Prophets and Protons: New Religious Movements and Science in Late Twentieth-Century America

Benjamin E Zeller

mar 2010 · NYU Press

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This in-depth study shows how new religious movements offer a variety of strategies for reconciling science and religious faith.

By the twentieth century, established religious traditions were forced to grappled with the challenges presented by scientific knowledge and innovation. But emerging religions, still led by a living founder to guide them, found news ways to respond to science. The Hare Krishnas, the Unification Church, and Heaven’s Gate each found distinct ways to incorporate major findings of modern American science, understanding it as central to their wider theological and social agendas. 

In Prophets and Photons, Benjamin Zeller examines how these New Religious Movements (NRMs) crafted their views on science during their founding period, and how those views evolved over time. These NRMs shed light on how religious groups—new, old, alternative, or mainstream—could respond to the tremendous growth of power and prestige of science in late twentieth-century America.

In this engrossing book, Zeller carefully shows that religious groups had several methods of creatively responding to science, and that the often-assumed conflict-based model of “science vs. religion” must be replaced by a more nuanced understanding of how religions operate in our modern scientific world.

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Benjamin E. Zeller is Assistant Professor of Religion at Lake Forest College.