... that have grown here on American soil. To the American media, the story of the Heaven's Gate cult was great sport. Reporters and commentators dwelt obsessively on the exotic science fiction trappings of the cult and its now-infamous Web site. They noted in lurid, breathless detail the bizarre practices of the faithful--their purple face-dressings, their surgical castrations ... tradition, gnosticism, is far from a backwater fringe movement in American culture and spirituality. Gnosticism takes up entire sections in New Age bookstores; it also suffuses mainstream self-help and spiritualit...

• Word Count: 1846
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate