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"Colors of the Sunrise": The Rajneesh and the Me Decade

James, Madeline
http://orcid.org/0009-0003-8031-819X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors17141474215704

Abstract Details

2024, Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University, History.
Do extreme religious groups develop in a vacuum due to the leaders desire for power and the followers' ignorance? Or are there larger forces at play? The United States in the 1970s saw a rise in extreme religious groups characterized by charismatic leaders and catastrophe. Much of the American public believed these groups were formed because of their leader’s desire for money and power. However leaders were often motivated by other forces, and followers were typically well educated and middle class, with no obvious reason to join these communities. If this is the case, what other explanation is there for the formation of extreme religious groups? In the case of the 1970s, this was due to the larger pressures of the “Me Decade.” The me decade was characterized by poor domestic conditions in the US, resulting from inflation, stagnation, fuel shortages and government scandal. As the quality of life for average Americans deteriorated, they lost faith in their government to solve these problems, and turned to other solutions. Oftentimes these were attempts at self improvement, hoping for personal improvement if the problems of society couldn’t be solved. In other cases, new religious communities were formed, providing spiritual solutions as an alternative to political ones. An example of one such religious group was the Rajneesh, a spiritual community founded in central Oregon known for their 1984 bioterrorism attack. The “Me Decade,” as well as its impact on the Rajneesh can be seen through a number of sources, including the Rajneesh’s newspaper, other local newspapers, and essays by writers of the time on the phenomenon of the me decade. In this way, extreme religious groups in the 1970s were not formed by the leader’s desire for money and power, but due to larger political and cultural pressures, particularly in the case of the Rajneesh.
Kevin Mattson (Advisor)
49 p.
American History; History; Religious History
Rajneesh; me decade; 1970s; religion; cults; malaise; new age; human potential movement; bhagwan shree rajneesh; ma anand sheela; hindu; new religion; extreme religion; rajneeshpuram; oregon; antelope oregon; wasco county

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • James, M. (2024). "Colors of the Sunrise": The Rajneesh and the Me Decade [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors17141474215704

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • James, Madeline. "Colors of the Sunrise": The Rajneesh and the Me Decade. 2024. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors17141474215704.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • James, Madeline. ""Colors of the Sunrise": The Rajneesh and the Me Decade." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors17141474215704

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouashonors17141474215704
359
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Art and Sciences Honors Theses and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12