''Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field'' was edited by

Benjamin Zablocki Benjamin Zablocki (January 19, 1941 – April 6, 2020) was an American professor of sociology at Rutgers University where he taught sociology of religion and social psychology. He published widely on the subject of charismatic religious movement ...

and Thomas Robbins. The book was published by

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

, on December 1, 2001, and includes contributions from ten religious, sociological, and psychological scholars. The book is unique in that it includes contributions from scholars who have been labeled as "

anti-cult The anti-cult movement (abbreviated ACM, and also known as the countercult movement) consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to a ...

", as well as those who have been labelled as "

cult apologist In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

s". The book features a section which discusses the need for scholarly objectivity when researching cults, as well as emphasizing the danger of partisanship while researching these controversial groups. Other topics discussed include

brainwashing Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashi ...

, cult violence, the conflict that exists between

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

s and their critics, as well as the ramifications of raising children in controversial religious movements.

Contributors

The book includes contributions from researchers with varied viewpoints on the subject of cults: *

Dick Anthony Dick Anthony is a forensic psychologist noted for his writings on the validity of brainwashing as a determiner of behavior, a prolific researcher of the social and psychological aspects of involvement in new religious movements. Academic career ...

Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi ( he, בנימין בית-הלחמי) (born June 12, 1943) is an Israeli professor of psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel. In 1970 Beit-Hallahmi received a PhD in clinical psychology from Michigan State University. ...

* David Bromley *

Lorne L. Dawson Lorne L. Dawson is a Canadian scholar of the sociology of religion who has written about new religious movements, the brainwashing controversy, and religion and the Internet. His work is now focused on religious terrorism and the process of radica ...

* Jeffrey Kaplan *

Stephen A. Kent Stephen A. Kent is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new religious movements (NRMs), and has published research on several such groups including the Children of Go ...

Janja Lalich Janja Lalich (b. 1945) is an American sociologist and writer. Lalich is best known as a foremost expert on cults and coercion, charismatic authority, power relations, ideology and social control. She is a professor emerita of sociology at the ...

Susan J. Palmer Susan Jean Palmer is a Canadian sociologist of religion and author whose primary research interest is new religious movements. Formerly a professor of religious studies at Dawson College in Westmount, Quebec, she is currently an Affiliate Professor ...

* Thomas Robbins *

Julius H. Rubin The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

* Amy B. Siskind *

Reception

William Sims Bainbridge William Sims Bainbridge (born October 12, 1940) is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

frames the book as part of the debate whether

sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (survey ...

is truly scientific. He notes that a lot of the debate in the book is centered on the validity of

as a concept. He writes that "In many respects this is an excellent book, containing insightful essays written from a variety of perspectives," noting however that "Not a single paper in the collection makes use of quantitative data or conducts any other kind of formal theory testing," and decrying the scarcity of connections to research on group influence from

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

or sociology in general. Bainbridge also writes that

References

{{reflist 2001 in religion 2001 non-fiction books Books about cults Religious studies books University of Toronto Press books

Contributors

Reception

See also

References