PrefaceAcknowledgmentsGlossary of Terms1. Introduction2. North America: The Post-War Reactionto New Religious Movements3. Rise of the Cult Awareness Network4. The Professionals Debate Mind Control5. The CAN and the Collapse of a SocialMovement Economy6. Missionizing the Mind Control Argument:The North American-European Anticult Connection7. Toward a Social Economy Theoryof CountermovementsIndex
Anson Shupe is professor of sociology at the joint campus of Indiana University/Purdue University, Fort Wayne. He is the author (with Peter Iadicola) of Violence, Inequality, and Human Freedom. Susan E. Darnell is a journalist and human rights activist. She is the author of a wide variety of journal articles in the sociology of religion and criminology.
-The popular stereotype of dangerous 'cults' as grave, and growing,
social menaces has persisted despite considerable scholarship
debunking such claims. Shupe and Darnell show how which a
relatively small special interest group, the anti-cult movement,
has had great influence despite its own many foibles and a lack of
real evidence for its conclusions.Members of the anti-cult movement
see themselves as saving 'cult victims.' This engrossing and
thoroughly researched volume, however, shows another reality: a
movement that has achieved widespread public backing for
poorly-conceived ideas and for activities that have often crossed
the line into illegality. - --Tim Miller Religious Studies, KU
-There is a plethora of research on religious -cults- but little
information on the countermovements that made them infamous.
Through determined sociological detective work, Shupe and Darnell
have produced a hard-hitting, revealing, sociologically informed
analysis of these -Agents of Discord.- --David G. Bromley,
Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Department of
Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University -This is masterful,
copiously documented, work on one of the foremost issues in the
study of new religious movements, namely, the negative and
belligerent reaction to their presence and activities. It provides
the historical, political, and ideological backgrounds of the
Anti-Cult Movement, especially those of the Cult Awareness Network,
one of the leading proponents of the brainwashing theory and the
practice of deprogramming. It is also a fine example of the
resource mobilization approach applied to an anti-cult movement.-
--John Saliba, University of Detroit Mercy
-This is a very important historical source for all who are
interested in the 'cult wars' that have taken place in America and
elsewhere. The meticulous research that has gone into this volume
is without peer. The authors document the machinations of the
anti-cult movement's leading figures, and also reveal the many
connections between the American ACM and developments in other
countries. This effort is couched in a sound sociological
theoretical approach that makes it a valuable source for a number
of different courses, as well as for scholars and policy makers.-
--James T. Richardson, University of Nevada- Reno
"The popular stereotype of dangerous 'cults' as grave, and growing,
social menaces has persisted despite considerable scholarship
debunking such claims. Shupe and Darnell show how which a
relatively small special interest group, the anti-cult movement,
has had great influence despite its own many foibles and a lack of
real evidence for its conclusions.Members of the anti-cult movement
see themselves as saving 'cult victims.' This engrossing and
thoroughly researched volume, however, shows another reality: a
movement that has achieved widespread public backing for
poorly-conceived ideas and for activities that have often crossed
the line into illegality. " --Tim Miller Religious Studies, KU
"There is a plethora of research on religious "cults" but little
information on the countermovements that made them infamous.
Through determined sociological detective work, Shupe and Darnell
have produced a hard-hitting, revealing, sociologically informed
analysis of these "Agents of Discord." --David G. Bromley,
Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Department of
Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University "This is masterful,
copiously documented, work on one of the foremost issues in the
study of new religious movements, namely, the negative and
belligerent reaction to their presence and activities. It provides
the historical, political, and ideological backgrounds of the
Anti-Cult Movement, especially those of the Cult Awareness Network,
one of the leading proponents of the brainwashing theory and the
practice of deprogramming. It is also a fine example of the
resource mobilization approach applied to an anti-cult movement."
--John Saliba, University of Detroit Mercy
"This is a very important historical source for all who are
interested in the 'cult wars' that have taken place in America and
elsewhere. The meticulous research that has gone into this volume
is without peer. The authors document the machinations of the
anti-cult movement's leading figures, and also reveal the many
connections between the American ACM and developments in other
countries. This effort is couched in a sound sociological
theoretical approach that makes it a valuable source for a number
of different courses, as well as for scholars and policy makers."
--James T. Richardson, University of Nevada- Reno
"The popular stereotype of dangerous 'cults' as grave, and growing,
social menaces has persisted despite considerable scholarship
debunking such claims. Shupe and Darnell show how which a
relatively small special interest group, the anti-cult movement,
has had great influence despite its own many foibles and a lack of
real evidence for its conclusions.Members of the anti-cult movement
see themselves as saving 'cult victims.' This engrossing and
thoroughly researched volume, however, shows another reality: a
movement that has achieved widespread public backing for
poorly-conceived ideas and for activities that have often crossed
the line into illegality. " --Tim Miller Religious Studies, KU
"There is a plethora of research on religious "cults" but little
information on the countermovements that made them infamous.
Through determined sociological detective work, Shupe and Darnell
have produced a hard-hitting, revealing, sociologically informed
analysis of these "Agents of Discord." --David G. Bromley,
Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Department of
Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University "This is masterful,
copiously documented, work on one of the foremost issues in the
study of new religious movements, namely, the negative and
belligerent reaction to their presence and activities. It provides
the historical, political, and ideological backgrounds of the
Anti-Cult Movement, especially those of the Cult Awareness Network,
one of the leading proponents of the brainwashing theory and the
practice of deprogramming. It is also a fine example of the
resource mobilization approach applied to an anti-cult movement."
--John Saliba, University of Detroit Mercy
"This is a very important historical source for all who are
interested in the 'cult wars' that have taken place in America and
elsewhere. The meticulous research that has gone into this volume
is without peer. The authors document the machinations of the
anti-cult movement's leading figures, and also reveal the many
connections between the American ACM and developments in other
countries. This effort is couched in a sound sociological
theoretical approach that makes it a valuable source for a number
of different courses, as well as for scholars and policy makers."
--James T. Richardson, University of Nevada- Reno
"The popular stereotype of dangerous 'cults' as grave, and growing,
social menaces has persisted despite considerable scholarship
debunking such claims. Shupe and Darnell show how which a
relatively small special interest group, the anti-cult movement,
has had great influence despite its own many foibles and a lack of
real evidence for its conclusions.
Members of the anti-cult movement see themselves as saving 'cult
victims.' This engrossing and thoroughly researched volume,
however, shows another reality: a movement that has achieved
widespread public backing for poorly-conceived ideas and for
activities that have often crossed the line into illegality.
""--Tim Miller Religious Studies, KU " "There is a plethora of
research on religious "cults" but little information on the
countermovements that made them infamous. Through determined
sociological detective work, Shupe and Darnell have produced a
hard-hitting, revealing, sociologically informed analysis of these
""Agents of Discord.""--"David G. Bromley, Professor of Sociology
and Religious Studies, Department of Sociology, Virginia
Commonwealth Universit" "This is masterful, copiously documented,
work on one of the foremost issues in the study of new religious
movements, namely, the negative and belligerent reaction to their
presence and activities. It provides the historical, political, and
ideological backgrounds of the Anti-Cult Movement, especially those
of the Cult Awareness Network, one of the leading proponents of the
brainwashing theory and the practice of deprogramming. It is also a
fine example of the resource mobilization approach applied to an
anti-cult movement.""--John Saliba"
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