Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-28T00:50:36Z

Weaponbb7: /* Other */ dead link

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[ru:Мелтон, Джон Гордон]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-27T01:21:14Z

Weaponbb7: Undid revision 358541173 by Thorwald (talk)Purported primary source, extraordinary claims require extraordinary sources

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-27T00:40:22Z

Weaponbb7: Undid revision 358530693 by Thorwald (talk) Purported primary source, extraordinary claims require extraordinary sources

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-26T22:36:40Z

Weaponbb7: /* Critical sites */ leaving it till looked at it WP:SPAM too

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-26T22:35:33Z

Weaponbb7: /* Critical sites */ junk/ WP:SPAM

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]

{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-11T01:21:23Z

Weaponbb7: /* Criticism */m

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witness]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/James_Gordon_Melton James Gordon Melton on xFamily.org]
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]
*[http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Gordon_Melton Cult Apologists?: Gordon Melton] A set of media articles on [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]] website
*[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html J. Gordon Melton: Why is he considered a cult apologist?] page on Melton, by countercult activist Anton Hein
*[http://movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=31&ID=987&searchTerms=melton&qlid= The Price of a Scholar? Gordon Melton and the Family Care Foundation] From MovingOn.Org


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-11T01:20:34Z

Weaponbb7: /* Criticism */ Primary source BLP violations Per RSN discusiion

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witness]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
[[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/James_Gordon_Melton James Gordon Melton on xFamily.org]
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]
*[http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Gordon_Melton Cult Apologists?: Gordon Melton] A set of media articles on [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]] website
*[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html J. Gordon Melton: Why is he considered a cult apologist?] page on Melton, by countercult activist Anton Hein
*[http://movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=31&ID=987&searchTerms=melton&qlid= The Price of a Scholar? Gordon Melton and the Family Care Foundation] From MovingOn.Org


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

In den Fängen einer Sekte

2010-04-04T22:54:25Z

Weaponbb7: Undid revision 353989269 by 98.198.170.150 (talk) tweek for the ip

{{Infobox Simpsons episode
| episode_name = The Joy of Sect
| image = [[Image:The Joy Of Sect.PNG|200px]]
| image_caption= A Movementarian mass wedding
| episode_no = 191
| prod_code = 5F23
| airdate = February 8, 1998<ref name="officialsite">{{cite web|url=http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0913.htm|title=The Joy of Sect|accessdate=2007-10-24|publisher=The Simpsons.com}}</ref>
| show runner = [[David Mirkin]]
| writer = [[Steve O'Donnell (writer)|Steve O'Donnell]]
| director = [[Steven Dean Moore]]
| couch_gag = Tiny versions of the Simpsons climb on the couch, and Santa's Little Helper runs off with Homer.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season9/page13.shtml|title=The Joy of Sect|accessdate=2007-10-24|author=Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian |year=2000|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
| commentary = [[Matt Groening]] [[David Mirkin]] [[Steve O'Donnell]] [[Yeardley Smith]] [[Steven Dean Moore]]
| season = 9
}}
"'''The Joy of Sect'''" is the thirteenth episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> [[The Simpsons (season 9)|ninth season]]. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a [[cult]] called the "[[Religion in The Simpsons#Movementarianism|Movementarians]]" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] are initially introduced to a pair of young Movementarian recruiters in an airport. Homer becomes [[brainwashing|brainwashed]], and moves his family into the cult compound. [[David Mirkin]] had the initial idea for the episode, [[Steve O'Donnell (writer)|Steve O'Donnell]] was the lead writer, and [[Steven Dean Moore]] directed. The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but were principally influenced by [[Scientology]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], the [[Unification Church]] and [[Peoples Temple]].

The episode was later analyzed from [[religion|religious]], [[philosophy|philosophical]] and [[psychology|psychological]] perspectives, and books on ''The Simpsons'' compared the Movementarians to many of the same groups that the writers had drawn influences from. The show contains many references to [[popular culture]], including the title reference to ''[[The Joy of Sex]]'' and a gag involving [[Rover (The Prisoner)|Rover]] from the television program ''[[The Prisoner]]''. ''[[USA Today]]'' and ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' featured "The Joy of Sect" in lists of important episodes of ''The Simpsons''.

==Plot==
[[Image:The Simpsons 5F23.png|left|200px|thumb|Mr. Burns as the god of his new religion]]
Homer takes Bart to the airport to greet the local football team after their championship loss. At the airport, Homer meets Glen and Jane, a pair of recruiters for a new religion called Movementarianism. They invite Homer to an introductory session at their resort, where a number of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] residents watch a video about the religion. The video explains that the Movementarians plan to take a spaceship to the planet Blisstonia. They are guided by a mysterious male figure known only as "The Leader." Most of the attendees are brainwashed into worshipping The Leader, but Homer does not pay enough attention to the video to be affected. After trying other methods, Glen and Jane finally convert him by singing the theme to [[Batman (TV series)|''Batman'']], replacing the word ''Batman'' with the word ''Leader.''

After Homer joins the sect, he moves his family to the Movementarian compound. The compound is a fenced [[agriculture|agricultural]] facility where everyone is forced to grow and harvest [[lima bean]]s from dawn to dusk. The Leader lives in a "Forbidden Barn," where his spaceship is supposedly stored. He only appears briefly, riding through the fields in a [[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls-Royce]].

As Movementarianism gains popularity, [[Montgomery Burns|Mr. Burns]] decides to start his own religion, jealous of The Leader's tax-exempt status. Burns declares himself a god at a grand display atop one of his buildings, with Springfield residents and Burns's employees looking on. However, the Springfieldians are unconvinced after his outfit catches fire in a [[pyrotechnics]] display.

Though defiant at first, all the Simpson children are converted to Movementarianism. Bart plans to cause trouble with his "[[List of products in The Simpsons#"Li'l Bastard" products|Li'l Bastard]] Mischief Kit," but the Movementarians outwit him with a "Li'l Bastard Brainwashing Kit." [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] loathes that "The Leader" is the answer to every question at the Movementarian school, but she complies for the sake of her grades. [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] and other babies are brainwashed by [[Barney & Friends|Barney the Dinosaur]], who sings them a song about The Leader. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] is the only family member to resist the Movementarians' methods, and she escapes from the compound, narrowly avoiding many obstacles along the way. Outside, she finds [[Reverend Timothy Lovejoy|Reverend Lovejoy]], [[Ned Flanders]], and [[Groundskeeper Willie]], and with their help, she poses as The Leader and tricks her children and Homer into leaving with her.

In Flanders's [[rumpus room]], Marge [[deprogramming|deprograms]] her children by promising them what appear to be hover-bikes. In reality, Marge had suspended regular bikes from the ceiling with wires, and Flanders provided hover-bike sound effects while hidden in a closet. Homer yields after Ned offers him a beer, but just as the first drop lands on Homer's tongue, he is captured by the Movementarians' lawyers. Back at the compound, Homer tells a crowd of Movementarians that he is no longer brainwashed. He opens the doors of the Forbidden Barn, hoping to expose the religion as a fraud. However, he is surprised to find "one hell of a spaceship," and The Leader proclaims that, due to Homer's "lack of faith," humanity will never reach Blisstonia. The Springfieldians fear that The Leader was speaking the truth, but as the spaceship begins to fly away, it falls apart, revealing The Leader on a pedal-powered aircraft departing with everyone's money. Everyone's faith is broken, but The Leader does not fly very far, crashing on [[Cletus Spuckler|Cletus Spuckler's]] front porch. Cletus promptly relieves the Leader of the town's money at gunpoint.

As the Simpsons return home, Lisa remarks, "It's wonderful to think for ourselves again." However, the family soon becomes hypnotized by a Fox television commercial, which declares, "You are watching Fox." In unison, the family responds, "We are watching Fox."

==Production==
[[Image:Davidmirkin.jpg|thumb|[[David Mirkin]], executive producer of "The Joy of Sect", who pitched the episode's plot|alt=A seated man wearing a cap smiles as he looks into the distance. His hands are crossed.]]
The episode was the second and last episode written by [[Steve O'Donnell (writer)|Steve O'Donnell]] and was based on an idea from [[David Mirkin]]. Mirkin had been the [[Executive producer|show runner]] during [[The Simpsons (season 5)|seasons five]] and [[The Simpsons (season 6)|six]], but had been brought back to run two episodes during the ninth season. He said he was attracted to the notion of parodying cults because they are "comical, interesting and twisted."<ref name="Mirkin" /> The main group of writers that worked on the episode were Mirkin, O'Donnell, [[Jace Richdale]] and [[Kevin Curran (writer)|Kevin Curran]]. The episode's title "The Joy of Sect" was pitched by Richdale.<ref name="Mirkin"/> [[Steven Dean Moore]] directed the episode.<ref name="alberti">{{cite book | last =Alberti | first =John | title =[[Leaving Springfield|Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture]] | publisher =[[Wayne State University Press]] | year =2004 | id = | isbn = 0814328490 | page =321}}</ref>

Aspects of the Movementarians were inspired by different cults and religions, including Scientology, [[Jim Jones]] and the Peoples Temple, the Heaven's Gate group, the Unification Church, the [[Oneida Society]], and [[Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh]].<ref name="Mirkin">Mirkin, David. (2006). Commentary for "The Joy of Sect", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> In particular, the leader driving through the fields in a [[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls Royce]] was partly inspired by the Bhagwans, and the notion of holding people inside the camp against their will was a reference to Jim Jones.<ref name="Mirkin"/> The name "Movementarians" itself was simply chosen for its awkward sound.<ref name="Mirkin" /> The scene during the six-hour orientation video where those who get up to leave are induced to stay through [[peer pressure]] and [[groupthink]] was a reference to the [[Unification Church]] and [[Erhard Seminars Training|EST Training]].<ref name="O'Donnell" /> The show's producers acknowledged that the ending scene of the episode was a poke at Fox as "being the evil mind controlling network."<ref name="Mirkin" /> The episode's script was written in 1997, at roughly the same time that the members of the Heaven's Gate cult committed [[mass suicide]]. The writers noticed strange parallels between Mirkin's first draft and Heaven's Gate, including the belief in the arrival of a spaceship and the group's members wearing matching clothes and odd sneakers.<ref name="Mirkin" /> Because of these coincidences, several elements of the episode were changed so that it would be more sensitive in the wake of the suicides.<ref name="O'Donnell">O'Donnell, Steve. (2006). Commentary for "The Joy of Sect", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref>

==Themes==
Chris Turner's book ''[[Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation|Planet Simpson]]'' describes the Movementarians as a cross between the [[Church of Scientology]] and [[Raëlism]], with lesser influences from [[Sun Myung Moon]] and [[Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh]].<ref name="turner">{{cite book | last = Turner | first = Chris | title = [[Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation]] | publisher = Da Capo Press |year=2005 | id = | isbn = 030681448X | page = 269, The First Church of ''The Simpsons''}}</ref> ''Planet Simpson'' also notes the Simpsons' chant at the conclusion of the episode as evidence of a "true high-growth quasi-religious cult of our time," referring to [[television]].<ref name="turner" /> The book refers to a "Cult of Pop," which it describes as "a fast growing mutation ersatz religion that has filled the gaping hole in the West's social fabric where organized religion used to be".<ref name="turner" /> Martin Hunt of [[FACTnet]] notes several similarities between the Movementarians and the Church of Scientology. "The Leader" physically resembles [[L. Ron Hubbard]]; the Movementarians' "trillion year labor contract" alludes to the Sea Org's billion year contract; and both groups make extensive [[Scientology and the legal system|use of litigation]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Hunt | first = Martin | title = Celebrity Critics of Scientology, Simpsons (TV show) | work = [[FACTnet]] | date = | url = http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celebcrit.html#simpsons | accessdate = 2007-10-24}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' analyzes the episode in a piece called "Springfield joins a cult", comparing the Movementarians' plans to travel to "Blisstonia" to [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]]'s promises of bliss after traveling to the [[Hale-Bopp]] [[comet]]. However, it also notes that "The Joy of Sect" is a commentary on organized religion in general, quoting Bart as saying, "Church, cult, cult, church. So we get bored someplace else every Sunday."<ref name="koski">{{cite news | last = Koski | first = Genevieve | coauthors = Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan, Scott Tobias | title = Features: Inventory: 15 ''Simpsons'' Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras | work = [[The A.V. Club]] | publisher = 2007, Onion Inc. |date=July 23, 2007 | url = http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/inventory_15_simpsons_moments/2 | accessdate = 2007-10-24}}</ref> ''Planet Simpson'' discusses ''The Simpsons''<nowiki>'</nowiki> approach to [[deprogramming]] in the episode, noting groundskeeper Willie's conversion to the philosophy of the Movementarians after learning about it while attempting to deprogram Homer.<ref name="turner" /> Author Chris Turner suggests that Marge should have instead gone with the "Conformco Brain Deprogrammers" used in the episode "[[Burns' Heir]]" to convince Bart to leave Mr. Burns and come back home.<ref name="turner" />

