Dr. Susan Jean Palmer: Children of Chiliasm - Concepts of the “Child” in Contemporary Spiritual Movements, Questions of Identity, Symbolism and Ownership. ESSWE Online Lecture Series 2021

Children of Chiliasm:
Concepts of the “Child” in Contemporary Spiritual Movements, Questions of Identity, Symbolism and Ownership

ESSWE Online Lecture Series 2021

What is the “Child” in new religious movements? This lecture explores the esoteric identities (Hanegraaff 2013) ascribed to children in NRMs, ranging from world saviour, endtime warrior, reincarnated saint, to alien hybrid babies.
Based on archival and qualitative research, this study offers an analyses of the mythopoeic models and the symbolism associated with children in spiritual communes and apocalyptic sects. It is proposed that the pure, androgynous body of the child might recall a lost Eden (Olson 2015); represent a “perfect vessel” resistant to external contamination and assimilation (Douglas 1970); or become a symbol of hope and salvation for the new millennium (Duymaer Van Twist 2015).

This study is part of the Children in Sectarian Religions and State Control research project supported by the Social Science and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (http://spiritualchildhoods.ca)

Zoom Webinar start at 19:00 CEST

For more information on ESSWE Online Lecture Series 2021,  please visit lit.ethz.ch/ESSWE-OLS2021