Cults and Alternative Religions Part I
In society today the word “cult” has negative connotations. Many authors feel it is an ethical breach to use the word “cult” in academic literature. Alternative words have been created, the most popular being “new religious movement” (NRM). A study was conducted asking over 2,400 random people from Nebraska how comfortable they would feel if their neighbor joined a cult, NRM, or new Christian church and whether the government could regulate the activity of these groups. The goal of this article was to see if changing the word describing cults would change people’s perception of the group. The results indicated a strong negative response to cults. NRM’s were generally accepted. New Christian churches were overwhelmingly supported.
In this article the author was trying to show an unfair bias against cults simply because of the terminology. He began by explaining that scholars do not use the word “cult” anymore. It conjures negative images for the reader. None of these groups call themselves a cult and the scholars believe it is unfair. The term new religious movement (NRM) has taken its place. The anti-cult movement has been extremely successful in projecting a negative opinion about cults and alternative religions. Churches also warn against them, many members of the public do not even understand what a cult really is, only that it is “bad”. The media has also consistently projected negative images about cults and labeled them crazy and dangerous.
response to cults. NRM’s were generally accepted. New Christian churches were overwhelmingly supported.
In this article the author was trying to show an unfair bias against cults simply because of the terminology. He began by explaining that scholars do not use the word “cult” anymore. It conjures negative images for the reader. None of these groups call themselves a cult and the scholars believe it is unfair. The term new religious movement (NRM) has taken its place. The anti-cult movement has been extremely successful in projecting a negative opinion about cults and alternative religions. Churches also warn against them, many members of the public do not even understand what a cult really is, only that it is “bad”. The media has also consistently projected negative images about cults and labeled them crazy and dangerous.