Examines the phenomenon of 'invented traditions' in religions from ancient times to the present day.

Introduction Olav Hammer and James R. Lewis; 1. Scientology, scripture and sacred tradition Mikael Rothstein; 2. 'He may be lying but what he says is true': the sacred tradition of Don Juan as reported by Carlos Castaneda, anthropologist, trickster, guru, allegorist Charlotte E. Hardman; 3. Invention of sacred tradition: Mormonism Douglas J. Davies; 4. Antisemitism, conspiracy culture, Christianity, and Islam; the history and contemporary religious significance of the 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' Christopher Partridge and Ron Geaves; 5. The invention of a counter-tradition: the case of the North American anti-cult movement David G. Bromley and Douglas E. Cowan; 6. 'Heavenly deception'? Sun Myung Moon and 'Divine Principle' George D. Chryssides; 7. 'Forgery' in the New Testament Einar Thomassen; 8. Three phases of inventing Rosicrucian tradition in the seventeenth century Susanna Åkerman; 9. A name for all and no one: Zoroaster as a figure of authorization and a screen of ascription Michael Stausberg; 10. The peculiar sleep: receiving the URANTIA book Sarah Lewis; 11. Ontology of the past and its materialization in Tibetan treasures Holly Gayley; 12. Pseudo-Dionysius: the mediation of sacred traditions Kevin Corrigan and Michael Harrington; 13. Spurious attribution of the Hebrew Bible Philip R. Davies; 14. Inventing paganisms: making nature Graham Harvey.