Researching New Religious Movements - Responses and Redefinitions (Paperback)

New religious movements such as Scientology, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unification Church (Moonies) are now well established in mainstream cultural consciousness. But responses to these "cult" groups still tend to be overwhelmingly negative, characterized by the furious reactions that they evoke from majority interests. Modern societies need to learn how to respond to such movements, and how to interpret their benefits and dangers.
"Researching New Religious Movements" provides a fresh look at the history and development of "anti cult" groups, and the response of mainstream churches to these new movements. In this unique reception study, Elisabeth Arweck traces the path of scholarship of new religious movements, exploring the development of research in this growing field. She considers academic and media interventions on both sides, with special emphasis on the problems of objectivity inherent in terminologies of "sects," "abduction" and "brainwashing." Ideal for students and researchers, this much-needed book takes the debate over new religious movements to a newly sophisticated level.