Comprehending cults : the sociology of new religious movements / Lorne L. Dawson.

1. Why study new religious movements?
The cults in our midst
The hostility towards cults
Box 1. They come in all shapes and sizes
Responding to the suspicions of the public
2. What are new religious movements?
Religion and its continuing significance
Churches, sects, and cults
Creating a typology of cults
Box 2. How new religious movements change with success
3. Why did new religious movements emerge?
Asking the right question first
New religious movements as a response to cultural change
Box 3. Three models of cult formation
New religious movements as an expression of cultural continuity
Concluding remarks
4. Who joins new religious movements and why?
The stereotypes
Getting involved with new religious movements
The social attributes of those who join
Box 4. Why are American converts to new religious movements disproportionately Jewish?
Some reasons for joining
5. Are converts to new religious movements 'brainwashed'?
The issue and its significance
The case against the cults
The case against brainwashing
Box 5. The active versus passive convert
Reformulating the issues in the brainwashing debate
6. Why are new religious movements so often accused of sexual deviance?
Sexual deviance and the cults
Box 6. Child abuse and the social control of NRMs
Gender matters
7. Why do some new religious movements become violent?
Responding to recent 'cult' tragedies
Apocalyptic beliefs
Charismatic leadership
Social encapsulation
Box 7. Surviving the failure of apocalyptic prophecies
Concluding remarks
8. What is the cultural significance of new religious movements?
Our skewed perspective
Modernism and the new religious movements
Box 8. Factors affecting the success of NRMs
Postmodernism and the new religious movements
NRMs : anti-modern, modern, or postmodern?
Concluding remarks.