Brainwashing In New Religious Movements
This essay must adopt the MHRA Footnote/MHRA Author-Date reference style.
The essay question is “Why are ‘brainwashing’ explanations of the reasons for joining New Religious Movements are so popular among the general public and why they cause criticism from the academic community?”
You *MUST* read all the source that I’ll send it to you.
There must be no grammar mistake.
READING LISTS:
WEEK ONE. HOW CAN WE STUDY NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS?
Definitions, characteristics, and methods of study
This session will introduce you to research on and controversies over the first post-WWII wave of
religious innovation, known as New Religious Movements (or NRMs, or ‘cults’).
Key questions
· How can we best define new religious groups: ‘cult’, ‘sect’, NRM? Definition is a crucial aspect of the competing perspectives on these groups and movements, with a range of epistemological as well as legal and political consequences.
· Can we generalise about NRMs? Do they share certain characteristics?
· Typologies of NRMs, such as ‘world-rejecting’, ‘world-accommodating’, and ‘world-affirming’ movements
· What methods can we use to study NRMs?
Seminar: see the questions above in italics
Essential Readings (mandatory for the seminar):
*Richardson, James (1998), “Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative”, in Dawson Lorne (ed.), Cults in Context: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements, pp. 29-37 – KEATS
*Wallis, Roy (2003), “Three Types of New Religious Movements”, in Dawson (ed), Cults and New Religious Movements: a reader, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 36-58 – KEATS
Recommended Readings
Barker, Eileen (1984), The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice, London: Blackwell
Barker, Eileen (1989), New Religious Movements: a practical introduction, Ch. 1.
Dawson, Lorne (2006), Comprehending Cults: the Sociology of New Religious Movements,
ch. 1, 2, & 3
Hjelm, Titus and Phil Zuckerman (2013), Studying Religion and Society: sociological self
portraits, Chs. 3, 4, & 5
Nova Religio (special issue): Academic Integrity and the Study of New Religious Movements,
2, 1, 1998
Van Zandt, David (1991 or 2014), Living with the Children of God, New Heaven: Princeton
University Press
WEEK TWO. WHY PEOPLE JOIN OR LEAVE NRMS: CONVERSION TO
AND EXITING FROM NEW RELIGIOUS GROUPS
The ‘brainwashing’ explanations had long been widely taken for granted before they were
challenged and, to a large extent refuted, through social scientific research. However, they
continue to dominate the public understanding of why people join newer religious groups in
many societies.
· Why people join NRMs?
· How can we study conversion to, and exiting from, NRMs?
· Is ‘brainwashing’ a useful concept? – question for the debate
· Why are ‘brainwashing’ explanations so popular and what the implications of this are for the wider society and public policy?
· Can people ‘leave a cult’ or need to be ‘rescued’ from it?
Seminar – debate (see the question in italics above)
Two presenters will give short (not more than 10 min) papers either in support or against the ‘brainwashing thesis’ and then respond to each other briefly (3 min each). After that, the floor will be open for the general debate where participants will be expected clearly to identify their arguments and supporting evidence (rather than expressing their ‘feelings’ or ‘perceptions’). The Seminar Teacher will conclude the debate with comments on the quality of presented arguments and suggestions for further thinking and reading.
Essential Readings (mandatory for the seminar)
*Barker, Eileen (2013), “Doing sociology: confessions of a professional stranger”, in Hjelm, Titus and Phil Zuckerman (eds), Studying Religion and Society: sociological self-portraits, London and New York: Routlege, pp. 1-13 – KEATS
*Richardson, James, “A social psychological critique of brainwashing claims about
recruitment to new religions”, in J. Hadden and D. Bromley, eds. (1993), Handbook
of Cults and Sects in America. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, Inc., pp. 75-97.
Available at http://www.cesnur.org/testi/Socpsy.htm and on KEATS
Recommended Readings
Anthony, Dick & Robbins, Thomas, “Conversion and “Brainwashing” in New Religious Movements”, available at http://www.cesnur.org/2003/brain_conv.htm
Barker, E. (1989), New Religious Movements: a Practical Introduction, ch. 2
Barker, Eileen (1984), The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice?, London
Blackwell
Dawson, Lorne, (2006), Comprehending Cults, ch. 4 & 5
Levine, Saul (2003), “The Joiners”, in Lorne Dawson (ed.) Cults and New Religious
Movements, pp. 131-142.
Singer, Margaret (2003), The Process of Brainwashing, Psychological Coercion, and Thought Reform, in Lorne L. Dawson (ed.) Cults and New Religious Movements, pp147-159 – key source for the presenter
Snow, David and Richard Machalek, “The Sociology of Conversion”, Annual Review of Sociology, 10, 167-190
Solomon, Trudy (1981), “Integrating the Moonie Experience: a Survey of Ex-Members of the Unification Church”, in Robbins, Thomas and Dick Anthony, In Gods we Trust, New Brunswick: Transaction, pp. 275-96
Wright, Stuart and Ebaugh, Helen, “Leaving New Religions,” in Bromley, David and Jeffrey Hadden (eds.), Handbook on Cults and Sects in America, Vol. B, p. 117-138.

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