Nancy Tatom Ammerman (born 1950) is an American professor of sociology of religion at Boston University School of Theology. Life In 1984, Ammerman joined the faculty of Emory University. Her book, Baptist Battles, won the 1992 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. In 1995, Ammerman left Emory University to teach at Hartford Seminary. Since 2003, she has been at Boston University. In 2020 she became an honorary doctor at Uppsala University. The Branch Davidians Siege Episode She was one of a panel of academics commissioned in 1993 by the U.S. government to analyze what went wrong in its dealings with the Branch Davidians at Waco. Ammerman's report concludes that neither the ATF nor the FBI took David Koresh seriously as a religious man, but rather adopted the "anti-cult" point of view of deprogrammer Rick Ross. She wrote [...] the most up lifting finding was the FBI's near total dismissal of the religious beliefs of the Branch Davidians. For these men, David Koresh was a sociopath, and his followers were hostages. Religion was a convenient cover for Koresh's desire to control his followers and monopolize all the rewards for himself. They saw no reason to try to understand his religious beliefs, indeed thought them so bizarre as to be incomprehensible by normal people.2 The negotiators expressed deep regret at this state of affairs, but could see no alternatives to the way they had come to understand the situation. The tactical commanders had no real regret, seeing the final outcome as unavoidable. Ammerman disputes the view that Koresh's followers were "hostages", noting that some of them left their Mount Carmel Center between the initial ATF raid and the last day of the standoff. She also criticizes the Justice Department for ignoring the recommendations of FBI agents, who suggested taking Koresh's religious faith as (at least possibly) sincere and backing off instead of applying ever-increasing pressure. She also wrote: The efforts by Arnold and James Tabor represented probably the best hope for a peaceful end to the siege. By working within Koresh's biblical system, they had suggested to him an alternative reading of critical passages in the book (Revelation). By this reading, Koresh should have written or recorded his explanation of the seven seals. The prophesied destruction of the true believers would not have taken place, in this reading, for a long time. The Davidians would have