Comprehending Cults : The Sociology of New Religious Movements

by Dawson, Lorne L.

• ISBN13: 9780195420098
• ISBN10: 0195420098
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Tackling popular stereotypes and media portrayals of new religious movements (NRMs), Lorne Dawson attempts to replace prejudice, misconceptions, and speculation with scholarly insight. Drawing on more than forty years of research conducted by historians, sociologists, and psychologists, he explores how new religious movements develop, who joins them, and why. He also analyzes controversial issues such as the accusations of brainwashing and sexual deviance that are sometimes made against cults; discusses why cults sometimes turn to violence; and examines what NRMs can tell us about the future of religion and culture in North America. The result is a comprehensive, evenhanded introduction to the study of new religious phenomena. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Lorne L. Dawson is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	v
Why Study New Religious Movements?	1	(13)
The Cults in Our Midst	2	(3)
The Hostility Towards Cults	5	(3)
Box 1 They Come in All Shapes and Sizes	8	(2)
Responding to the Suspicions of the Public	10	(4)
What Are New Religious Movements?	14	(25)
Religion and Its Continuing Significance	14	(12)
Churches, Sects, and Cults	26	(4)
Creating a Typology of Cults	30	(4)
Box 2 How New Religious Movements Change with Success	34	(5)
Why Did New Religious Movements Emerge?	39	(32)
Asking the Right Question First	39	(1)
New Religious Movements as a Response to Cultural Change	39	(21)
Box 3 Three Models of Cult Formation	60	(2)
New Religious Movements as an Expression of Cultural Continuity	62	(8)
Concluding Remarks	70	(1)
Who Joins New Religious Movements and Why?	71	(24)
The Stereotypes	71	(1)
Getting Involved with New Religious Movements	71	(11)
The Social Attributes of Those Who Join	82	(6)
Box 4 Why Are American Converts to New Religious Movements Disproportionately Jewish?	88	(2)
Some Reasons for Joining	90	(5)
Are Converts to New Religious Movements `Brainwashed'?	95	(30)
The Issue and Its Significance	95	(2)
The Case Against the Cults	97	(6)
The Case Against Brainwashing	103	(14)
Box 5 The Active Versus Passive Convert	117	(2)
Reformulating the Issues in the Brainwashing Debate	119	(6)
Why Are New Religious Movements So Often Accused of Sexual Deviance?	125	(17)
Sexual Deviance and the Cults	126	(6)
Box 6 Child Abuse and the Social Control of NRMs	132	(4)
Gender Matters	136	(6)
Why Do Some New Religious Movements Become Violent?	142	(37)
Responding to Recent `Cult' Tragedies	142	(4)
Apocalyptic Beliefs	146	(6)
Charismatic Leadership	152	(10)
Social Encapsulation	162	(6)
Box 7 Surviving the Failure of Apocalyptic Prophecies	168	(7)
Concluding Remarks	175	(4)
What Is the Cultural Significance of New Religious Movements?	179	(21)
Our Skewed Perspective	179	(10)
Modernism and the New Religious Movements	189	(4)
Box 8 Factors Affecting the Success of NRMs	193	(2)
Postmodernism and the New Religious Movements	195	(2)
NRMs: Anti-modern, Modern, or Postmodern?	197	(2)
Concluding Remarks	199	(1)
Notes	200	(16)
Bibliography	216	(42)
Index	258