Cults

As a former member of one so-called cult said (and many others have repeated): "Nobody joins a cult." What, then, does this designation mean and how has it been used in the past? How has "cult" become a way to demarcate "good" and "bad" religion, to condemn communities and practices that defy established norms, and what are the consequences of the “cult” label for marginalized groups? In this First-Year Seminar, we will evaluate the history of the term "cult" and its varied uses in the US and elsewhere. We will consider a variety of groups that have been labeled "cults," as we ask how the members of such New Religious Movements (NRMs) responded to and revealed the fractures of modern economic, political, gender, racial, and social relations.