What gives these photographs an eerie relevance is the way fanatical religious belief has
come to the foreground of contemporary life. From the Christian fundamentalist certainties of
recent American policy, to the Islamic extremism that has erupted everywhere from
New York to London and Madrid, competing religious beliefs have redrawn the contours of the modern world.
Angerson's photographs provide a searing insight in a world within a world. By peering into
this microcosm of fanatical religion we can begin to understand a phenomenon that it is no longer
possible to ignore.
It is easy to ridicule belief, but instead photographer John Angerson has adopted another approach
— a profoundly sympathetic authorial style which does not judge, or even simply chronicle,
but seems to penetrate the very skin of a religious sect.
Photographed over twenty years, this is a portrait of the Jesus Army. For most of us, if we register them at all,
they are the tambourine-wielding, gospel-singing fanatics who intrude on our Saturday morning
shopping excursions. But for the members themselves, this charismatic Christian sect — often dismissed
as a cult — is a total way of life. Founded in 1969 in Northamptonshire, England, believers are
expected to renounce all their possessions, live in communes, and share all earnings.
Their motto and three basic tenets – Love, Power and Sacrifice – form the title of this book.