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Stuart Wright presents new book, Storming Zion, at Rice and McGill Universities
Stuart Wright presents lecture at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Stuart Wright presents lecture at Rice University in Houston, Texas
Stuart Wright announces publication of Storming Zion
Stuart Wright, Professor of Sociology and Chair, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice and co-author Susan Palmer announce the publication of their new book Storming Zion by Oxford University Press. This is Wright’s sixth book.
Jacket cover excerpt
"While scholars, media, and the public may be aware of a few spectacular government raids on religious communities, such as the federal raid on the Branch Davidians in 1993, very few people are aware of the scope of these raids or the frequency with which they occur. Inspired by the Texas state raid on the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints in 2008, authors Stuart A. Wright and Susan J. Palmer decided to collect data on all raids of this kind that have taken place in Western-style democracies over the last six decades. They established the first archive of raided groups and then used it see if any patterns could be identified. Their findings were shocking: There were far more raids than expected (N=116), and the vast majority of them had occurred since 1990. What could account for this sudden and dramatic increase in state control of minority religions? In Storming Zion, Wright and Palmer argue that the increased use of these high-risk and extreme types of enforcement corresponds to expanded organization and initiatives by opponents of unconventional religions. . . . Wright and Palmer explore the implications of heightened repression and control of minority religions in an increasingly multicultural, globalized world."
Authors: Stuart Wright and Susan Palmer
