The New Heretics of France
Minority Religions, la Republique, and the Government-Sponsored ''War on Sects''
Susan Palmer
Reviews and Awards
"The New Heretics of France incisively examines the militant French secularism that grows out of its historic church-state tensions. Palmer's close analysis of six current cases of a government sponsored 'antisecte' campaign reveals an intolerance of religious minorities that is unparalleled among Western nations. An important contribution to the literature on new religions." --David G. Bromley, Professor of Religious Studies and Sociology and Director of the Partnership for Understanding World Religions and Spirituality, Virginia Commonwealth University
"Few French scholars dare even to talk about New Religious Movements, much less do serious research on them, for fear of retribution. Susan J. Palmer has done more fieldwork in France than any other North American scholar of NRMS and is uniquely qualified to do what the French cannot. In this soon-to-be classic volume she breaks entirely new ground."
--James T. Richardson, Director of the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies, University of Nevada, Reno
"Susan J. Palmer is a dedicated scholar whose exhaustive research combining fieldwork and careful examination of written and online sources produces insightful and balanced findings. This remarkable book will open many eyes to the official, long-established French hostility toward new religions." --Timothy Miller, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Kansas
"Susan J. Palmer's useful book makes an important contribution...offers much information unavailable elsewhere and deserves serious attention from anyone interested in contemporary French religious life."--H-France
"Overall, the book is a remarkable achievement. It gives a relevant insight into the status of cults and the issues surrounding them in France, with enough information to understand
the stakes as seen from the point of view of the cults themselves, even if a more balanced presentation might have been an extra advantage. It is definitely to be hoped that the book will be translated into French as soon as possible. Media and Government reluctance to grant credit to French scientific work in this field of research has created a gap that the book would perfectly fill... [A] must-have for the New Religious Movement sociologist who needs to update his/her data on the situation in France."--Sociology of Religion
