Zealot: A Book About Cults

2019 non-fiction book by Jo Thornely

Zealot: A Book About Cults

Author| Jo Thornely
Publisher| Hachette Australia

Publication date

| 26 February 2019
Publication place| Australia
Pages| 292
ISBN| 9780733640506

Dewey Decimal

| 299.93

Zealot: A Book About Cults is a 2019 non-fiction book by Australian writer and podcaster Jo Thornely. The book addresses and describes high-profile religious cults such as Aum Shinrikyo, the Peoples Temple, and Heaven's Gate in an irreverent comedic style.

## Background

[edit]

Thornely first started writing and speaking on cults in 1985, as a spur-of-the-moment decision after needing a subject for a talk. She would later become the host of the podcast Zealot in 2017, which lent the book its name.[1] She describes cults as the "juiciest" type of true crime story,[2] with the book being written in a conversational, even jovial style.[3] Zealot: A Book About Cults was published 26 February 2019 by Hachette Australia.[4]

## Synopsis

[edit]

The book opens with a discussion of the definition of cults and the reasons people join them, conceptualised as finding their current lifestyles unsatisfactory: "it’s too restrictive, it’s not restrictive or pious enough, it doesn’t seem to offer solutions for a chaotic and dangerous world, it doesn’t let them have enough sex with aliens".[5] It describes typical beliefs of cults as a mash-up of "Eastern mysticism, the Christian Bible, the imminent apocalypse, aliens in UFOs and rampant, unbridled horniness".[6] The book discusses internationally known groups such as the Peoples Temple run by Jim Jones,[7] as well as some known primarily in Australia, such as The Family.[8] The last chapter, written in a more serious register, suggests questions that may help readers decide if they themselves are in a cult.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

Zealot: A Book About Cults received generally positive reviews. Writing for The Australian, David Free described Thornely as "a piss-taker of rare boldness" and an important deconstruction of cults, using humour as a tool to attack their foundations.[9] Thomas Van Essen at Backstory Journal praised the book as "a sullen reminder of why sometimes good people do very bad things", but found the sarcastic sense of humour held the potential for offence.[3] Other positive reviews were published at The Clothesline[10] and the publishing division of ArtsHub Australia.[1]

In addition to general audience reception, a scholarly review was published in the academic journal Psychiatry, Psychology and Law by Ian Freckelton. Commenting that Zealot "has no pretensions towards being learned or scholarly", Freckelton nonetheless lauded the book as a high-quality treatise on the topic appropriate for both general and specialist audiences. He was particularly predisposed to the book's usefulness to attorneys or psychologists with clients in or at risk of joining cults, and recommended they recommend the book to such clients.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* New religious movements and cults in popular culture

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Mayer, Erich (24 April 2019). "Book Review: Zealot by Jo Thornely". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
2. ^ Heath, Nicola (1 May 2019). "Why are we so fascinated with stories of cults?". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
3. ^ a b Van Essen, Thomas (16 June 2019). "Book review of Zealot: A Book About Cults by Jo Thornely". Backstory Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
4. ^ "Zealot: A book about cults". Hachette Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
5. ^ a b c Freckelton, Ian (20 February 2020). "Zealot: A Book about Cults". Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. 27 (1): 165–167\. doi:10.1080/13218719.2020.1727646. PMC 7144281.
6. ^ Thornely, Jo (26 January 2019). Zealot: A Book About Cults. Sydney: Hachette Australia. p. ix. ISBN 9780733640506.
7. ^ Thornely, Jo (26 January 2019). Zealot: A Book About Cults. Sydney: Hachette Australia. p. 1\. ISBN 9780733640506.
8. ^ Thornely, Jo (26 January 2019). Zealot: A Book About Cults. Sydney: Hachette Australia. p. 59\. ISBN 9780733640506.
9. ^ Free, David (2 March 2019). "Having a good laugh at the fanatics' expense". The Australian. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
10. ^ Bradley, Dave (22 March 2019). "Zealot – A Book About Cults by Jo Thornely: Hachette Book Review". The Clothesline. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Books about new religious movements

General and historiography|

* Occult America
* The Darkened Room
* Nature Religion Today
* The Triumph of the Moon
* The Myth of Disenchantment
* The Occult: A History
* Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll
* A Republic of Mind and Spirit
* The Mystical Geography of Quebec
* A Course in Miracles
* Strange Gods: The Great American Cult Scare
* Misunderstanding Cults
* The New Believers
* Another Gospel
* Pagan Theology
* The New Vigilantes
* Mystics and Messiahs

Modern paganism and magic|

* A Community of Witches
* Drawing Down the Moon
* Living Witchcraft
* Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia
* Witching Culture
* Dreaming the Dark
* Mastering Witchcraft
* The Satanic Witch
* Persuasions of the Witch's Craft
* Her Hidden Children
* Modern Paganism in World Cultures
* Never Again the Burning Times
* The Wiccan Web

Specific groups|

* Aliens Adored
* A Field Guide to Otherkin
* The Book of est
* Doomsday Cult
* Getting It: The Psychology of est
* Underground
* Contemporary Religious Satanism
* The Order of the Solar Temple
* Les Mythes du Temple Solaire
* Scientology
* From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco
* The Making of a Moonie
* Sex, Slander, and Salvation
* Werner Erhard
* The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation
* Sacred Journeys
* Ghosts of Kanungu

Criticism and controversies|

* Books critical of Scientology
* Apocalypse Observed
* Gods of the Blood
* Controversial New Religions
* Cults in Our Midst
* The Politics of Religious Apostasy
* Bounded Choice
* All Gods Children
* The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions
* Zealot: A Book About Cults
* Cult Controversies
* Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion
* How the Millennium Comes Violently
* The New Heretics of France
* Sacred Suicide
* Violence and New Religious Movements

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template