When Prophecy Fails: Lubavitcher Messianism and the Death of the Rebbe

When?

Monday 5 March 2007

Where?

University of Surrey

Open to:

Public, Staff, Students

Speaker:

Dr Simon Dein

Dr Simon Dein, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Medicine, Centre For Behavioural and Social Sciences in Medicine, UCL and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, North Essex NHS Partnership NHS Trust

Prophecy is a central feature of many religious groups. However in most instances these prophecies remains unfulfilled . How do such groups deal with these catastrophic, events. After an overview of the existing literature which builds on Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance, this paper will focus on one specific instant of failed prophecy among Hasidic Jews in London