In ''[[The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer]]'', the authors cite "escaping from a cult commune in 'The Joy of Sect'" as evidence of "Aristotle's virtuous personality traits in Marge."<ref name="irwin">{{cite book | last = Irwin | first = William | coauthors = Aeon J. Skoble, Mark T. Conard | title = The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer | publisher = Open Court Publishing |year=2001 | pages = 48–49 | id = | isbn = 0812694333}}</ref> As the title suggests, the book ''[[The Psychology of The Simpsons|The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!]]'' examines "The Joy of Sect" from a [[psychology|psychological]] point of view. It discusses the psychology of decision-making in the episode, noting, "Homer is becoming a full-blown member of the Movementarians not by a rational choice, ..but through the process of escalating behavioral commitments."<ref name="brown">{{cite book | last = Brown | first = Alan S. | coauthors = Chris Logan | title = [[The Psychology of The Simpsons|The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!]] | publisher = BenBella Books, Inc. |year=2006 | pages = 211–212 | id = | isbn = 1932100709}}</ref> ''The Psychology of the Simpsons'' explains the key recruitment techniques used by the Movementarians, including the charismatic leader, established authority based on a religious entity or alien being (in this case "Blisstonia"), and the method of taking away [[free choice]] through acceptance of the Leader's greatness.<ref name="brown" /> The book also analyzes the techniques used during the six-hour Movementarian recruitment film. In that scene, those who rise to leave are reminded that they are allowed to leave whenever they wish. They are, however, questioned in front of the group as to specifically why they wish to leave, and these individuals end up staying to finish watching the film.<ref name="brown" /> The book describes this technique as "subtle pressure," in contrast to the "razor wire, landmines, angry dogs, crocodiles and evil mystery bubble Marge confronts to escape, while being reminded again that she is certainly free to leave."<ref name="brown" /> ''The Psychology of the Simpsons'' writes that "the Leader" is seen as an authority figure, because "He has knowledge or abilities that others do not, but want."<ref name="brown" /> Instead of traditional [[mathematics]] textbooks, the children on the compound learn from ''Arithmetic the Leader's Way'' and ''Science for Leader Lovers''.<ref name="gimple">{{cite book | last = Gimple | first = Scott M. | coauthors =[[Matt Groening]], introduction | title = [[The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued]] | publisher = [[HarperCollins]]| date = December 1, 1999 | pages = 26–27 | isbn = 978-0060987633}}</ref>

In Pinsky's ''The Gospel According to the Simpsons'', one of the show's writers recounted to the author that the producers of ''The Simpsons'' had vetoed a planned episode on Scientology in fear of the Church's "reputation for suing and harassing opponents".<ref name="pinsky" /> Pinsky found it ironic that Groening spoofed Scientology in spite of the fact that the voice of Bart Simpson, [[Nancy Cartwright]], is a Scientologist,<ref name="pinsky" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1274066,00.html|title=That's my boy|accessdate=2007-05-14|author=Emma Brockes|date=2004-08-02|publisher=The Guardian}}</ref> having joined in 1989.<ref>{{cite news | last = Burnett | first = John | title = All things Considered: Scientology | work = [[All Things Considered]] | publisher = [[National Public Radio]] | date = March 12, 1997 | url = http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/collar.htm | accessdate = 2007-10-28}}</ref> Pinsky notes that [[Matt Groening]] later "took a shot at Scientology" in ''[[Futurama]]'' with the [[List of fictional religions|fictional religion]] "Church of Robotology".<ref name="pinsky">{{cite book | last = Pinsky | first = Mark I. | coauthors = Tony Campolo | title = The Gospel According to the Simpsons | publisher = Westminster John Knox Press |year=2001 | isbn = 0664224199}}</ref> Groening said he received a call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name.<ref>Groening, Matt. (2003). Commentary for "[[Hell Is Other Robots]]", in ''Futurama: Volume One'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. "I did get a call from a Scientologist who had somehow gotten hold of the script."</ref>

==Cultural references==
[[Image:Barney 9x13 .png|right|200px|thumb|[[Barney & Friends|Barney the Dinosaur]] indoctrinating toddler recruits of the Sect.]]
The episode contains several references to popular culture. The title of the episode is a spoof of the book ''[[The Joy of Sex]]'', by [[Alex Comfort]]. When Marge attempts to leave the compound, she is chased by the [[Rover (The Prisoner)|Rover]] guard "balloon" from the 1967 television program ''The Prisoner''.<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="booker">{{cite book | last = Booker | first = M. Keith | title = Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy | publisher = Greenwood Press |year=2006 | id = | isbn = 0275990192 | page = 66}}</ref> [[Neal Hefti]] and [[Nelson Riddle]]'s [[theme music]] to the 1960s ''Batman'' series is used in the episode to indoctrinate Homer,<ref name="BBC"/> while "I Love You, You Love Me" sung by Barney the Dinosaur on the ''[[Barney and Friends]]''/''[[Barney and the Backyard Gang]]'' series is used to brainwash babies. When Mr. Burns introduces his new religion, most of the sequence is a parody of the promotional video of [[Michael Jackson]]'s 1995 album ''[[HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I]]''.<ref name="Mirkin"/>

==Reception==
In a 2006 article in ''[[USA Today]]'', "The Joy of Sect" was highlighted among the six best episodes of [[The Simpsons (season 9)|''The Simpsons'' season 9]], along with "[[Trash of the Titans]]," "[[The Last Temptation of Krust]]," "[[The Cartridge Family]]," "[[Dumbbell Indemnity]]," and "[[Das Bus]]."<ref>{{cite news | last = Clark | first = Mike | title = New on DVD | work = [[USA Today]] | publisher = Gannett Co. Inc. |date=December 22, 2006 | url = http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-12-21-new-on-dvd_x.htm?csp=34 | accessdate = 2007-10-24}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' featured the episode in its analysis of "15 ''Simpsons'' Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras."<ref name="koski" /> ''[[Daily Mirror|The Mirror]]'' gave the episode positive mention in its review of the Season 9 DVD release, and wrote "The Joy Of Sect is hilarious with only Marge keeping her head."<ref name="mirror">{{cite news | last =Staff | title =DVDS: NEW RELEASES | work =[[Daily Mirror|The Mirror]] | page = 7| date =February 2, 2007 }}</ref> Isaac Mitchell-Frey of the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' cited the episode as the highlight of the season.<ref>{{cite news | last =Mitchell-Frey | first =Isaac | title =Comedy - The Simpsons, Series 9 | work =[[Herald Sun]] | page =E12 | date =February 11, 2007 }}</ref> The ''[[Sunday Mail (Scotland)|Sunday Mail]]'' highlighted the episode for their "Family Choice" segment, commenting: "Normally, a show about religious cults would spell doom and gloom. Only Bart, of The Simpsons, could make a comedy out of it but then, he and his cartoon family are a cult in their own right anyway!"<ref>{{cite news | last =Staff | title =Family Choice: Today's TV highlights | work =[[Sunday Mail (Scotland)|Sunday Mail]] | publisher =Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd. | date =March 15, 1998 }}</ref>

Jeff Shalda of ''The Simpsons Archive'' used the episode as an example of one of the "good qualities present in The Simpsons," while analyzing why some other aspects of ''The Simpsons'' make Christians upset.<ref>{{cite paper | author = Shalda, Jeff. | title = Religion in the Simpsons | version = Online | publisher = The Simpsons Archive |date=December 29, 2000 | url = http://www.snpp.com/other/papers/jsh.paper.html | accessdate = 2007-02-10}}</ref> The book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' commented that the episode was "an odd one," with "a lot of good moments," and went on to state that it was "a nice twist to see Burns determined to be loved." However, the book also noted that "The Joy of Sect" is "another one where the central joke isn't strong enough to last the whole episode."<ref name="BBC"/> In a lesson plan for [[St Mary's College, Durham]]: ''An Introduction to Philosophy: The Wit and Wisdom of Lisa Simpson'', the episode is described in a section on "False Prophets" as applicable for "..studying the more outrageous manifestations of ‘religion’ or those simply alert to the teachings of Christ on the subject."<ref name="farmington">{{cite book | last =Taylor | first =Tessa | title =An Introduction to Philosophy: The Wit and Wisdom of Lisa Simpson | publisher =Farmington Institute | date =August Term 2004 | location =[[St Mary's College, Durham]] | pages =30–32 | url =http://www.farmington.ac.uk/documents/new_reports/ME17.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Scientology|Scientology e meter blue.jpg}}
{{Portal|The Simpsons|Simpsons tv icon.svg}}
*[[List of fictional religions]]
*[[Parody religion]]
*[[Religion in Futurama|Religion in ''Futurama'']]
*[[Religion in The Simpsons|Religion in ''The Simpsons'']]
*[[Religious satire]]
*[[UFO religion]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal | last = Gray | first = Jonathan, [[Fordham University]] | title = Imagining America: The Simpsons Go Global | journal = Popular Communication | volume = 5 | issue = 2 | pages = 129–148 | publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. | location = [[Mahwah, New Jersey]] | year = 2007 | url = http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15405700701294111 | accessdate = 2007-10-28 | doi = 10.1080/15405700701294111 }}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|The_Simpsons#The_Joy_of_Sect_.5B9.13.5D|"The Joy of Sect"}}
*[http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0913.htm "The Joy of Sect"] at The Simpsons.com
*{{snpp capsule|5F23}}
*{{Amg movie|285009}}
*{{imdb title|id=0779676|title=The Joy of Sect}}
*[http://www.tv.com/episode/1476/summary.html The Joy of Sect], at [[TV.com]]

{{Religion in The Simpsons}}
{{Relphilpop}}
{{Scientology in popular culture}}

{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy of Sect, The}}
[[Category:Fictional religions]]
[[Category:The Simpsons episodes, season 9]]
[[Category:Cult-related media]]
[[Category:Fictional cults]]
[[Category:Scientology in popular culture]]
[[Category:1998 television episodes]]

[[es:The Joy of Sect]]
[[fr:Un coup de pied aux cultes]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-04T13:48:36Z

Weaponbb7: /* Phenomenology of new religions */ attack section masquerading as legit

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witness]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
Melton's treatment of religions such as [[Scientology]] have resulted in charges that "he basically reiterates whatever religious groups tell him."<ref>http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist46.html</ref><ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist57.html Rick Ross, ''Gordon Melton on Scientology'']</ref> [[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

Additionally, according to the financial books of the [[Children of God (cult)|Children of God]], his institute received money from the organization.<ref>[http://www.xfamily.org/images/1/1a/FCF_990_Form-2000.pdf FCF 990 Form - 2000]</ref> This happened after he wrote favorably about them. His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/James_Gordon_Melton James Gordon Melton on xFamily.org]
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]
*[http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Gordon_Melton Cult Apologists?: Gordon Melton] A set of media articles on [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]] website
*[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html J. Gordon Melton: Why is he considered a cult apologist?] page on Melton, by countercult activist Anton Hein
*[http://movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=31&ID=987&searchTerms=melton&qlid= The Price of a Scholar? Gordon Melton and the Family Care Foundation] From MovingOn.Org


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

J. Gordon Melton

2010-04-04T13:42:05Z

Weaponbb7: /* Criticism */ why should he need to? he is historian not theologian

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974–75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975–80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Phenomenology of new religions===
Melton states that he is "a United Methodist minister with a deep commitment to conservative Evangelical Protestantism" (''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 160). However, his own writings lack the distinctive critical emphases that are found in Christian countercult literature. As Melton has concentrated on the phenomenology and not the [[theology]] of new religions, his lack of explicit doctrinal criticisms of cults has elicited considerable critical comment from countercult apologists. Some countercult apologists<ref>http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html</ref> cannot reconcile his statements of professed evangelicalism with the content of his books. Countercult apologists appear to assume that an evangelical writing on cults would necessarily present direct doctrinal objections. [[Anton Hein]] has emphasized this latter point in his criticisms of Melton. (See "Criticism" section).

