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Cults and New Religious Movements in America

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America has provided fertile ground for new and alternative religions to sprout and grow. Some prosper and eventually become accepted as part of the normal religious landscape, some wither away and are forgotten, and some detonate, creating public scandal and in the worst cases, national tragedy. This course will examine New Religious Movements, popularly known as “cults”, within the US context. We will examine these religious movements both from insider perspectives and outsider perceptions. We will analyze the history, practices, and beliefs of these organizations to better understand them and deconstruct misconceptions. This course covers the 18th and 19th centuries.

Kathryn (Kate) Davis
Kate Davis, PhD, is an intersectional scholar and oral historian. Her work crosses between the fields of Religious Studies, Digital Humanities, and Gender Studies with a focus on North American religions. She holds a PhD in Religious Studies from Claremont Graduate University and is currently a visiting professor in Humanities and Theology at Alvernia University in Pennsylvania. Her first book, an ethnographic study of Mormon and Evangelical influencers, will be published next year.

Tuesdays, October 6 through November 10