ABSTRACT
This chapter, defines ritual deception as the intentional fabrication of supernatural phenomena in a ritual setting'. Compared to other forms of fraud such as embezzlement, deception transpiring within rituals holds special importance in both scholarly and public views of new and established religions. Accusations of fraud have been launched against new religious movements(NRMs) by at least three types of opponents, with complicated sets of motives. The concept of fraudulent' rituals thus rubs against many of the founding principles of religious studies, but both actual disambiguation and its theological justifications have historically been part of many world religions. Certain family traditions in North American Protestantism have long been linked to both miracles and fraud. Since their exposure in the 1990s, the growth and spread of Pentecostalism has made fraudulent healing a global issue. Instances of abusive fraud are most likely to involve these supernaturally oriented victims.