Melton believes that as an evangelical he can simultaneously uphold his commitment to Christ as saviour and defend the [[civil rights]] of non-Christians to religious freedom. He explains his perceived and apparent reluctance to pursue the apologetic concerns of his colleagues in the Christian countercult movement:

<blockquote>"My encounter with many Evangelical Christians who write about other religions has, to some extent, helped shape my life's work. However, over the years I have been mostly disappointed with the Christian writing in this area. Instead of attempting to understand the teachings of a group, too frequently writers only compared quotes from the group's literature with biblical passages, both often out of context. Then, as I began to visit the groups, I often encountered the anger at the church many members had because of Christian writers who had written supposedly authoritative books but who had distorted members' positions and had condemned them for believing things they had never taught ... I have always thought the church deserved better, and many years ago I committed myself to providing it with the information it needed both to live at peace with its new neighbors and to carry on its missional life with a high level of integrity." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 162</ref></blockquote>

Finally, while much of his writings have focussed on the phenomenology of new religions, he has indicated that Christian churches should examine new religions in terms of missions (see his essay "Emerging Religious Movements in North America: Some Missiological Reflections," ''Missiology'' 28/1 January 2000, pp. 85–98). He did discuss issues of methodology in the research of new religions and Christian missions in various articles he contributed to ''Christianity Today'' magazine in the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s he dialogued with Ronald Enroth about differences between their respective approaches to the analysis and evangelization of new religions (see ''Why Cults Succeed Where the Church Fails''). He also indicated in his dialogue with Enroth that he particularly values the writings of the evangelical apologists J. Stafford Wright and [[John Warwick Montgomery]] in their analyses of occult phenomena.

===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17–21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28–30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witness]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
Melton's treatment of religions such as [[Scientology]] have resulted in charges that "he basically reiterates whatever religious groups tell him."<ref>http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist46.html</ref><ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist57.html Rick Ross, ''Gordon Melton on Scientology'']</ref> [[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

Additionally, according to the financial books of the [[Children of God (cult)|Children of God]], his institute received money from the organization.<ref>[http://www.xfamily.org/images/1/1a/FCF_990_Form-2000.pdf FCF 990 Form - 2000]</ref> This happened after he wrote favorably about them. His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/James_Gordon_Melton James Gordon Melton on xFamily.org]
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]
*[http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Gordon_Melton Cult Apologists?: Gordon Melton] A set of media articles on [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]] website
*[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html J. Gordon Melton: Why is he considered a cult apologist?] page on Melton, by countercult activist Anton Hein
*[http://movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=31&ID=987&searchTerms=melton&qlid= The Price of a Scholar? Gordon Melton and the Family Care Foundation] From MovingOn.Org


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]

Schwarze Hebräer

2010-03-31T11:50:42Z

Weaponbb7: Undid revision 353131641 by 78.146.64.76 (talk) nope

{{African American topics sidebar|right}}
'''Black Hebrew Israelites''' (also '''Black Hebrews''', '''African Hebrew Israelites''', and '''Hebrew Israelites''') are groups of people mostly of [[Black people|Black African]] ancestry situated mainly in the [[United States]] who believe they are descendants of the ancient [[Israelite]]s. Black Hebrews adhere in varying degrees to the religious beliefs and practices of mainstream [[Judaism]]. They are generally not accepted as [[Jew]]s by the greater Jewish community, and many Black Hebrews consider themselves — and not mainstream Jews — to be the only authentic descendants of the ancient [[Israelites]]. Many choose to self-identify as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than as Jews.<ref>Ben-Jochannan, p. 306.</ref><ref name="JVL">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/blackjews.html |title=The Black Jewish or Hebrew Israelite Community |accessdate=2007-12-15 |last=Ben Levy |first=Sholomo |publisher=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor=Johannes P. Schade |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Religions |title=Black Hebrews |year=2006 |publisher=Foreign Media Group |location=Franklin Park, N.J. |isbn=1601360002 }}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |first=Tara |last=Bahrampour |title=They're Jewish, With a Gospel Accent |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E3DD1230F935A15755C0A9669C8B63 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 26, 2000 |accessdate=2008-01-19 }}</ref>

Dozens of Black Hebrew groups were founded during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries.<ref name=Chireau21/> In the mid-1980s, the number of Black Hebrews in the United States was between 25,000 and 40,000.<ref name=Sundquist118>Sundquist, p. 118.</ref> In the 1990s, the [[Alliance of Black Jews]] estimated that there were 200,000 African-American Jews, including Black Hebrews and those recognized as Jews by mainstream Jewish organizations.<ref name=Gelbwasser>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/8426/edition_id/160/format/html/displaystory.html |title=Organization for black Jews claims 200,000 in U.S. |accessdate=2008-02-12 |author=Michael Gelbwasser |date=1998-04-10 |publisher=''[[j.]]'' }}</ref>

==Overview==
While [[Black Christians]] traditionally have identified themselves with the [[Children of Israel]], they never claimed to be descendants of the [[Israelites]].<ref name=Chireau18>Chireau, p. 18.</ref> In the late 19th century among some African-Americans, an identification ''with'' the ancient Hebrews developed into an identification ''as'' ancient Hebrews.<ref name=Chireau21>Chireau, p. 21.</ref> One of the first groups of Black Hebrews, the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]], was founded in 1896.<ref name=Chireau21/> During the following decades, many more Black Hebrew congregations were established. These groups claimed descent from the ancient Israelites. They selected elements of Judaism and adapted them within a structure similar to that of the [[Black church]].<ref name=Chireau21/>

The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably. The differences are so great that historian [[James Tinney]] has suggested the classification of the organizations into three groups: Black Jews, who maintain a Christological perspective and adopt Jewish rituals; Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism; and Black Israelites, who are most [[Black nationalism|nationalistic]] and farthest from traditional Judaism.<ref name=Tinney>{{cite journal |last=Tinney |first=James |date=December 7, 1973 |title=Black Jews: A House Divided |journal=[[Christianity Today]] |pages=52–54 }}, cited at Chireau, p. 29.</ref>

Nevertheless, Black Hebrew organizations have certain common characteristics. Anthropologist James E. Landing, author of ''Black Judaism'', distinguishes the Black Hebrew movement, which he refers to as Black Judaism, from normative Judaism practiced by people who are Black (black Judaism):

<blockquote>Black Judaism is ... a form of institutionalized (congregational) religious expression in which black persons identify themselves as Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews...in a manner that seems unacceptable to the "whites" of the world's Jewish community, primarily because Jews take issue with the various justifications set forth by Black Jews in establishing this identity. Thus "Black Judaism," as defined here, stands distinctly apart from "black Judaism," or that Judaic expression found among black persons that would be acceptable to the world's Jewish community, such as conversion or birth to a recognized Jewish mother. "Black Judaism" has been a social movement; "black Judaism" has been an isolated social phenomenon.<ref name=Landing10>Landing, p. 10, quoted in Walter, p. 520.</ref></blockquote>

Landing's definition, and its underlying assumptions about race and normative Judaism, have been criticized,<ref name=Isaac>Isaac, pp. 512–542.</ref> but it provides a helpful framework for understanding some of the common traits that various Black Hebrew organizations share.

==Groups==
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dozens of Black Hebrew organizations were established.<ref name=Chireau21/> In [[Harlem]] alone, at least eight such groups were founded between 1919 and 1931.<ref name=Parfitt96>Parfitt, p. 96.</ref> The Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations is the oldest known Black Hebrew group<ref name=Singer57/> and the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] is one of the largest Black Hebrew organizations.<ref name="Africana"/> The [[Commandment Keepers]] are noted for their adherence to traditional Judaism<ref name=Moses537/> and the [[African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem]] are widely known for having moved from the United States to [[Israel]].<ref name=Shipler/><ref name=Haas/><ref name=MFA/>

===Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations===
The oldest known Black Hebrew organization is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations.<ref name=Singer57>Singer, p. 57.</ref><ref name=Chireau3031>Chireau, pp. 30–31. "The founding dates of the earliest black-Jewish congregations are in dispute. Shapiro notes that F.S. Cherry's Church of God was organized in Tennessee in 1886, but other sources do not confirm this date. Another group, the Moorish Zion Temple, founded in 1899 by a Rabbi Richlieu of Brooklyn, New York, was one of the earliest black Jewish congregations that did not combine Jewish and Christian beliefs, as did the Church of God and the Saints of Christ."</ref> The group was founded by F. S. Cherry in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]], [[Tennessee]], in 1886, and later moved to [[Philadelphia]].<ref name=Singer57-58>Singer, pp. 57–58.</ref> Theologically, the Church of the Living God mixed elements of Judaism and Christianity, counting the [[Bible]] — including the [[New Testament]] — and the [[Talmud]] as essential scriptures.<ref name=Fauset34>Fauset, p. 34.</ref> The rituals of Cherry’s flock incorporated many Jewish practices and prohibitions alongside some Christian traditions.<ref name=Fauset36-40>Fauset, pp. 36–40.</ref> For example, during prayer the men wore [[Kippah|skullcap]]s and congregants [[Mizrah|faced east]]. In addition, members of the Church were not permitted to eat pork.<ref name=Fauset36-40/> Prayers were accompanied by musical instruments and [[Gospel music|gospel singing]].<ref name=Fauset36-37>Fauset, pp. 36–37.</ref> After Cherry's death, members of the church believed he had left temporarily and would reappear soon in spirit to lead the church through his son.<ref name="Africana">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hudson |first=Peter |editor=[[Kwame Anthony Appiah]] and [[Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]] |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Africana|Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience]] |title=Black Jews |year=1999 |publisher=Basic Civitas Books |location=New York |pages=1050 }}</ref>

===Church of God and Saints of Christ===
{{main|Church of God and Saints of Christ}}
[[File:Fletcher Chapel.jpg|thumb|Former headquarters of the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] The building is now known as First Tabernacle Beth El and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].]]
The Church of God and Saints of Christ was established in [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]], [[Kansas]], in 1896 by [[William Saunders Crowdy]].<ref name=Fox>{{cite news |url=http://www.brown.edu/Students/INDY/archives/2005-09-29/articles/arts-fox_israelite.php |title=Sons of Abraham |accessdate=2007-10-20 |last=Fox |first=Andrew |date=September 29, 2005 |work=[[The College Hill Independent]] }}</ref> The group established its headquarters in Philadelphia in 1899, and Crowdy later relocated to [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1903. After Crowdy's death in 1908, the church continued to grow under the leadership of William Henry Plummer, who moved the organization's headquarters to its permanent location in [[Belleville, Virginia|Belleville]], [[Virginia]], in 1921.<ref name=Wynia31-34>Wynia, pp. 31–34.</ref> In 1936, the Church of God and Saints of Christ had more than 200 "tabernacles" (congregations) and 37,000 members.<ref name="Africana"/><ref name=Wynia>Wynia, n.p. </ref> [[Howard Z. Plummer|Howard Zebulun Plummer]] succeeded his father and became head of the organization in 1931.<ref>Greene, p. 42.</ref> His son, Levi Solomon Plummer, became the church's leader in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/history/index.html |title=Historical Timeline |accessdate=2008-02-09 |publisher=[[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] }}</ref> Since 2001, the Church of God and Saints of Christ has been led by [[Jehu August Crowdy, Jr.|Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr.]], a great-grandson of William Saunders Crowdy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/leaders/jacrowdy.html |title=Rabbi Jehu August Crowdy, Jr. |accessdate=2008-02-09 |publisher=[[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] }}</ref> As of 2005, it had fifty tabernacles in the United States and dozens in Africa.<ref name=Fox/>

The Church of God and Saints of Christ describes itself as "the oldest African-American congregation in the United States that adheres to the tenets of Judaism".<ref name=Chireau3031/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/main.html |title=Church of God and Saints of Christ |accessdate=2008-02-09 }}</ref> It teaches that all Jews had been black originally, and that African-Americans are descendants of the [[Ten Lost Tribes|lost tribes of Israel]].<ref name=Kidd>Kidd, p. 59.</ref><ref name=Singer59>Singer, p. 59.</ref> Members believe that [[Jesus]] was neither God nor the son of God, but rather an adherent to Judaism and a prophet. They also consider William Saunders Crowdy to be a prophet.<ref name="gallagher">Gallagher, p. 146.</ref>

The Church of God and Saints of Christ synthesizes rituals from both Judaism and Christianity. They have adopted rites drawn from both the [[Old Testament]] and New Testament. Its Jewish observances include [[Brit milah|circumcision]] of newborn boys, use of the [[Hebrew calendar]], wearing of [[Kippah|yarmulke]]s, observance of Saturday as the [[Shabbat|Sabbath]], and celebration of [[Passover]]. Its New Testament rites include [[baptism]] (immersion) and [[footwashing]], both of which have Old Testament origins.<ref name=Kidd/><ref name=Singer59/>

{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}}

===Commandment Keepers===
{{main|Commandment Keepers}}
[[Wentworth Arthur Matthew]] founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation in Harlem in 1919.<ref name="JVL"/> Matthew was influenced by the white Jews he met and by [[Marcus Garvey]] and the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association]]. One of the accomplishments of Garvey's movement was to strengthen the connection between black Americans and Africa, [[Ethiopia]] in particular, and when Matthew learned about the [[Beta Israel]] — Ethiopian Jews — he identified with them.<ref name=Chireau25>Chireau, p. 25.</ref>

