Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Chapter One: Why Study New Religious Movements?
The Cults in Our Midst
The Hostility Towards Cults
Box 1 They Come in All Shapes and Sizes
Responding to the Suspicions of the Public
Chapter Two: What Are New Religious Movements?
Religion and Its Continuing Significance
Churches, Sects, and Cults
Creating a Typology of Cults
Box 2 How New Religious Movements Change with Success
Chapter Three: Why Did New Religious Movements Emerge?
Asking the Right Question First
New Religious Movements as a Response to Cultural Change
Box 3 Three Models of Cult Formation
New Religious Movements as an Expression of Cultural Continuity
Concluding Remarks
Chapter Four: Who Joins New Religious Movements and Why?
The Stereotypes
Getting Involved with New Religious Movements
The Social Attributes of Those Who Join
Box 4 Why Are American Converts to New Religious Movements Disporportionately Jewish?
Some Reasons for Joining
Chapter Five: Are Converts to New Religious Movements 'Brainwashed'?
The Issue and Its Significance
The Case Against the Cults
The Case Against Brainwashing
Box 5 The Active Versus Passive Convert
Reformulating the Issues in the Brainwashing Debate
Chapter Six: Why Are New Religious Movements So Often Accused of Sexual Deviance?
Sexual Deviance and the Cults
Box 6 Child Abuse and the Social Control of NRMs
Gender Matters
Chapter Seven: Why Do Some New Religious Movements Become Violent?:
Responding to Recent 'Cult' Tragedies
Apocalyptic Beliefs
Charismatic Leadership
Social Encapsulation
Box 7 Surviving the Failure of Apocalyptic Prophecies
Concluding Remarks
Chapter Eight: What Is the Cultural Significance of New Religious Movements?
Our Skewed Perspective
Modernism and the New Religious Movements
Box 8 Factors Affecting the Success of NRMs
Postmodernism and the New Religious Movements
NRMs: Anti-modern, Modern, or Postmodern?
Concluding Remarks
Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Lorne L. Dawson is a Professor of Sociology and Chair for the Department of Religious Studies, University of Waterloo.