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Series:   Elements in New Religious Movements

Wearing Their Faith

New Religious Movements, Dress, and Fashion in America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2025

Lynn S. Neal
Lynn S. Neal
Affiliation:
Wake Forest University

Summary

New Religious Movements (NRMs) have a long, interconnected history with distinct forms of dress and clothing. However, research on NRMs has not focused sufficiently on the clothing and material culture of these groups. In response, this Element examines the central role that dress plays in the creation of charismatic leaders and the formation of faithful followers. Through a variety of case studies – ranging from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Father Divine, from the Children of God to the Nation of Islam – we see how dress and fashion practices provide people with a powerful way to live and wear their faith. In addition, the fashion industry takes note and incorporates ideas about cults and clothing into their trends and styles. In doing so, it fuels the cult stereotype and fosters normative understandings of what constitutes good religion.
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Keywords

clothingdressfashionnew religious movementscults
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in New Religious Movements
Online ISBN: 9781009304641
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 13 February 2025

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Wearing Their Faith
  • Lynn S. Neal, Wake Forest University
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Wearing Their Faith
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Wearing Their Faith
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  • Online ISBN: 9781009304641
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