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Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field

Edited by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins

© 2001

Misunderstanding Cults provides a uniquely balanced contribution to what has become a highly polarized area of study. Working towards a moderate "third path" in the heated debate over new religious movements or cults, this collection includes contributions from both scholars who have been characterized as "anticult" and those characterized as "cult-apologists." The study incorporates multiple viewpoints as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, with the stated goal of depolarizing the discussion over alternative religious movements. A prominent section within the book focuses explicitly on the issue of scholarly objectivity and the danger of partisanship in the study of cults.

The collection also includes contributions on the controversial and much misunderstood topic of brainwashing, as well as discussions of cult violence, children brought up in unconventional religious movements, and the conflicts between alternative religious movements and their critics. Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.

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Product Details

  • Series: Heritage
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 538 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.4in x 9.0in
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SKU# SP001065

  • PUBLISHED DEC 2001

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  • PUBLISHED DEC 2001

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  • PUBLISHED DEC 2001

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Quick Overview

Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.

Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field

Edited by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins

© 2001

Misunderstanding Cults provides a uniquely balanced contribution to what has become a highly polarized area of study. Working towards a moderate "third path" in the heated debate over new religious movements or cults, this collection includes contributions from both scholars who have been characterized as "anticult" and those characterized as "cult-apologists." The study incorporates multiple viewpoints as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, with the stated goal of depolarizing the discussion over alternative religious movements. A prominent section within the book focuses explicitly on the issue of scholarly objectivity and the danger of partisanship in the study of cults.

The collection also includes contributions on the controversial and much misunderstood topic of brainwashing, as well as discussions of cult violence, children brought up in unconventional religious movements, and the conflicts between alternative religious movements and their critics. Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • Series: Heritage
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 538 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.4in x 9.0in

  • Author Information

    Benjamin Zablocki is a professor in the Sociology Department at Rutgers University.



    Thomas Robbins is an independent scholar and lives in Rochester, Minnesota.

  • Table of contents

    Preface

    Caveat

    Introduction: Finding a Middle Ground in a Polarized Scholarly Arena
    Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins

    PART ONE: HOW OBJECTIVE ARE THE SCHOLARS?

    1. 'O Truant Muse': Collaborationist!! and Research Integrity
      Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi
    2. Balance and Fairness in the Study of Alternative Religions
      Thomas Robbins
    3. Caught Up in the Cult Wars: Confessions of a Canadian Researcher
      Susan ]. Palmer
    4. Pitfalls in the Sociological Study of Cults
      Janja Lalich

    PART TWO: HOW CONSTRAINED ARE THE PARTICIPANTS?

    1. Towards a Demystified and Disinterested Scientific Theory of Brainwashing
      Benjamin Zablocki
    2. Tactical Ambiguity and Brainwashing Formulations: Science or Pseudo Science
      Dick Anthony
    3. A Tale of Two Theories: Brainwashing and Conversion as Competing Political Narratives
      David Bromley
    4. Brainwashing Programs in The Family/Children of God and Scientology
      Stephen A. Kent
    5. Raising Lazarus: A Methodological Critique of Stephen Kent's Revival of the Brainwashing Model
      Lome L. Dawson
    6. Compelling Evidence: A Rejoinder to Lome Dawson's Chapter
      Stephen A. Kent

    PART THREE: HOW CONCERNED SHOULD SOCIETY BE?

    1. Child-Rearing Issues in Totalist Groups
      Amy Siskind
    2. Contested Narratives: A Case Shady of the Conflict Between a New Religious Movement and Its Critics
      Julius H. Rubin
    3. The Roots of Religious Violence in America
      Jeffrey Kaplan

    Appendix
    Contributors