• The Major Counter-Cult Organizations
• Alpha List of Counter-Cult Groups on the Internet
• Anti Cult Movement

Counter-Cult organizations are concerned with defense of the faith against false or heretical doctrines and faith traditions. Counter-cultists are concerned, on the one hand, in rescuing those who have fallen from the true faith and joined errant religious tradition. On the other hand, they endevour to warn those within the faith of the danger of falling victim to the lure of false doctrines.

The counter-cult tradition may be viewed as a subcategory of Christian apologetics, a branch theology that defends the divine origins and authority of Christian doctrine. Counter-cultists typically move beyond intellectual defense of the faith and develop an activist posture which characterizes movements. There is no single or consensual line among counter-cultists. Indeed, on of the more striking characterists of counter-cultists is that they often engage in doctrinal struggles with groups, or leaders, who are marginally different rather than those whose beliefs are far removed.

While the line between counter-cult and anti-cult groups is sometimes blurred, the latter are typically not concerned with belief but, rather, with alleged behaviors that are viewed as harmful the the mental health and well-being of those who become involved. Anti-cultists focus on what they believe to be powerful resources employed by cult leaders to manipulate and control followers for their own gain.

The counter-cult movement is most typically associated with evangelical Christianity, but other faith traditions have have groups that are similarly devoted to defending the faith against false doctrines.

Essays that appear elsewhere on this site explore the counter-cult and anti-cult movements in considerable depth. Here, we offer a comprehensive set of links to counter-cult organizations. In the future we will be developing annotations of the content of all the counter-cult organizations. This will be followed by more extensive profiles and assessment of counter-cult sites on the Internet. Douglas E. Cowan (10/24/99)

Also available in this site section:

• The Brainwashing Controversy
• Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect"
• Conceptualizing "Anti-Cult" and "Counter-Cult"
• The Anti-Cult Movement
• The Counter-Cult Movement
• Links
• Bibliography
• Other Resources