The Commandment Keepers follow traditional Jewish practice and observe Jewish holidays.<ref name=Moses537>Moses, p. 537.</ref> Members observe [[Kashrut|Jewish dietary laws]], circumcise newborn boys and celebrate [[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|bar mitzvah]], and their synagogue has a [[Mechitza|partition]] to separate men and woman during worship.<ref name="Jewish Week">{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Herschthal |title=Decline Of A Black Synagogue |url=http://joi.org/bloglinks/black%20synagogue%20Jewish%20Week.htm |work=[[The Jewish Week]] |date=July 6, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-09 }}</ref>

[[Image:RabbiMatthewHoldingTorah.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wentworth Arthur Matthew]] holding a [[Sefer Torah|Torah scroll]].]]
The Commandment Keepers believe they are descendants of [[Solomon|King Solomon]] and the [[Queen of Sheba]].<ref name=Parfitt95>Parfitt, p. 95.</ref> Matthew taught that "the Black man is a Jew" and "all genuine Jews are Black men",<ref name=Sundquist116>Sundquist, p. 116.</ref> but he valued white Jews as those who had preserved Judaism over the centuries.<ref name="JVL"/> Matthew maintained cordial ties with white Jewish leaders in New York and frequently invited them to worship at his synagogue.<ref name=Wolfson48>Wolfson, p. 48.</ref>

Matthew established the Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College (later renamed the Israelite Rabbinical Academy). He ordained more than 20 rabbis, who went on to lead congregations throughout the United States and the Caribbean.<ref name=Sundquist116/><ref name=Wolfson48/> He remained the leader of the Commandment Keepers in Harlem, and in 1962 the congregation moved to a landmark building on 123rd Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc-architecture.com/HAR/HAR025.htm |title=Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation |accessdate=2008-02-01 |publisher=New York Architecture }}</ref>

Matthew died in 1973, sparking an internal conflict over who would succeed him as head of the Harlem congregation. Shortly before his death Matthew named his grandson, David Matthew Doré, the new spiritual leader. Doré was 16 years old at the time. In 1975, the synagogue's board elected Rabbi Willie White to be its leader. Rabbi Doré occasionally conducted services at the synagogue until the early 1980s, when White had Doré and some other members locked out of the building. Membership declined throughout the 1990s and by 2004 only a few dozen people belonged to the synagogue. In 2007 the Commandment Keepers sold the building that housed their synagogue while various factions among former members sued one another.<ref name="Jewish Week"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackjews.org/Essays/DestructionofCommandmentKeepers.html |title=The Destruction of Commandment Keepers, Inc. 1919-2007 |accessdate=2008-02-10 |last=Ben Levy |first=Sholomo |work=BlackJews.org |publisher=International Israelite Board of Rabbis }}</ref>

Beside the Harlem group, there are eight or ten Commandment Keeper congregations in the New York area and others throughout North America and in [[Israel]].<ref>Goldschmidt, p. 221.</ref> Since 2000, seven rabbis have graduated from the Israelite Rabbinical Academy founded by Matthew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackjews.org/IsraeliteAcademy.html |title=Israelite Academy |accessdate=2008-02-10 |work=BlackJews.org |publisher=International Israelite Board of Rabbis }}</ref>

===African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem===
{{main|African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem}}
[[Image:Black hebrews Dimona visit1.jpg|thumb|''African Hebrew Israelites'' speak to visitors in [[Dimona]].]]
[[Ben Ammi|Ben Ammi Ben Israel]] established the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], in 1966. In 1969, after a sojourn in [[Liberia]], Ben Ammi and about 30 Hebrew Israelites moved to [[Israel]].<ref name=Haas>{{cite news |last=Haas |first=Danielle |title=Black Hebrews fight for citizenship in Israel |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/15/MN144395.DTL |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=November 15, 2002 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref> Over the next 20 years nearly 600 more members left the United States for Israel. As of 2006, about 2,500 Hebrew Israelites live in [[Dimona]] and two other towns in the [[Negev]] region of Israel, where they are widely referred to as Black Hebrews.<ref name=CBS>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Music Earns Black Hebrews Some Acceptance |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/05/ap/world/mainD8GPUNGG8.shtml |work=[[CBS News]] |date=April 5, 2006 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref> In addition, there are Hebrew Israelite communities in several major American cities, including Chicago, [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and Washington, D.C.<ref name=Michaeli75>Michaeli, p. 75.</ref>

The Black Hebrews believe they are descended from members of the [[Tribe of Judah]] who were exiled from the [[Land of Israel]] after the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] destroyed the [[Second Temple]] in 70 CE.<ref name=CBS/><ref name=OurStory>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingdomofyah.com/our_story.htm |title=Our Story |accessdate=2008-05-25 |publisher=The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem }}</ref> The group incorporates elements of [[African American culture]] into their interpretation of the Bible,<ref name=Michaeli75/> and they do not recognize rabbinical Jewish interpretations such as the [[Talmud]].<ref name=CBS/> The Black Hebrews observe [[Shabbat]] and biblically-ordained [[Jewish holiday]]s such as [[Yom Kippur]] and [[Passover]].<ref name=Michaeli76>Michaeli, p. 76.</ref> Men wear ''[[tzitzit]]'' on their African print shirts, women follow the [[Niddah|biblical laws concerning menstruation]],<ref name=Michaeli75/> and newborn boys are circumcised.<ref name=Haas/> In accordance with their interpretation of the Bible, the Black Hebrews follow a strictly [[vegan]] diet and wear only natural fabrics.<ref name=Haas/><ref name=OurStory/> Most men have more than one wife, and [[birth control]] is not permitted.<ref name=CBS/>

When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they claimed citizenship under the [[Law of Return]], which gives eligible Jews immediate citizenship.<ref>Michaeli, pp. 73–74.</ref> The Israeli government ruled in 1973 that the group did not qualify for automatic citizenship, and the Black Hebrews were denied [[work permit]]s and state benefits. The group responded by accusing the Israeli government of [[Racism|racist discrimination]].<ref name=Michaeli74>Michaeli, p. 74.</ref> In 1981, a group of American civil rights activist led by [[Bayard Rustin]] investigated and concluded that racism was not the cause of Black Hebrews' situation.<ref name=Shipler>{{cite news |last=Shipler |first=David K. |title=Israelis Urged To Act Over Black Hebrew Cult |url=http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F4071FFA395F0C738FDDA80894D9484D81 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 30, 1981 |accessdate=2008-05-28 }}</ref> No official action was taken to return the Black Hebrews to the United States, but some individual members were [[Deportation|deported]] for working illegally. Some Black Hebrews [[Renunciation of citizenship|renounced]] their American citizenship to try to prevent more deportations. In 1990, Illinois legislators helped negotiate an agreement that resolved the Black Hebrews' legal status in Israel. Members of the group are permitted to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their American citizenship and have received aid from the U.S. government that helped them build a school and additional housing.<ref name=Michaeli74/> In 2003 the agreement was revised, and the Black Hebrews were granted [[Permanent residency|permanent resident]] status.<ref name=MFA>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/people/the%20black%20hebrews |title=The Hebrew Israelite Community |accessdate=2008-05-26 |date=September 29, 2006 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs }}</ref><ref name=Kaufman>{{cite news |last=Kaufman |first=David |title=Quest for a Homeland Gains a World Stage |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/fashion/sundaystyles/16BUTLER.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 16, 2006 |accessdate=2008-05-28 }}</ref>

In 2009, Elyakim Ben-Israel became the first Black Hebrew to receive Israeli citizenship. The Israeli government said that more Black Hebrews may be granted citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alush |first=Zvi |title=First Black Hebrew Gets Israeli Citizenship |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3665976,00.html |work=[[Ynetnews]] |date=February 2, 2009 |accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

The Black Hebrews have become well-known for their [[Gospel music|gospel choir]], which tours throughout Israel and the United States. The group owns restaurants in several Israeli cities.<ref name=Michaeli74/> In 2003 the Black Hebrews garnered much public attention when singer [[Whitney Houston]] visited them in Dimona.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel retreat for Houston |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2940042.stm |publisher=[[BBC News Online]] |date=May 27, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Whitney Houston visits Israel for Christmas album inspiration |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2003-05-27-houston-israel_x.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=May 28, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Palti |first=Michal |title=Whitney does Dimona |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/black_hebrews/black_hebrews6.html |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=May 29, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref> In 2006, [[Eddie Butler (singer)|Eddie Butler]], a Black Hebrew, was chosen by the Israeli public to [[Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006|represent Israel]] in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2006|Eurovision Song Contest]].<ref name=CBS/><ref name=Kaufman/>

==Allegations of black supremacy and racism==
In late 2008, the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) described as [[Black supremacy|black supremacist]] what it called "the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement". It wrote that the members of such groups "believe that Jews are devilish impostors and ... openly condemn whites as evil personified, deserving only death or slavery". The SPLC also said that "most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence".<ref name=Ready>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=941 |title='Ready for War' |accessdate=2008-11-22 |date=Fall 2008 |work=Intelligence Report |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] }}</ref>

The Black Hebrew groups characterized as black supremacist by the SPLC include the [[Nation of Yahweh]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=808 |title=Margins to the Mainstream |accessdate=2008-11-22 |last=Potok |first=Mark |date=Fall 2007 |work=Intelligence Report |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] }}</ref> and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.<ref name=Ready/> Also, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] has written that the "12 Tribes of Israel" website, maintained by a Black Hebrew group, promotes black supremacy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/black_bigots.asp |title=Poisoning the Web: African-American Anti-Semitism |accessdate=2008-11-22 |year=2001 |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] }}</ref>

==Correspondence of the Twelve Tribes of Israel==
Some groups of Black Hebrews believe that various groups in the Americas correspond to the Biblical [[Israelites|Twelve Tribes of Israel]]. One such correspondence is:

* [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] — [[Black Americans]]
* [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]] — [[Caribbean|West Indians]]
* [[Levite|Levi]] — [[Haiti]]ans
* [[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]] — [[Dominican Republic|Dominicans]]
* [[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulon]] — [[Guatemala]]ns, [[Panama]]nians
* [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim]] — [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Ricans]]
* [[Tribe of Menasheh|Manasseh]] — [[Cubans]]
* [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]] — [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American Indians]]
* [[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]] — [[Seminole]] Indians
* [[Tribe of Asher|Asher]] — [[Colombia]]ns, [[Uruguay]]ans
* [[Tribe of Naphtali|Napthali]] — [[Argentina|Argentines]], [[Chile]]ans
* [[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]] — [[Mexico|Mexicans]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saintsunit.org/12tribes.html |title=The 12 Tribes |accessdate=2008-10-22 |author= |last= |first= |date= |year= |month= |publisher=Children of the Saints Unit }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portalbox
| name1 = African American
| image1 = AmericaAfrica.png
| name2 = Israel
| image2 = Flag of Israel.svg
| name3 = Judaism
| image3 = Star of David.svg
}}
* [[Afro-American religion]]
* [[Groups claiming an affiliation with the ancient Israelites]]
* [[Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book |last=Ben-Jochannan |first=Yosef A. A. |authorlink=Yosef Ben-Jochannan |title=We, the Black Jews: Witness to the "White Jewish Race" Myth |origyear=1983 |year=1993 |publisher=Black Classic Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=0933121407 }}
*{{cite book |last=Chireau |first=Yvonne |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790–1930, an Overview }}
*{{cite book |last=Fauset |first=Arthur Huff |authorlink=Arthur Fauset |title=Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North |origyear=1944 |year=2002 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0812210018 }}
*{{cite book |title=The New Religious Movements Experience in America |last=Gallagher |first=Eugene V. |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=0313328072 }}
*{{cite book |last=Goldschmidt |first=Henry |title=Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights |year=2006 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brusnwick, N.J. |isbn=0813538971 }}
*{{cite book |title=Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: A Diary, 1930–1933 |last=Greene |first=Lorenzo Johnston |authorlink=Lorenzo Greene |coauthors=Arvarh E. Strickland, ed. |year=1996 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |location=Columbia, Mo. |isbn=0826210686 }}
*{{cite book |last=Isaac |first=Walter |editor=[[Lewis Gordon|Lewis R. Gordon]], Jane Anna Gordon, eds. |title=A Companion to African-American Studies |year=2006 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Malden, Mass. |isbn=0631235167 |chapter=Locating African-American Judaism: A Critique of White Normativity }}
*{{cite book |title=The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000 |last=Kidd |first=Colin |authorlink=Colin Kidd |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0521793246 }}
*{{cite book |last=Landing |first=James E. |title=Black Judaism: Story of an American Movement |year=2002 |publisher=Carolina Academic Press |location=Durham, N. C. |isbn=0890898200 }}
*{{cite book |last=Michaeli |first=Ethan |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona }}
*{{cite book |last=Moses |first=Wilson Jeremiah |editor=[[Cornel West]], Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., eds. |title=African American Religious Thought: An Anthology |year=2003 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Louisville, Ky. |isbn=0664224598 |chapter=Chosen Peoples of the Metropolis: Black Muslims, Black Jews, and Others }}
*{{cite book |last=Parfitt |first=Tudor |coauthors=Emanuela Trevisan Semi |title=Judaising Movements: Studies in the Margins of Judaism in Modern Times |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0700715150 }}
*{{cite book |last=Singer |first=Merrill |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites }}
*{{cite book |last=Sundquist |first=Eric J. |title=Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America |year=2002 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |isbn=0674019423 }}
*{{cite book |last=Wolfson |first=Bernard J. |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=African American Jews: Dispelling Myths, Bridging the Divide }}
*{{cite book |last=Wynia |first=Elly M. |title=The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews |year=1994 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0815311362 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat|Black Hebrew}}
*[http://www.religioustolerance.org/bhi.htm Black Hebrew Israelites—ReligousTolerance.org]
*[http://www.blackapologetics.com/bhifaq.html Black Hebrew Israelite FAQ—Black Apologetics Ministry]
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/Black_Hebrews.html The Black Hebrews], [[Jewish Virtual Library]]

