ABSTRACT
In contrast to the depth of interest shown by historians and anthropologists in women's participation in utopias (Foster 1981; Kem 1981; Moore 1977), ecstatic cults (Cohn 1970; Lewis 1971), and Christian heresies (Pagels 1988; Ruether 1983), the issue of women's experiences in contemporary nonconventional religions has not been adequately addressed. Fieldwork in the area of NRM sex roles is limited (Wagner 1982; Wallis 1982; Richardson, Stewart, and Simmonds 1979; Wessinger, forthcoming), and only a few "gendered" approaches to ''cult conversion" processes (Grace 1985; Rochford 1985; Barker 1984} have been written. Thus, the appeal for women of communities practicing spiritually based forms of celibacy, polygamy, eugenics, or "free love" remains enigmatic.
