, or “The Principle,” practiced by Mormon fundamentalists in general3 and the FLDS in particular. According to a Gallup poll taken a few months after the Texas state raid, only 8 percent of Americans said that polygamy was “morally acceptable” (Gallup Polling Report 2011). This overwhelmingly negative sentiment toward polygamy is confounding given that 61 percent of people in the same poll said “sex between an unmarried man and woman” was “morally acceptable” and 55 percent said “having a baby outside of marriage” was “morally acceptable.” Is such pervasive condemnation of polygamy justified?

Failed Prophecy and Group Demise: The Case of Chen Tao

This chapter explores the serial disconfirmation of prophecy that preceded the disintegration of Chen Tao. It suggests that failed prophecy may have weakened the charismatic relationship between prophet and devotees to which the leader reacted by imposing significant changes in group structure. The chapter discusses the cultural obstacles faced by the group whose members did not speak the language nor fully appreciate the difficulty of an extended stay in a foreign land. It argues that the case of Chen Tao demonstrates the importance of considering structural and cultural factors and conditions that may alter the outcome of a groups response to failed prophecy. The chapter emphasizes how the case of Chen Tao demonstrates the importance of placing the study of prophetic disconfirmation firmly within the context of the social structure and ideology of the group as a whole and of its relationships with the surrounding society and culture. Keywords:Chen Tao; failed prophecy; prophet