[[Category:Black Hebrew Israelites| ]]
[[Category:African American culture]]
[[Category:Black Jews]]
[[Category:Groups claiming Jewish descent]]
[[Category:African and Black nationalism]]
{{Jews and Judaism}}

[[bg:Черни евреи]]
[[ca:Hebreus africans]]
[[es:Israelitas negros]]
[[fr:Hébreux noirs]]
[[nl:Afrikaanse Hebreeërs]]
[[ja:ブラック・ジュー]]
[[pt:Israelitas negros]]
[[ru:Чёрные евреи]]

Schwarze Hebräer

2010-03-17T01:29:06Z

Weaponbb7: Undid revision 350317854 by 69.86.233.94 (talk)

{{African American topics sidebar|right}}
'''Black Hebrew Israelites''' (also '''Black Hebrews''', '''African Hebrew Israelites''', and '''Hebrew Israelites''') are groups of people mostly of [[Black people|Black African]] ancestry situated mainly in the [[United States]] who believe they are descendants of the ancient [[Israelite]]s. Black Hebrews adhere in varying degrees to the religious beliefs and practices of mainstream [[Judaism]]. They are generally not accepted as [[Jew]]s by the greater Jewish community, and many Black Hebrews consider themselves — and not mainstream Jews — to be the only authentic descendants of the ancient [[Israelites]]. Many choose to self-identify as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than as Jews.<ref>Ben-Jochannan, p. 306.</ref><ref name="JVL">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/blackjews.html |title=The Black Jewish or Hebrew Israelite Community |accessdate=2007-12-15 |last=Ben Levy |first=Sholomo |publisher=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor=Johannes P. Schade |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Religions |title=Black Hebrews |year=2006 |publisher=Foreign Media Group |location=Franklin Park, N.J. |isbn=1601360002 }}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |first=Tara |last=Bahrampour |title=They're Jewish, With a Gospel Accent |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E3DD1230F935A15755C0A9669C8B63 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 26, 2000 |accessdate=2008-01-19 }}</ref>

Dozens of Black Hebrew groups were founded during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries.<ref name=Chireau21/> In the mid-1980s, the number of Black Hebrews in the United States was between 25,000 and 40,000.<ref name=Sundquist118>Sundquist, p. 118.</ref> In the 1990s, the [[Alliance of Black Jews]] estimated that there were 200,000 African-American Jews, including Black Hebrews and those recognized as Jews by mainstream Jewish organizations.<ref name=Gelbwasser>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/8426/edition_id/160/format/html/displaystory.html |title=Organization for black Jews claims 200,000 in U.S. |accessdate=2008-02-12 |author=Michael Gelbwasser |date=1998-04-10 |publisher=''[[j.]]'' }}</ref>

==Overview==
While [[Black Christians]] traditionally have identified themselves with the [[Children of Israel]], they never claimed to be descendants of the [[Israelites]].<ref name=Chireau18>Chireau, p. 18.</ref> In the late 19th century among some African-Americans, an identification ''with'' the ancient Hebrews developed into an identification ''as'' ancient Hebrews.<ref name=Chireau21>Chireau, p. 21.</ref> One of the first groups of Black Hebrews, the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]], was founded in 1896.<ref name=Chireau21/> During the following decades, many more Black Hebrew congregations were established. These groups claimed descent from the ancient Israelites. They selected elements of Judaism and adapted them within a structure similar to that of the [[Black church]].<ref name=Chireau21/>

The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably. The differences are so great that historian [[James Tinney]] has suggested the classification of the organizations into three groups: Black Jews, who maintain a Christological perspective and adopt Jewish rituals; Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism; and Black Israelites, who are most [[Black nationalism|nationalistic]] and farthest from traditional Judaism.<ref name=Tinney>{{cite journal |last=Tinney |first=James |date=December 7, 1973 |title=Black Jews: A House Divided |journal=[[Christianity Today]] |pages=52–54 }}, cited at Chireau, p. 29.</ref>

Nevertheless, Black Hebrew organizations have certain common characteristics. Anthropologist James E. Landing, author of ''Black Judaism'', distinguishes the Black Hebrew movement, which he refers to as Black Judaism, from normative Judaism practiced by people who are Black (black Judaism):

<blockquote>Black Judaism is ... a form of institutionalized (congregational) religious expression in which black persons identify themselves as Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews...in a manner that seems unacceptable to the "whites" of the world's Jewish community, primarily because Jews take issue with the various justifications set forth by Black Jews in establishing this identity. Thus "Black Judaism," as defined here, stands distinctly apart from "black Judaism," or that Judaic expression found among black persons that would be acceptable to the world's Jewish community, such as conversion or birth to a recognized Jewish mother. "Black Judaism" has been a social movement; "black Judaism" has been an isolated social phenomenon.<ref name=Landing10>Landing, p. 10, quoted in Walter, p. 520.</ref></blockquote>

Landing's definition, and its underlying assumptions about race and normative Judaism, have been criticized,<ref name=Isaac>Isaac, pp. 512–542.</ref> but it provides a helpful framework for understanding some of the common traits that various Black Hebrew organizations share.

==Groups==
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dozens of Black Hebrew organizations were established.<ref name=Chireau21/> In [[Harlem]] alone, at least eight such groups were founded between 1919 and 1931.<ref name=Parfitt96>Parfitt, p. 96.</ref> The Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations is the oldest known Black Hebrew group<ref name=Singer57/> and the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] is one of the largest Black Hebrew organizations.<ref name="Africana"/> The [[Commandment Keepers]] are noted for their adherence to traditional Judaism<ref name=Moses537/> and the [[African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem]] are widely known for having moved from the United States to [[Israel]].<ref name=Shipler/><ref name=Haas/><ref name=MFA/>

===Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations===
The oldest known Black Hebrew organization is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations.<ref name=Singer57>Singer, p. 57.</ref><ref name=Chireau3031>Chireau, pp. 30–31. "The founding dates of the earliest black-Jewish congregations are in dispute. Shapiro notes that F.S. Cherry's Church of God was organized in Tennessee in 1886, but other sources do not confirm this date. Another group, the Moorish Zion Temple, founded in 1899 by a Rabbi Richlieu of Brooklyn, New York, was one of the earliest black Jewish congregations that did not combine Jewish and Christian beliefs, as did the Church of God and the Saints of Christ."</ref> The group was founded by F. S. Cherry in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]], [[Tennessee]], in 1886, and later moved to [[Philadelphia]].<ref name=Singer57-58>Singer, pp. 57–58.</ref> Theologically, the Church of the Living God mixed elements of Judaism and Christianity, counting the [[Bible]] — including the [[New Testament]] — and the [[Talmud]] as essential scriptures.<ref name=Fauset34>Fauset, p. 34.</ref> The rituals of Cherry’s flock incorporated many Jewish practices and prohibitions alongside some Christian traditions.<ref name=Fauset36-40>Fauset, pp. 36–40.</ref> For example, during prayer the men wore [[Kippah|skullcap]]s and congregants [[Mizrah|faced east]]. In addition, members of the Church were not permitted to eat pork.<ref name=Fauset36-40/> Prayers were accompanied by musical instruments and [[Gospel music|gospel singing]].<ref name=Fauset36-37>Fauset, pp. 36–37.</ref> After Cherry's death, members of the church believed he had left temporarily and would reappear soon in spirit to lead the church through his son.<ref name="Africana">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hudson |first=Peter |editor=[[Kwame Anthony Appiah]] and [[Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]] |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Africana|Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience]] |title=Black Jews |year=1999 |publisher=Basic Civitas Books |location=New York |pages=1050 }}</ref>

===Church of God and Saints of Christ===
{{main|Church of God and Saints of Christ}}
[[File:Fletcher Chapel.jpg|thumb|Former headquarters of the [[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] The building is now known as First Tabernacle Beth El and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].]]
The Church of God and Saints of Christ was established in [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]], [[Kansas]], in 1896 by [[William Saunders Crowdy]].<ref name=Fox>{{cite news |url=http://www.brown.edu/Students/INDY/archives/2005-09-29/articles/arts-fox_israelite.php |title=Sons of Abraham |accessdate=2007-10-20 |last=Fox |first=Andrew |date=September 29, 2005 |work=[[The College Hill Independent]] }}</ref> The group established its headquarters in Philadelphia in 1899, and Crowdy later relocated to [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1903. After Crowdy's death in 1908, the church continued to grow under the leadership of William Henry Plummer, who moved the organization's headquarters to its permanent location in [[Belleville, Virginia|Belleville]], [[Virginia]], in 1921.<ref name=Wynia31-34>Wynia, pp. 31–34.</ref> In 1936, the Church of God and Saints of Christ had more than 200 "tabernacles" (congregations) and 37,000 members.<ref name="Africana"/><ref name=Wynia>Wynia, n.p. </ref> [[Howard Z. Plummer|Howard Zebulun Plummer]] succeeded his father and became head of the organization in 1931.<ref>Greene, p. 42.</ref> His son, Levi Solomon Plummer, became the church's leader in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/history/index.html |title=Historical Timeline |accessdate=2008-02-09 |publisher=[[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] }}</ref> Since 2001, the Church of God and Saints of Christ has been led by [[Jehu August Crowdy, Jr.|Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr.]], a great-grandson of William Saunders Crowdy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/leaders/jacrowdy.html |title=Rabbi Jehu August Crowdy, Jr. |accessdate=2008-02-09 |publisher=[[Church of God and Saints of Christ]] }}</ref> As of 2005, it had fifty tabernacles in the United States and dozens in Africa.<ref name=Fox/>

The Church of God and Saints of Christ describes itself as "the oldest African-American congregation in the United States that adheres to the tenets of Judaism".<ref name=Chireau3031/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cogasoc.org/main.html |title=Church of God and Saints of Christ |accessdate=2008-02-09 }}</ref> It teaches that all Jews had been black originally, and that African-Americans are descendants of the [[Ten Lost Tribes|lost tribes of Israel]].<ref name=Kidd>Kidd, p. 59.</ref><ref name=Singer59>Singer, p. 59.</ref> Members believe that [[Jesus]] was neither God nor the son of God, but rather an adherent to Judaism and a prophet. They also consider William Saunders Crowdy to be a prophet.<ref name="gallagher">Gallagher, p. 146.</ref>

The Church of God and Saints of Christ synthesizes rituals from both Judaism and Christianity. They have adopted rites drawn from both the [[Old Testament]] and New Testament. Its Jewish observances include [[Brit milah|circumcision]] of newborn boys, use of the [[Hebrew calendar]], wearing of [[Kippah|yarmulke]]s, observance of Saturday as the [[Shabbat|Sabbath]], and celebration of [[Passover]]. Its New Testament rites include [[baptism]] (immersion) and [[footwashing]], both of which have Old Testament origins.<ref name=Kidd/><ref name=Singer59/>

{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}}

===Commandment Keepers===
{{main|Commandment Keepers}}
[[Wentworth Arthur Matthew]] founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation in Harlem in 1919.<ref name="JVL"/> Matthew was influenced by the white Jews he met and by [[Marcus Garvey]] and the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association]]. One of the accomplishments of Garvey's movement was to strengthen the connection between black Americans and Africa, [[Ethiopia]] in particular, and when Matthew learned about the [[Beta Israel]] — Ethiopian Jews — he identified with them.<ref name=Chireau25>Chireau, p. 25.</ref>

