RELN 370 - American Sects and Cults

Credits: (3)

Instructional Method: Three hours lecture.
Prerequisites: Three hours of religious studies.
Investigates nonconventional religious groups in the United States, from colonial Quakers and Puritans to contemporary Scientology and the Church of Satan. Lectures will survey mainline religious and cultural trends salient to the appearance of sects and cults. Students will evaluate social/scientific theories on topics such as the mental health of leaders and followers, cult-related violence, conversion and defection, the law and deviant religions.