New Religious Movements and Cults

Catalog description

This course examines new religious movements and religious cults that span specific times and faith-based perspectives. Its focus is on the development of new religious movements and their growth, as well as the causes of cult formulation, cult leadership, cult purpose, and cult interactions with the outside world. Course content also explores what is meant by the terms "new religious movement," "cult," and "alternative religion," using historical and contemporary examples to illustrate these ideas. (Prerequisite: RELS101)