The Commandment Keepers follow traditional Jewish practice and observe Jewish holidays.<ref name=Moses537>Moses, p. 537.</ref> Members observe [[Kashrut|Jewish dietary laws]], circumcise newborn boys and celebrate [[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|bar mitzvah]], and their synagogue has a [[Mechitza|partition]] to separate men and woman during worship.<ref name="Jewish Week">{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Herschthal |title=Decline Of A Black Synagogue |url=http://joi.org/bloglinks/black%20synagogue%20Jewish%20Week.htm |work=[[The Jewish Week]] |date=July 6, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-09 }}</ref>

[[Image:RabbiMatthewHoldingTorah.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wentworth Arthur Matthew]] holding a [[Sefer Torah|Torah scroll]].]]
The Commandment Keepers believe they are descendants of [[Solomon|King Solomon]] and the [[Queen of Sheba]].<ref name=Parfitt95>Parfitt, p. 95.</ref> Matthew taught that "the Black man is a Jew" and "all genuine Jews are Black men",<ref name=Sundquist116>Sundquist, p. 116.</ref> but he valued white Jews as those who had preserved Judaism over the centuries.<ref name="JVL"/> Matthew maintained cordial ties with white Jewish leaders in New York and frequently invited them to worship at his synagogue.<ref name=Wolfson48>Wolfson, p. 48.</ref>

Matthew established the Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College (later renamed the Israelite Rabbinical Academy). He ordained more than 20 rabbis, who went on to lead congregations throughout the United States and the Caribbean.<ref name=Sundquist116/><ref name=Wolfson48/> He remained the leader of the Commandment Keepers in Harlem, and in 1962 the congregation moved to a landmark building on 123rd Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc-architecture.com/HAR/HAR025.htm |title=Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation |accessdate=2008-02-01 |publisher=New York Architecture }}</ref>

Matthew died in 1973, sparking an internal conflict over who would succeed him as head of the Harlem congregation. Shortly before his death Matthew named his grandson, David Matthew Doré, the new spiritual leader. Doré was 16 years old at the time. In 1975, the synagogue's board elected Rabbi Willie White to be its leader. Rabbi Doré occasionally conducted services at the synagogue until the early 1980s, when White had Doré and some other members locked out of the building. Membership declined throughout the 1990s and by 2004 only a few dozen people belonged to the synagogue. In 2007 the Commandment Keepers sold the building that housed their synagogue while various factions among former members sued one another.<ref name="Jewish Week"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackjews.org/Essays/DestructionofCommandmentKeepers.html |title=The Destruction of Commandment Keepers, Inc. 1919-2007 |accessdate=2008-02-10 |last=Ben Levy |first=Sholomo |work=BlackJews.org |publisher=International Israelite Board of Rabbis }}</ref>

Beside the Harlem group, there are eight or ten Commandment Keeper congregations in the New York area and others throughout North America and in [[Israel]].<ref>Goldschmidt, p. 221.</ref> Since 2000, seven rabbis have graduated from the Israelite Rabbinical Academy founded by Matthew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackjews.org/IsraeliteAcademy.html |title=Israelite Academy |accessdate=2008-02-10 |work=BlackJews.org |publisher=International Israelite Board of Rabbis }}</ref>

===African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem===
{{main|African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem}}
[[Image:Black hebrews Dimona visit1.jpg|thumb|''African Hebrew Israelites'' speak to visitors in [[Dimona]].]]
[[Ben Ammi|Ben Ammi Ben Israel]] established the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], in 1966. In 1969, after a sojourn in [[Liberia]], Ben Ammi and about 30 Hebrew Israelites moved to [[Israel]].<ref name=Haas>{{cite news |last=Haas |first=Danielle |title=Black Hebrews fight for citizenship in Israel |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/15/MN144395.DTL |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=November 15, 2002 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref> Over the next 20 years nearly 600 more members left the United States for Israel. As of 2006, about 2,500 Hebrew Israelites live in [[Dimona]] and two other towns in the [[Negev]] region of Israel, where they are widely referred to as Black Hebrews.<ref name=CBS>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Music Earns Black Hebrews Some Acceptance |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/05/ap/world/mainD8GPUNGG8.shtml |work=[[CBS News]] |date=April 5, 2006 |accessdate=2008-05-25 }}</ref> In addition, there are Hebrew Israelite communities in several major American cities, including Chicago, [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and Washington, D.C.<ref name=Michaeli75>Michaeli, p. 75.</ref>

The Black Hebrews believe they are descended from members of the [[Tribe of Judah]] who were exiled from the [[Land of Israel]] after the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] destroyed the [[Second Temple]] in 70 CE.<ref name=CBS/><ref name=OurStory>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingdomofyah.com/our_story.htm |title=Our Story |accessdate=2008-05-25 |publisher=The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem }}</ref> The group incorporates elements of [[African American culture]] into their interpretation of the Bible,<ref name=Michaeli75/> and they do not recognize rabbinical Jewish interpretations such as the [[Talmud]].<ref name=CBS/> The Black Hebrews observe [[Shabbat]] and biblically-ordained [[Jewish holiday]]s such as [[Yom Kippur]] and [[Passover]].<ref name=Michaeli76>Michaeli, p. 76.</ref> Men wear ''[[tzitzit]]'' on their African print shirts, women follow the [[Niddah|biblical laws concerning menstruation]],<ref name=Michaeli75/> and newborn boys are circumcised.<ref name=Haas/> In accordance with their interpretation of the Bible, the Black Hebrews follow a strictly [[vegan]] diet and wear only natural fabrics.<ref name=Haas/><ref name=OurStory/> Most men have more than one wife, and [[birth control]] is not permitted.<ref name=CBS/>

When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they claimed citizenship under the [[Law of Return]], which gives eligible Jews immediate citizenship.<ref>Michaeli, pp. 73–74.</ref> The Israeli government ruled in 1973 that the group did not qualify for automatic citizenship, and the Black Hebrews were denied [[work permit]]s and state benefits. The group responded by accusing the Israeli government of [[Racism|racist discrimination]].<ref name=Michaeli74>Michaeli, p. 74.</ref> In 1981, a group of American civil rights activist led by [[Bayard Rustin]] investigated and concluded that racism was not the cause of Black Hebrews' situation.<ref name=Shipler>{{cite news |last=Shipler |first=David K. |title=Israelis Urged To Act Over Black Hebrew Cult |url=http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F4071FFA395F0C738FDDA80894D9484D81 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 30, 1981 |accessdate=2008-05-28 }}</ref> No official action was taken to return the Black Hebrews to the United States, but some individual members were [[Deportation|deported]] for working illegally. Some Black Hebrews [[Renunciation of citizenship|renounced]] their American citizenship to try to prevent more deportations. In 1990, Illinois legislators helped negotiate an agreement that resolved the Black Hebrews' legal status in Israel. Members of the group are permitted to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their American citizenship and have received aid from the U.S. government that helped them build a school and additional housing.<ref name=Michaeli74/> In 2003 the agreement was revised, and the Black Hebrews were granted [[Permanent residency|permanent resident]] status.<ref name=MFA>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/people/the%20black%20hebrews |title=The Hebrew Israelite Community |accessdate=2008-05-26 |date=September 29, 2006 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs }}</ref><ref name=Kaufman>{{cite news |last=Kaufman |first=David |title=Quest for a Homeland Gains a World Stage |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/fashion/sundaystyles/16BUTLER.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 16, 2006 |accessdate=2008-05-28 }}</ref>

In 2009, Elyakim Ben-Israel became the first Black Hebrew to receive Israeli citizenship. The Israeli government said that more Black Hebrews may be granted citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alush |first=Zvi |title=First Black Hebrew Gets Israeli Citizenship |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3665976,00.html |work=[[Ynetnews]] |date=February 2, 2009 |accessdate=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

The Black Hebrews have become well-known for their [[Gospel music|gospel choir]], which tours throughout Israel and the United States. The group owns restaurants in several Israeli cities.<ref name=Michaeli74/> In 2003 the Black Hebrews garnered much public attention when singer [[Whitney Houston]] visited them in Dimona.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel retreat for Houston |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2940042.stm |publisher=[[BBC News Online]] |date=May 27, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Whitney Houston visits Israel for Christmas album inspiration |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2003-05-27-houston-israel_x.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=May 28, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Palti |first=Michal |title=Whitney does Dimona |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/black_hebrews/black_hebrews6.html |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=May 29, 2003 |accessdate=2008-05-26 }}</ref> In 2006, [[Eddie Butler (singer)|Eddie Butler]], a Black Hebrew, was chosen by the Israeli public to [[Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006|represent Israel]] in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2006|Eurovision Song Contest]].<ref name=CBS/><ref name=Kaufman/>

==Allegations of black supremacy and racism==
In late 2008, the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) described as [[Black supremacy|black supremacist]] what it called "the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement". It wrote that the members of such groups "believe that Jews are devilish impostors and ... openly condemn whites as evil personified, deserving only death or slavery". The SPLC also said that "most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence".<ref name=Ready>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=941 |title='Ready for War' |accessdate=2008-11-22 |date=Fall 2008 |work=Intelligence Report |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] }}</ref>

The Black Hebrew groups characterized as black supremacist by the SPLC include the [[Nation of Yahweh]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=808 |title=Margins to the Mainstream |accessdate=2008-11-22 |last=Potok |first=Mark |date=Fall 2007 |work=Intelligence Report |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] }}</ref> and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.<ref name=Ready/> Also, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] has written that the "12 Tribes of Israel" website, maintained by a Black Hebrew group, promotes black supremacy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/black_bigots.asp |title=Poisoning the Web: African-American Anti-Semitism |accessdate=2008-11-22 |year=2001 |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] }}</ref>

==Correspondence of the Twelve Tribes of Israel==
Some groups of Black Hebrews believe that various groups in the Americas correspond to the Biblical [[Israelites|Twelve Tribes of Israel]]. One such correspondence is:

* [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] — [[Black Americans]]
* [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]] — [[Caribbean|West Indians]]
* [[Levite|Levi]] — [[Haiti]]ans
* [[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]] — [[Dominican Republic|Dominicans]]
* [[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulon]] — [[Guatemala]]ns, [[Panama]]nians
* [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim]] — [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Ricans]]
* [[Tribe of Menasheh|Manasseh]] — [[Cubans]]
* [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]] — [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American Indians]]
* [[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]] — [[Seminole]] Indians
* [[Tribe of Asher|Asher]] — [[Colombia]]ns, [[Uruguay]]ans
* [[Tribe of Naphtali|Napthali]] — [[Argentina|Argentines]], [[Chile]]ans
* [[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]] — [[Mexico|Mexicans]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saintsunit.org/12tribes.html |title=The 12 Tribes |accessdate=2008-10-22 |author= |last= |first= |date= |year= |month= |publisher=Children of the Saints Unit }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portalbox
| name1 = African American
| image1 = AmericaAfrica.png
| name2 = Israel
| image2 = Flag of Israel.svg
| name3 = Judaism
| image3 = Star of David.svg
}}
* [[Afro-American religion]]
* [[Groups claiming an affiliation with the ancient Israelites]]
* [[Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book |last=Ben-Jochannan |first=Yosef A. A. |authorlink=Yosef Ben-Jochannan |title=We, the Black Jews: Witness to the "White Jewish Race" Myth |origyear=1983 |year=1993 |publisher=Black Classic Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=0933121407 }}
*{{cite book |last=Chireau |first=Yvonne |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790–1930, an Overview }}
*{{cite book |last=Fauset |first=Arthur Huff |authorlink=Arthur Fauset |title=Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North |origyear=1944 |year=2002 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0812210018 }}
*{{cite book |title=The New Religious Movements Experience in America |last=Gallagher |first=Eugene V. |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=0313328072 }}
*{{cite book |last=Goldschmidt |first=Henry |title=Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights |year=2006 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brusnwick, N.J. |isbn=0813538971 }}
*{{cite book |title=Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: A Diary, 1930–1933 |last=Greene |first=Lorenzo Johnston |authorlink=Lorenzo Greene |coauthors=Arvarh E. Strickland, ed. |year=1996 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |location=Columbia, Mo. |isbn=0826210686 }}
*{{cite book |last=Isaac |first=Walter |editor=[[Lewis Gordon|Lewis R. Gordon]], Jane Anna Gordon, eds. |title=A Companion to African-American Studies |year=2006 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Malden, Mass. |isbn=0631235167 |chapter=Locating African-American Judaism: A Critique of White Normativity }}
*{{cite book |title=The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000 |last=Kidd |first=Colin |authorlink=Colin Kidd |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0521793246 }}
*{{cite book |last=Landing |first=James E. |title=Black Judaism: Story of an American Movement |year=2002 |publisher=Carolina Academic Press |location=Durham, N. C. |isbn=0890898200 }}
*{{cite book |last=Michaeli |first=Ethan |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona }}
*{{cite book |last=Moses |first=Wilson Jeremiah |editor=[[Cornel West]], Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., eds. |title=African American Religious Thought: An Anthology |year=2003 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Louisville, Ky. |isbn=0664224598 |chapter=Chosen Peoples of the Metropolis: Black Muslims, Black Jews, and Others }}
*{{cite book |last=Parfitt |first=Tudor |coauthors=Emanuela Trevisan Semi |title=Judaising Movements: Studies in the Margins of Judaism in Modern Times |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0700715150 }}
*{{cite book |last=Singer |first=Merrill |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites }}
*{{cite book |last=Sundquist |first=Eric J. |title=Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America |year=2002 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |isbn=0674019423 }}
*{{cite book |last=Wolfson |first=Bernard J. |editor=Yvonne Patricia Chireau, [[Nathaniel Deutsch]], eds. |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195112571 |chapter=African American Jews: Dispelling Myths, Bridging the Divide }}
*{{cite book |last=Wynia |first=Elly M. |title=The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews |year=1994 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0815311362 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons cat|Black Hebrew}}
*[http://www.religioustolerance.org/bhi.htm Black Hebrew Israelites—ReligousTolerance.org]
*[http://www.blackapologetics.com/bhifaq.html Black Hebrew Israelite FAQ—Black Apologetics Ministry]
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/Black_Hebrews.html The Black Hebrews], [[Jewish Virtual Library]]

