Item Detail
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19959
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0
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0
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English
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Allegations d'Entorse aux Lois : Effets sur la Realite Sociale d'un Groupe de Mormons Polygames Canadiens/Allegations of Illegal Conduct : Effects on the Social Reality of a Group of Canadian Polygamist Mormons
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Universitie de Montreal
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Ph. D. diss
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The objective of this thesis, presented in the form of three articles, is to better understand the lives of Fundamentalist Mormons, a minority religious group living in Bountiful, British Columbia. Notably, recent events affecting their daily lives such as persistent allegations of unlawful conduct, as well as the schism from their original group-the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints are objects of study. A constructivist epistemology and a qualitative approach using a case study research method were used to bring to light the effects of the allegations of illegal conduct on the social identity of the members of this Mormon polygamous community directed by Winston Blackmore. Sources of data include: interviews with twelve active members of the group, more than twelve hundred pages of the group's Website Forum, thirty-seven editions of the North Star Chronicles -the community's newspaper, seven research reports as well as four hundred and sixteen Canadian and American newspaper and journal articles. The first article presents a historical portrait of the community, which an emphasis on the evolution of their dogma. A second deals with the question of the effects on the group of allegations of unlawful conduct formulated by social institutions, the media and detractors of the group. This analysis shows that since 1990, two types of reaction have been observed within the group: firstly a silent retreat, then one of confrontation. Contrary to certain prior research on relations between society and minority religious groups, this fundamentalist Mormon group does not entertain conflict in their relations with representatives of institutions of social control. The third article presents an analysis of the impact of the schism and of the allegations of unlawful conduct on the social identity of the group. These events are seen to have seriously affected the social identity of members of the community. Three principal dimensions of this identity crisis are identified, described and analysed. [Author's Abstract]