NCJ Number
181739
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: January-March 2000 Pages: 21-36
Date Published
2000
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article examines the recent emergence of separatist, countercultural groups that have a disaster-prone view of the future shaped by variations of New Age religion.
Abstract
In general, the New Age apocalypse is based on a conviction in the appearance of a near-term cataclysm that will kill the majority of the human race, leaving the survivors to reshape the world into the millennial kingdom. Such a view, for example, dominated the outlook of the Aum Shinrikyo sect, which injected poison gas into the Tokyo subway system on March 20, 1995. The group's warfare against the larger society stemmed from its belief that Armageddon had to arrive before the realization of the new millennium. Most apocalyptic groups (emphasis on the end time) are passive, in that they do not mount aggression against the society and individuals outside their group. Police agencies, however, must monitor apocalyptic communities, since outbursts of apocalyptic excitation within the group have the potential for violence aimed at outsiders. The cultural underground of the cultic milieu provides violence-prone millenarians with an impenetrable shield behind which their radically dualistic and heterodox interpretations of reality can flourish. The responsibility for distinguishing between passive millennial groups and End Time believers of a more aggressive character ultimately resides with the internal security agencies of the state. This article suggests a three-tiered law enforcement strategy for pre-empting an increased level of millennial enthusiasm with the potential for violence. 63 notes