[[Category:Black Hebrew Israelites| ]]
[[Category:African American culture]]
[[Category:Black Jews]]
[[Category:Groups claiming Jewish descent]]
[[Category:African and Black nationalism]]
[[bg:Черни евреи]]
[[ca:Hebreus africans]]
[[es:Israelitas negros]]
[[fr:Hébreux noirs]]
[[nl:Afrikaanse Hebreeërs]]
[[ja:ブラック・ジュー]]
[[ru:Чёрные евреи]]

{{Jews and Judaism}}

J. Gordon Melton

2010-01-18T21:45:07Z

Weaponbb7: /* Criticism */Removing Unesscary Pejorative

{{Self-published|article|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Scientist
| image = 
| image_width =
| name = John Gordon Melton
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| field = [[religion]], [[new religious movements]]
| work_institution = [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]
| alma_mater = [[Birmingham Southern College]] [[Garrett Theological Seminary]] [[Northwestern University]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = ''Religious Leaders of America'' ''Prime-Time Religion'' ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''
| prizes =
| religion = [[United Methodist]]
}}
'''John Gordon Melton''' (born September 19, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] religious scholar who was the founding director of the [[Institute for the Study of American Religion]] and is currently a research specialist in [[religion]] and [[New Religious Movement]]s with the Department of [[Religious Studies]] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at [[Baylor University]]'s Institute for Studies of Religion.[http://www.isreligion.org]

He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including several encyclopedias, handbooks, and almanacs on American religion and new religious movements. He lives in [[Santa Barbara, California]].

His areas of research include major [[religion|religious]] traditions, [[New religious movement|new religions and alternative religions]], [[Occultism]] and [[Parapsychology]], [[New Age]], and [[vampire|vampirology]].

Melton has been criticized by several scholars for what they see as [[conflicts of interest]] in his reporting of some of the groups he studies.

==Early life==
Melton was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the son of Burnum Edgar Melton and Inez Parker. In 1964 he graduated from [[Birmingham Southern College]] with the B.A. degree and then proceeded to theological studies at [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|Garrett Theological Seminary]] (M.Div., 1968). He married Dorothea Dudley in 1966, with one daughter born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.

In 1968, Melton was ordained as an elder in the [[United Methodist]] church and remains under bishop's appointment to this day. He was the pastor of the United Methodist church in [[Wyanet, Illinois|Wyanet]], [[Illinois]] (1974-75), and then at [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois (1975-80). He was also a member of the [[Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship]].

==Graduate studies==
Melton pursued graduate studies at [[Northwestern University]] where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.

Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer T. Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, ''The Small Sects in America'', captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 163</ref>

; Professional organizations
*[[American Academy of Religion]]
*[[American Society of Church History]]
*[[Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]]

==Methodology and writing ==
;Reference works
Much of Melton's professional career has involved literary and field-research into alternative and minority religious bodies. In taking his cue from the writings of Elmer Clark, Melton has spent almost four decades in identifying, counting and classifying the many different churches, major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions found in North America. His ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', which was originally published in 1978, has become a standard work of reference that outstrips the number of groups that Clark was able to identify and classify in the 1940s.

Other noteworthy reference works include his ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'', ''New Age Almanac'', and ''Prime-time Religion'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] and [[Jon R. Stone]]). He has also acted as the series editor for four different multi-volume series of reference books: ''The Churches Speak'' (published by Garland), ''Cults and New Religions'' (published by Garland), ''Sects and Cults in America Bibliographical Guides'' (published by Garland), and ''Religious Information Systems Series'' (published by Garland). Several of these reference works provide significant information for the study of American religious history and church history.

He is a contributor to academic journals such as ''Syzygy'', and ''Nova Religio''. He has also contributed chapters to various multi-authored books on new religions, and articles in many other reference works, handbooks and encyclopedias of religion.

;Research emphasis
Melton's major emphasis has been on collating primary source data on religious groups and movements. His approach to research is shaped, in part, by his training in church history, but also in the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] of religion. His methodology has followed that of a historian seeking primary source literature, and so he has generally made direct, personal contact with the leaders or official representatives of a church or religious group. The purpose of such contact has been to obtain the group's main religious literature to ascertain their principal teachings and practices. His inquiries also comprise, gathering membership statistics, details of the group's history and so forth. These details then take shape in the profiles Melton drafts up in reference texts like the ''Encyclopedia of American Religions''.

Melton uses a group's religious texts as the essential mainstay for reporting about a group before then proceeding to scholarly questions and analysis about the wider social, religious and historical contexts.

== Main areas of research ==
===Phenomenology of new religions===
Melton states that he is "a United Methodist minister with a deep commitment to conservative Evangelical Protestantism" (''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 160). However, his own writings lack the distinctive critical emphases that are found in Christian countercult literature. As Melton has concentrated on the phenomenology and not the [[theology]] of new religions, his lack of explicit doctrinal criticisms of cults has elicited considerable critical comment from countercult apologists. Some countercult apologists<ref>http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html</ref> cannot reconcile his statements of professed evangelicalism with the content of his books. Countercult apologists appear to assume that an evangelical writing on cults would necessarily present direct doctrinal objections. [[Anton Hein]] has emphasized this latter point in his criticisms of Melton. (See "Criticism" section).

Melton believes that as an evangelical he can simultaneously uphold his commitment to Christ as saviour and defend the [[civil rights]] of non-Christians to religious freedom. He explains his perceived and apparent reluctance to pursue the apologetic concerns of his colleagues in the Christian countercult movement:

<blockquote>"My encounter with many Evangelical Christians who write about other religions has, to some extent, helped shape my life's work. However, over the years I have been mostly disappointed with the Christian writing in this area. Instead of attempting to understand the teachings of a group, too frequently writers only compared quotes from the group's literature with biblical passages, both often out of context. Then, as I began to visit the groups, I often encountered the anger at the church many members had because of Christian writers who had written supposedly authoritative books but who had distorted members' positions and had condemned them for believing things they had never taught ... I have always thought the church deserved better, and many years ago I committed myself to providing it with the information it needed both to live at peace with its new neighbors and to carry on its missional life with a high level of integrity." <ref>''Finding Enlightenment'', p. 162</ref></blockquote>

Finally, while much of his writings have focussed on the phenomenology of new religions, he has indicated that Christian churches should examine new religions in terms of missions (see his essay "Emerging Religious Movements in North America: Some Missiological Reflections," ''Missiology'' 28/1 January 2000, pp. 85–98). He did discuss issues of methodology in the research of new religions and Christian missions in various articles he contributed to ''Christianity Today'' magazine in the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s he dialogued with Ronald Enroth about differences between their respective approaches to the analysis and evangelization of new religions (see ''Why Cults Succeed Where the Church Fails''). He also indicated in his dialogue with Enroth that he particularly values the writings of the evangelical apologists J. Stafford Wright and [[John Warwick Montgomery]] in their analyses of occult phenomena.

===Christian countercult and secular anti-cult===
Melton is one of the more prominent critics of the [[anti-cult movement]] and some [[Christian countercult movement|Christian countercult]] organizations, pointing out that since colonial times many US Christian theologians, pastors, missionaries and apologists have questioned the legitimacy of other religious groups and teachings. (see his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 221–227; and his essay "The Counter-cult Monitoring Movement in Historical Perspective").

Some of Melton's criticisms concerning the secular anti-cult movement revolve around his rejection of the concept of [[brainwashing]] as an explanation of religious conversion and indoctrination. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a prominent opponent of the controversial methods of [[deprogramming]]. He based his criticisms on the grounds that (a) deprogramming violated civil liberties and [[religious freedom]] principles guaranteed in the [[US Constitution]] and (b) the efficacy of deprogramming or counter-brainwashing stratagems were doubtful.

In his ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' he drew an academic distinction between the Christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. He made the distinction on the grounds that the two movements operate with very different [[epistemological|epistemologies]], motives and methods. He was also urged to make this distinction in the course of a formal dialogue with evangelical sociologist Ronald Enroth, and also after conversations with Eric Pement of [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]] magazine (Chicago). This distinction has been subsequently acknowledged by sociologists such as [[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[Eileen Barker]].

;Questions critical former members' testimony validity
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as [[apostate]]s) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents.<ref>http://www.hightruth.com/experts/melton.html</ref> Melton also follows the argumentation of [[Lewis Carter]] and [[David Bromley]] and claims that as a result of their study, the treatment (coerced or voluntary) of former members as people in need of psychological assistance largely ceased and that an (alleged) lack of widespread need for psychological help by former members of new religions would in itself be the strongest evidence refuting early sweeping condemnations of new religions as causes of psychological trauma.<ref>"Melton 1999" Melton, Gordon J., ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory'', 1999. [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]</ref> This view, is shared by several religious scholars,<ref>'[[David G. Bromley|Bromley David G.]], [[Eileen Baker]], [[Stuart A. Wright]], [[Susan J. Palmer]], [[Anson Shupe]]. [[Stuart A. Wright]] 'The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil'' ISBN 0-88946-868-0</ref> and contested by others<ref>''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults]]'', p 62f, [[Robert Balch]],''[[Review of Sex, Slander and Salvation]]'', and [[Janja Lalich]]</ref>

=== New Age ===
In a paper presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, [[Céligny]], Switzerland, Melton presented his views on the New Age movement, stating that it led to a dramatic growth of the older occult/metaphysical community, and created a much more positive image for [[occultism]] in Western culture. He believes that the community of people it brought together has grown to be "one of the most important minority faith communities in the West."<ref>Melton, J Gordon ''New Age Transformed'', presented at the conference on "New Age in the Old World" held at the Institut Oecumenique de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, July 17-21, 2000 [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html Available online]</ref>

===Vampirism research===
Melton has researched the history of [[vampire]]s, as well as the study of contemporary vampiric groups and rites. In 1983 he served as editor for ''Vampires Unearthed'' by [[Martin Riccardo]], the first comprehensive bibliography of English-language vampire literature. In 1994 he completed ''The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology]]'', 5th ed. [[Gale Group]], 2001.</ref> He has also written ''The Vampire Gallery: A Who's Who of the Undead''.<ref>"John Gordon Melton", ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2006.</ref>

In a 2000 ''[[Speak Magazine]]'' interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: ''"During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."''<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm Interview], ''[[Speak Magazine]]'', J. Gordon Melton, by John Mardas - No. 2, Summer 2000. "I found out during my college days that I liked vampire books more than any other kind. So when I saw vampire books, I just started buying them, reading them and clipping magazine articles and saving them. During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time. And by this time, the university had taken over my religious collection and I was very happy with that, so I began to collect vampire literature. I now have what is undoubtedly the largest collection in the United States."</ref>

In 1997, Melton, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and [[Elizabeth Miller]] organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a ''"creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances"''<ref name="Coffin">"Coffin Break To Vampires Everywhere, Fangs For The Memories", ''[[The Los Angeles Daily News]]'' - July 23, 1997. Carol Bidwell.</ref>

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in [[Nashville, TN]] in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/2004/vamp_04.htm Buffy, the vampire slayer], (May 28-30, Nashville, TN)., [[CESNUR]] website. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, president of the TSD chapter in Italy, Count Dracula Ambassador to Italy - Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S.</ref>

Melton is the president of the American chapter ''The [[Transylvanian Society of Dracula]]'' (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter.

