Department of Religious Studies
Joseph Adler

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• Syllabus:

This year's seminar will examine the phenomenon of new religious movements in global perspective. The term "new religious movements" (NRMs) has become, in recent years, the preferred term for what used to be called "cults" and "sects." Although those terms had and still have legitimate sociological usages, over the past few decades they have acquired distinctly negative connotations, so most scholars now use the newer terminology. The study of NRMs has developed into a distinct sub-field within religious studies. We will be examining both its methodological considerations and a wide variety of case studies, ranging from North America to Europe to Africa and Asia.

Reading

Available in Bookstore:

• Elijah Siegler, New Religious Movements (2007).
• Lorne L. Dawson, Comprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements, 2nd ed. (2006).
• Lorne L. Dawson, ed., Cults in Context: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements (1998).

On Course Reserve:

• George D. Chryssides, Exploring New Religions (1999).
• George D. Chryssides, Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (2001).
• George D. Chrissides and Margaret Z. Wilkins, eds., A Reader in New Religious Movements (2006)
• Peter B. Clarke, ed., Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements (2006)
• Peter B. Clarke, New Religions in Global Perspective: A Study of Religious Change in the Modern World (2006).
• Dereck Daschke and Michael Ashcraft, eds., New Religious Movements: A Documentary Reader (2005).
• James R. Lewis, ed., The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements (2004).
• James R. Lewis, ed., Odd Gods: New Religions and the Cult Controversy (2006)
• Phillip Charles Lucas and Thomas Robbins, eds., New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective (2004).
• Christopher Partridge, ed., New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities (2004).
  

Course Requirements and Grading

1. Participation (25% of course grade). The success of a seminar depends on the active participation of all members. Attendance at all meetings is required, unless you have a legitimate excuse and inform me about it beforehand. You are expected to have read the assigned material and to participate regularly in seminar discussion, both during the first nine weeks, when we will be discussing our theoretical readings, and during the class presentations of case studies.
   
   
2. Reading reports (35%). In weeks 3 through 9 you will write a 3-4 page critical analysis, based on the assigned reading, of each week's topic. Follow the online Paper Format Guide, using footnotes, and include a properly formatted bibliography.
   
   
3. Oral presentation (15%) and research paper (25%) on a case study of a new religious movement of your choosing. The oral presentations will be given during the last three weeks of the semester. The final papers will use the same citation format as the reading reports, and will be due one week after your oral presentation.

   The case studies should deal with topics and questions such as these (not an exhaustive list):
   

   • The origin and histoical development of the NRM
     
   • What religious, social, and/or intellectual traditions does the NRM draw upon?
     
   • What social conditions and processes is the NRM responding to?
     
   • Who joins the movement and why?
   • How does affiliation satisfy the needs of its members?
   • How does affiliation affect members' other social relations?
   • Gender relations in the NRM
   • Pattern of authority in the NRM
   • To what extent does the NRM display the six characteristics described in Dawson, Comprehending Cults, ch. 8?
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SEMINAR SCHEDULE

Edit date: 9/18/07