The Mystical Geography of Quebec

This study of new religious movements in Quebec focuses on nine groups-including the notoriously violent Solar Temple; the iconoclastic Temple of Priapus; and the various "Catholic" schisms, such as those led by a mystical pope; the Holy Spirit incarnate; or the reappearance of the Virgin Mary. Eleven contributing authors offer rich ethnographies and sociological insights on new spiritual groups that highlight the quintessential features of Quebec's new religions ("sectes" in the francophone media). The editors argue that Quebec provides a favorable "ecology" for alternative spirituality, and explore the influences behind this situation: the rapid decline of the Catholic Church after Vatican Il; the "Quiet Revolution," a utopian faith in Science; the 1975 Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms; and an open immigration that welcomes diverse faiths. The themes of Quebec nationalism found in prophetic writings that fuel apocalyptic ferment are explored by the editors who find in these sectarian communities echoes of Quebec's larger Sovereignty movement.

Auteur

Susan J. Palmer is an Affiliate Professor in Religious Studies at Concordia University.

Martin Geoffroy is Professor of Sociology at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit.

Paul L. Gareau is Assistant Professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.

Texte du rabat

This study of new religious movements in Quebec focuses on nine groupsincluding the notoriously violent Solar Temple; the iconoclastic Temple of Priapus; and the various Catholic schisms, such as those led by a mystical pope; the Holy Spirit incarnate; or the reappearance of the Virgin Mary. Eleven contributing authors offer rich ethnographies and sociological insights on new spiritual groups that highlight the quintessential features of Quebec's new religions (sectes in the francophone media). The editors argue that Quebec provides a favorable ecology for alternative spirituality, and explore the influences behind this situation: the rapid decline of the Catholic Church after Vatican Il; the Quiet Revolution, a utopian faith in Science; the 1975 Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms; and an open immigration that welcomes diverse faiths. The themes of Quebec nationalism found in prophetic writings that fuel apocalyptic ferment are explored by the editors who find in these sectarian communities echoes of Quebec's larger Sovereignty movement.

Contenu

Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1: Quebec's New Religions in Social and Historical Context

Susan J. Palmer

Chapter 2: New Religious Studies in Quebec since 1944: A Literature Review

Martin Geoffroy, Dominic Dagenais and Susan J. Palmer

Part II. Catholic Fundamentalisms and Schisms

Chapter 3: The Army of Mary: Quebec Nationalism and Catholic Heterodoxy

Paul L. Gareau

Chapter 4: The Pilgrims of Saint Michael: Preserving Quebec's Traditional Intégriste Catholicism

Martin Geoffroy

Chapter 5: La Mission de l'Esprit Saint and Quebec's Holy Spirit Incarnate

Susan J. Palmer and Dell J. Rose

Part III. Radical Sexuality

Chapter 6: Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Arch-Abortionist and Humanist: An Unbeliever's Pro-Choice Campaign in Quebec and Canada

Steven Tomlins and J. Gordon Melton

Chapter 7: The Temple of Priapus: Contemporary Phallus Worshippers in Montreal Donald L. Boisvert

Part IV. Controversial New Religions

Chapter 8: The Christian Essene Church: Freedom of Religion in the Land of the Maple

Marie-Ève Melanson

Chapter 9: The Apostles of Infinite Love and the Hidden Children of St Jovite

Susan J. Palmer

Chapter 10: The Solar Temple in Quebec and the Saint-Casimir Transit

Shannon Clusel and Susan J. Palmer

Chapter 11: Roch Theriault and the Holy Moses Mountain Family (Ant Hill Kids)

Andrew Ames