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To combat destructive mind control, he has developed the Strategic Interaction Approach. This approach is designed to free the cult member from the group's control over his or her life." [109] New York Magazine characterized Hassan as, "one of the country's leading experts on cults and mind control."
Cults are inherently ephemeral and loosely organized. [30] There is a major theme in many of the recent works that show the relationship between cults and mysticism. [30] Campbell highlights two major types of cults: one mystical and the other instrumental. This analysis can divide the cults into either occult or metaphysical assemblies.
The term cult has been criticized as lacking "scholarly rigour"; Benjamin E. Zeller stated "[l]abelling any group with which one disagrees and considers deviant as a cult may be a common occurrence, but it is not scholarship". [15] However, it has also been viewed as empowering for ex-members of groups that have experienced trauma. [15]
In the twentieth century, concern for the rights and feelings of religious minorities led authors to most often invent fictional cults for their villains to be members of. [141] Fictional cults continue to be popular in film, television, and gaming in the same way, while some popular works treat new religious movements in a serious manner.
Critics and former cult members, too, could help give you a reality check. For religious cults, "seek out a seminary-trained theologian who you can discuss what the teachings are."
The academic study of new religious movements has been noted to be unusually hostile, with scholars holding strong opinions as to the influence of cults on society. [1] [2] A 1998 article in the magazine Lingua Franca reported on the acrimony of the scholarly debate on the topic; in the "cult-anticult debate", [3] scholars have been described as exhibiting a "toxic level" of suspicion toward ...
New religious movements and cults have appeared as themes or subjects in literature and popular culture. Beginning in the 1700s authors in the English-speaking world began introducing members of cults as antagonists. Satanists, Yakuzas, Triads, Thuggees, and sects of the Latter Day Saint movement were popular choices.
The report included a list of purported cults based upon information which may have been provided by former members, the general information division of the French National Police (Renseignements généraux — the French secret police service) and cult-watching groups. [14]