ABSTRACT
Eileen Barker is very well known for her study New Religious Movements. Barker herself writes that many scholars have invested quite a bit of time in studying the new religious movements in the field, living at times in very uncomfortable conditions and finding themselves involved in a myriad of strange activities, even though, as scholars, there are limits to their participant observation. Members of the new religious movements have been interviewed in depth. After clarifying possible misunderstandings of the term "new religious movements," Barker defines them as groups that can provide ultimate answers to fundamental questions such as the meaning of life or the role of human beings in nature. Barker's book contributes in a fluent and understandable style to disproving prejudices, and provides useful information for a better knowledge of the various groups and movements. After his long experience as a researcher on new religious movements, Beckford feels able to formulate definitions and to advance hypotheses to be verified.
