Current Research on Religious Conversion

Rambo, Lewis R.

doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.1982.tb00221.x

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 233 publications

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“…Indeed, an examination of two recent bibliographies, one on conversion and the other on new religious movements, suggests there has been a dramatic increase in research on conversion. Of the 256 behavioral science entries listed in Rambo's (1982) bibliography of research on conversion (up through 1980),62% have appeared since 1973. The remaining 38% date back as far as the 1902 publica tion of James's classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of Conversion

Snow

Machalek²

1984

Annu. Rev. Sociol.

365

119

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This essay reviews recent research on religious conversion, particularly within the context of "new" religious movements. It addresses three fundamental issues pertinent to the study of conversion: first, the conceptualization and nature of conversion; second, the analytic status of converts' accounts; and third, the causes of conversion. The chapter concludes with a proposed agenda for subsequent research on conversion and related topics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of Conversion

Snow

Machalek²

1984

Annu. Rev. Sociol.

365

119

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“…The dominant theme of the literature on conversion is that of “radical personal change” (Snow and Machalek : 169), and the idea that “conversion is a fundamental personal and public turn, a deep change from one state of being, knowing, and acting to another” (Waisanen : 230). For the most part, earlier studies of ideological conversion followed the emergence of new religious movements and mass therapies during the 1960s and 1970s (Glock, Bellah, and Alfred ; Rambo ; Richardson ; Wuthnow ; Zablocki ), and sought to identify the causes of conversion, as well as the empirical process of converting (Lofland and Skonovd ; Rambo ). Psychological and theological explanations focus on how individuals experience a sudden shift from one point of view to another, or come to rediscover previously held principles (Gillespie ).…”

Section: Conversion Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Prowar Soldier to Antiwar Activist: Change and Continuity in the Narratives of Political Conversion among Iraq War Veterans

Flores

2016

Symbolic Interaction

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This study examines conversion narratives of Iraq War military veterans who have become antiwar political activists. I examine how antiwar veterans construct and emplot prewar, wartime, and postwar narrative periods to shape and reclaim their moral identities as patriots fighting for a just cause, and how through a communal antiwar story they work to both challenge and reappropriate the rhetorical framework they associate with justifications for the invasion of Iraq. The study draws on in-depth interviews with forty members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). In sum, the research describes how veterans engage with dominant narratives, shape new moral identities, and transition from soldiers to political activists.

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“…Through rendering medical aid, the missionaries invariably cultivated friendship with the chief. Friendship, as has been suggested by scholars (Rambo 1982;Weinninger 1955:27-44), is an important element in conversion. In the case under study, the missionaries exploited the now-existing special relations with the chief for spiritual ends.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

The Medical Factor in Christian Conversion in Africa: Observations from Southeastern Nigeria

Ekechi¹

1993

Missiology

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This article discusses missionary recruitment strategies from the perspective of missionary medicalwork in southeastern Nigeria. In otherwords, it examines missionary use of medical services as the bait to catch converts. Furthermore, the essay discusses the link between disease, missionary medicine, and Christian conversion. Attention is given to the roleofculturein the conversion process, as well as to the impact of missionary and colonial medical services on African health care systems. The study is based largely on archival mission sources, includingCatholic and Protestant archival materials collectedfrom missionary societies in England, France, Rome, and Nigeria. Finally, it looksat the Catholic and Protestant strugglefor dominance via the provision ofmedicalservices, and thepersistence of traditional African health caresystemsdespite missionary and colonial iconoclastic tendencies.

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Current Research on Religious Conversion

Cited by 30 publications

References 233 publications

The Sociology of Conversion

The Sociology of Conversion

From Prowar Soldier to Antiwar Activist: Change and Continuity in the Narratives of Political Conversion among Iraq War Veterans

The Medical Factor in Christian Conversion in Africa: Observations from Southeastern Nigeria

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