Cults

Social Psychological Aspects

Bibliographic Data

ID7079195
AuthorsJ T Richardson (0000-0002-6307-087X, University of Nevada, Reno, corresponding author)
Year2016
Pages1-4
Publication date2016-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeOTHER
VenueThe Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (JOURNAL)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781405165518.wbeosc168.pub2
OpenAlexW3010490792
ISBN9781405165518
LanguageEN
References cited13

Cults,” referred to by most scholars as new religious movements (NRMs), burst on the American scene in the late 1960s and 1970s, and then spread to other western nations and beyond, as some of the groups developed impressive international recruitment efforts. This entry will offer an analysis of how and why cults or NRMs happened. It will focus first on powerful myths that developed around the unexpected occurrence of many relatively affluent and well‐educated young people “getting religion.” These myths will be critiqued, and then some rather mundane social psychological theorizing will be applied to the NRM phenomenon that will demonstrate that what occurred with the development and spread of these groups was actually explicable through existing theories. The conclusion will be that esoteric ideas were needed for understanding what had occurred with the development of “cults” or NRMs

Criminology · Epistemology · Mythology · Phenomenon · Social science · Sociology · Classics · History · Mormonism, Religion, and History · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Social Psychology

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