== Amicus curiae==
{{details|APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control}}
Melton, together with a group of scholars and the [[American Psychological Association]], submitted on February 10, 1987 an ''[[amicus curiæ]]'' brief in a pending case before the [[California Supreme Court]] related to the [[Unification Church]]. The brief stated that hypotheses of [[brainwashing]] and [[coercive persuasion]] were uninformed speculations based on skewed data.<ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/molko_brief.htm APA Brief in the Molko Case], from CESNUR website, [APA later withdrew the organization from the brief], 1987 ''[t]he methodology of Drs. Singer and Benson has been repudiated by the scientific community'', that the hypotheses advanced by Singer were ''little more than uninformed speculation, based on skewed data'' and that "''[t]he coercive persuasion theory ... is not a meaningful scientific concept.''</ref> The brief characterized the theory of brainwashing as not scientifically proven and advanced the position that "this commitment to advancing the appropriate use of psychological testimony in the courts carries with it the concomitant duty to be vigilant against those who would use purportedly expert testimony lacking scientific and methodological rigor."

==Encyclopædia Britannica contributor==

Dr. Melton is the second most prolific contributor to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], after Dr. [[Christine Sutton]]. He has contributed 15 ''[[Micropædia]]'' articles, generally on religious organizations or movements: [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Branch Davidian]], [[Christian Science]], [[Church Universal]], [[Eckankar]], [[Evangelical Church]], [[Children of God|The Family]], [[Hare Krishna]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], [[Jehovah's Witness]], [[New Age Movement]], [[Pentecostalism]], [[People's Temple]], [[Scientology]] and [[Wicca]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | volume = [[Propædia]], volume 30 | publisher = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]] | location = [[New York City|New York]] | page = 589}}</ref>

==Aum Shinrikyo==
{{details|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
In May 1995, after the [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]], American scholars [[James R. Lewis]] and Gordon Melton flew to Japan to hold a pair of press conferences in which they announced that the chief suspect in the murders, religious group [[Aum Shinrikyo]], could not have produced the [[sarin]] that the attacks had been committed with. They had determined this, Lewis said, from photos and documents provided by the group.<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/a06ae.html Apologetics Index], ''Aum Shinrikyo'', Aum Supreme Truth; Aum Shinri Kyo; Aleph, 2005</ref> Police reports describe that they had discovered at Aum's main compound in March a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory that was capable of producing thousands of kilograms a year of the poison.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/olson.htm CDC website], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], ''Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?'', Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., [[Arlington, Virginia]]</ref> Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a [[Matsumoto incident|previous attack with sarin]] that had killed seven and injured 144 persons.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/cwtutorial/chapter02_02.html CW Terrorism Tutorial], A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, ''Historical Cases of CW Terrorism'', Aum Shinrikyo, 2004</ref>

==Other groups==
In a 1999 newspaper article, Melton stated that the [[World Church of the Creator]] is a "church", despite that their members are atheists and that the term "creator" refers to themselves.<ref>Expert: Hatreds rooted in poverty don't thrive here, the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 9, 1999</ref>

==Criticism==
{{POV-section|date=November 2008}}
One criticism<ref>[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html#result Anton Hein, J. Gordon Melton]</ref> of Melton is that he fails to evaluate cults on a theological level, as Melton states,
<blockquote>
I have, not being a theologian -- and I make no claim to be one -- a difficult task in sorting through doctrinal questions to do an adequate theological analysis of most groups' beliefs. I'm a church historian with most of my theological work in historical theology, not systematics. That's part of where I'm coming from. I also have another problem...I have a problem as to where to draw the line -- what's heresy and what's evangelically kosher. What is acceptable doctrinal deviation? <ref>Ron Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, ''Why Cults Succeed Where the Church Fails''</ref>
</blockquote>

Melton's treatment of religions such as [[Scientology]] have resulted in charges that "he basically reiterates whatever religious groups tell him."<ref>http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist46.html</ref><ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist57.html Rick Ross, ''Gordon Melton on Scientology'']</ref> [[Stephen A. Kent]] and [[Theresa Krebs]] published a critical article ''When Scholars Know Sin'', in which they characterize Gordon Melton, [[James R. Lewis]], and [[Anson Shupe]] as [[cult apologist]]s.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Krebs |first2=Theresa |title=When Scholars Know Sin |journal=Skeptic Magazine |volume=6 |number=3 |year=1998 |url=http://www.skeptictank.org/wsns.htm}}</ref> Melton was also characterized as a "apologist" in an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/01/MN88385.DTL Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation: Peacemaking conference is held near Seattle], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Don Lattin, May 1, 2000.</ref> and by a Singaporean lawyer as a ''"cult apologist who has a long association of defending the practices of destructive cults"'' in ''The Straits Times'',<ref name="Jim Jones">{{cite web |url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist5.html |title=Evidence of expert witness attacked: 'Jim Jones, Peoples Temple not a cult' |publisher=The Straits Times |date=1997-07-17}}</ref> and in an article: "Apologist versus Alarmist", in ''[[Time Magazine]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html |title='Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist' |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1997-01-27 |volume=149 |number=4}}</ref> The term "cult apologist" was also used in [[Esquire Magazine]] in describing Melton's actions in the Aum Shinrikyo incident.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist9.html Giving Cults A Good Name], [[Esquire Magazine]], June 1997, Jeannette Walls One of them, J. Gordon Melton, is considered by many cult foes to be an apologist for the groups. Melton, who has written extensively on cults and religions, has come out in defense of Aum, the Japanese cult linked to the gassing of a Tokyo subway in March that killed twelve people, and the Church of Scientology has asked him to testify in court on its behalf. What's more, Melton, whom [the New] CAN identified as "executive director, Institute for the Study of American Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara," is not a professor at the school; he works in the library.</ref>

During the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] incident where [[James R. Lewis]] and J. Gordon Melton traveled to Japan to defend them, as stated above – their bills for travel, lodging and accommodations were paid for by AUM, according to [[The Washington Post]].<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist7.html Tokyo Cult Finds an Unlikely Supporter], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', T.R. Reid, May 1995. "The Americans said the sect had invited them to visit after they expressed concern to Aum's New York branch about religious freedom in Japan. [They] said their airfare, hotel bills and 'basic expenses' were paid by the cult"</ref> Lewis stated that "because time was of the essence, AUM offered to help move up our timetable by paying the team's expenses, an offer that was accepted only after AUM further arranged to provide all expenses ahead of time, so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030622142613/http://www.silcom.com/~patrick/JAPANwaco.htm Japan's Waco: AUM Shinrikyo and the Eclipse of Freedom in the Land of the Rising Sun], [[James R. Lewis]], 1998</ref>

Additionally, according to the financial books of the [[Children of God (cult)|Children of God]], his institute received money from the organization.<ref>[http://www.xfamily.org/images/1/1a/FCF_990_Form-2000.pdf FCF 990 Form - 2000]</ref> This happened after he wrote favorably about them. His work and stance on these and some other issues has led to debates about integrity in research when receiving sponsorship from New Religious Movements.<ref name=skeptic />

==See also==
*[[List of cult and new religious movement researchers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*''A Directory of Religious Bodies in the United States'' (New York: Garland, 1977).
*''An Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (co-authored with [[Karl Pruter]]), (New York/London: Garland, 1982).
*''Magic, witchcraft, and paganism in America: A bibliography'', compiled from the files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, (New York: Garland Publishing,1982), ISBN 0-8240-9377-1. Revised edition co-authored with Isotta Poggi, Garland, 1992.
*''The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism'' (co-authored with Robert L. Moore), (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1982).
*''Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails'' (co-authored with Ronald M. Enroth), (Elgin: Brethren Press, 1985).
*''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992).
*''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986).
*''American Religious Creeds'' (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991).
*''New Age Almanac'', (co-edited with Jerome Clark and Aidan Kelly) (Detroit: Visible Ink, 1991).
*''Perspectives on the New Age'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
*''Islam in North America: A Sourcebook'' (co-edited with Michael A. Koszegi), (New York/London: Garland, 1992).
*''Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God'' (co-edited with James R. Lewis), (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994).
*''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology'' editor, 4th ed (Gale, 1996) ISBN 978-0810354876; 5th ed (Gale 2001) ISBN 978-0810394896
*''Finding Enlightenment: Ramtha's School of Ancient Wisdom'', [[Beyond Words Publishing]], Inc. Hillsboro Oregon, ISBN 1-885223-61-7 (1998).
*''American Religions: An Illustrated History'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000).
*''[[The Church of Scientology (Melton)|The Church of Scientology]] (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1)'', Signature Books (August 1, 2000), ISBN 1-56085-139-2, 80pp.
*''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', ISBN 0-8103-2295-1
*''Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting'' (co-authored with [[Phillip Charles Lucas]] & [[Jon R. Stone]]). Oryx, 1997.
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 1, 2002), 1250pp, ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
*''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', [[David Bromley]] and Gordon Melton, Eds., Cambridge University Press (May 13, 2002), 272pp, ISBN 0-521-66898-0
*''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices'', ABC-Clio (September, 2002), 1200pp, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
*J. Gordon Melton, ‘The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective’ in ''Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker'', James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson, eds. (London: Routledge, 2003), 102-113.
*''Encyclopedia Of Protestantism'', Facts on File Publishing (May 30, 2005), 628pp, ISBN 0-8160-5456-8

===Scholarly assessments===
*Derek Davis, Review of ''The Church of Scientology'', ''Journal of Church and State'', 42/4 (Autumn 2000): 851-852.
*P. G. Davis, Review of ''Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders'', ''Religious Studies and Theology'', 9 (1989): 101-103.
*James L. Garrett, Review of ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', ''Southwestern Journal of Theology'', 33 (1990): 69.
*Jeffrey Hadden, Review of ''Prime-time Religion'', ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', 36 (1997): 634.
*Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters," ''Skeptic'', 6/3 (1988): 36-44. Also see J. Gordon Melton, Anson D. Shupe and James R. Lewis, "When Scholars Know Sin" Forum Reply to Kent and Krebs, ''Skeptic'', 7/1 (1999): 14-21. [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c34.html Article, rebuttals and rejoinder available online]
*Philip Jenkins, ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).

==External links==
===Related sites===
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/index.html Institute for the Study of American Religion] Homepage [Note: as of 07/22/08 this site is down!]
*[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/arc.html American Religions Collection] at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] Library.
*[http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/mdtaskforce/melton_testimony.htm Testimony of J. Gordon Melton Before the Maryland Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions] July 14, 1999
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970127/religion.apologist.html 'Apologist' vs. 'Alarmist'] Time Magazine, January 27, 1997 vol. 149 no. 4
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton_speak.htm J. Gordon Melton's Interview on New Religions] with "Speak Magazine", by John Lardas - No. 2, Summer 2000
*[http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html The Organization of Scientology] extract from the book "The Church of Scientology" by Melton
*"The Rise of the Study of New Religions" paper delivered by Melton at CESNUR 1999 conference [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_melton.htm]
*"Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory," essay by Melton published in Germany [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm]
*"Author's Information on Religious Sects Provides Invaluable Guide" article by evangelical journalist [[Richard N. Ostling]], Associated Press, January 31, 2003 [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/melton.htm]

===Other===
* ''Why cults flourish'' - interview of Gordon Melton, Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1987 by Jay Kinney, Kevin Kelly [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_1987_Spring/ai_4793242/pg_1 Available online]

===Critical sites===
*[http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/James_Gordon_Melton James Gordon Melton on xFamily.org]
*[http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/ram2.htm ''Critical study of Gordon Melton's book on Ramtha'' by Joe Szimhart]
*[http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Gordon_Melton Cult Apologists?: Gordon Melton] A set of media articles on [[Rick Ross (consultant)|Rick Ross]] website
*[http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html J. Gordon Melton: Why is he considered a cult apologist?] page on Melton, by countercult activist Anton Hein
*[http://movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=31&ID=987&searchTerms=melton&qlid= The Price of a Scholar? Gordon Melton and the Family Care Foundation] From MovingOn.Org


{{Persondata
|NAME= Melton, John Gordon
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States|American]]; study of [[religion]] and [[new religious movements]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= September 19, 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, J. Gordon}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American clergy]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American religion academics]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:Birmingham-Southern College people]]
[[Category:Researchers of cults and new religious movements]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty]]
[[Category:Vampirism]]
[[Category:Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni]]

[[cs:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[fr:John Gordon Melton]]
[[pt:J. Gordon Melton]]
[[zh:约翰·高登·梅尔敦]]