A brilliant book by the
sociologist Steven Tipton. He studies how
youth who
came of age in
the sixties dealt with a
perceived loss of
coherence in the
moral order.
His specific focus is youth who joined new religious movements in order to resolve contradictions and dilemmas in their world views.
The three case studies, all based in the San Francisco area, are a Zen center, est, and a millennialist Christian sect. Tipton draws on a model developed by social ethicist Ralph Potter.