Movements of Total Transformation An Introduction: NOTE REFERENCES

The "pursuit of the millennium" sets up peculiar resonances in the contemporary mind. Chiliastic movements, once dismissed as mere curiosities, have in the last fifteen or so years become the subject of a large, wide-ranging scholarly literature (LaBarre, 1971). The idea that society might be totally changed, perfected once and for all "in the twinkling of an eye," possesses a rare power to move men and women to action. It is the purpose of these articles to examine millenarian movements comparatively, in terms of their causes, effects, and internal...