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In Japan, the academic study of new religions appeared in the years following the Second World War. [11] [12]In the 1960s, American sociologist John Lofland lived with Unification Church missionary Young Oon Kim and a small group of American church members in California and studied their activities in trying to promote their beliefs and win new members.
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 anti-cult movement, abbreviated ACM and also known as the countercult movement, [1] consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of religious groups that they consider to be "cults", uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.
Destructive cult is a term frequently used by the anti-cult movement. [18] Members of the anti-cult movement typically define a destructive cult as a group that is unethical, deceptive, and one that uses "strong influence" or mind control techniques to affect critical thinking skills. [32]
In this book I will use the term cult and cultic group to refer to any one of a large number of groups that have sprung up in our society and that are similar in the way that they originate, their power structure, and their governance. Cults range from the relatively benign to those that exercise extraordinary control over members' lives and ...
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 ...
Additionally, Religion scholars James R. Lewis and David G. Bromley argue that there are significant methodological problems in research including anti-cult or anti-religious bias, predominance of deprogrammed individuals in the sample, and the fact that some of the people in the sample were receiving therapy while in the clinical trial. [15]