In its historical development from late antiquity to the present, western esotericism has repeatedly been the issue of polemical discourse. This volume engages the polemical structures that underlie esoteric identities and the controversy about esoteric currents in European history.

Olav Hammer, Ph.D. (2000), is Professor of History of Religions at the Institute of Philsosophy, Education and Religion at the University of Southern Denmark. He has published extensively on New Age religion, new religious movements and on issues of theory in the study of religion.
Kocku von Stuckrad, Ph.D. (2000), is Assistant Professor in the Center for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam. He has published widely on methodological and historical issues in the study of religion.