Anti-cult movement lecture

Last worked on:

9/25/95

Anti-Cult Movement

Soc 257

New Religious Movement

Lecture outline:

Part I

The Social Context of the Anti-cult Movement

Religious tolerance from the Pilgrim fathers forward

"Despite all the elegant rhetoric about the Pilgrim fathers...Amerian has not set an exemplary record in the area of religious freedom. The English Calvinists who settled in Plymoth and Massachusetts Bay did not come to found a society where spiritual liberty would reign supreme. They came to found a theocracy, as the four Quakers...who were hanged on Boston Common between 1659 and 1661 soon found out. Unpopular and unconventional religious beliefs and practices were not only unwelcome, they were not tolerated. Roger Williams, a Baptist, was hounded into the frozen wilderness. When Henry Dunster, the president of Harvard College, decided not to have his fourth infant baptized because he had come to accept adult baptism, he was forced to retire. Later on, in other parts of the country, Mormons, Jews, Masons, Jesuits, and orgniary Roman Catholics felt the hard edge of harassment and discrimination because of their religious convictions. A couple of generations ago, Jehovah's Witnesses were the main target of prejudice. Now we have the 'cults.' It seems Americans are never really happy unless there is some unfamiliar religious group to abuse. The spirit of theoracy lingers on."

-- Harvey Cox, Thomas Professor of Divinity, Harvard University

New religius challenge the status quo and , thus, are co-participants in the production of religious conflict.

Conflict between new religions and the established order may go beyond religious ideology

Immigrant groups (who are often of a single faith tradition) my constitute an economic threat because they flood the labor market with cheap labor.

Anti-Catholicism in the 19th century was partially attributable to the fact that Catholic leadership was not interested in assimilation.

Mormons sought to create a theocratic government independent of the U.S. government; they printed their own currenty, established a militia, etc.

Three Arenas Were Conflict Occurs

Response to NRMs takes predictable patterns

Part II

Organizaional Opposition to "Cults"

Three distinct classes of opposition identified

Religiously grounded opposition

Secular opposition

Apostates

anti-cult movement -- has actively encouraged former members to interpret their exerience in a "cult" as one of being aggregiously wronged and encourages participation in organized anti-cult activities.

Entrepreneaurial opposition

Part III

The Development of the Anti-cult Movement

Two major thrusts of opposition to new religious movements:

Evangelical opposition to NRMs

There is a long tradition of preaching against the "sins" of other Christians who profess "false" doctrines or permit improper behavior.

Examples of evangelical organizations that focus on defense against false doctrine.

Christian Research Institute

Walter R. Martin
Founder

Watchman
Fellowship

Bob Larson Ministries

Spiritual Counterfeits Project

Campaigns wagged against specific sects or cults

Secular opposition emerges from partental groups

Cult Awareness Network

American Family Fondation

Wellspring



Part IV
The Professionalization of the
Anti-cult Movement

Development of the Cult Awareness Network

The Professionalization of the Anti-cult Movement

FROM:

Expanding definition of "cults"

From an operational perspective......

If you don't like a group that someone is in and you can pay our fees....its a cult! If we don't have materials on file to "prove" it is a cult, we'll cook em while you wait!!!

[no charity cases please]

Who benefits from anti-cult organizations?

Fighting back....

The Unification Church and Scientology, the two NRMs with the largest fiscal resources have chosen to fight in radically different ways.

Unification Church has sought legitimacy

From Rev Moon's first trip to the U.S. right up to the present moment, the Unification Church has sought to present itself as a legitimate religion deserving of respect.

To a much lesser degree it has played the race card, claiming the Moon has encountered a difficult time in America because he is an Asian.

Scientology has aggressively fought back

Sympathetic supporters and defenders of the First Amendment

Coalition for Religious Freedom

insert items below

Uncomfortable unlookers.....