New Religions and Second-Generation Studies

ABSTRACT: This special issue on new religions and second-generation members brings together three articles, two Field Notes essays, and one Perspective essay. The authors draw on a variety of methodologies and disciplines, including history, religious studies, sociology, and psychoanalysis. Particular attention is paid to Unificationism and the Church of Scientology, but also to larger historiographical, methodological, and ethical concerns germane to the study of both children and second-generation adults (SGAs). Many groups classified as “new religions,” even those originating in the early or mid-twentieth century, now have third, fourth, or more generational bases of membership, underscoring the contested and nebulous nature of “newer” versus “older” forms of religiosity. After situating the state of scholarship and summarizing the issue’s articles, this introduction concludes with an interdisciplinary call for further research into second-generation members, arguing that this line of research should include current and former members as well as both adults and, when possible, children.