Understanding Contemporary Millenarian Violence

Abstract

The last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed several incidents of collective violence involving millenarian/apocalyptic New Religious Movements. This article reviews the academic literature that has emerged over the last few decades on millenarian violence, focusing on the key recurring characteristics and dynamics that have been highlighted by commentators as playing a significant role in both predisposing millenarian groups to volatility/violence, and also in precipitating these incidents of collective violence.