RELS 225 2009-01-12 What is a cult?RELS 225 2009-01-12 What is a cult?

Attendance

Announcements

Review of last class

What is a Cult?Syllabus

AnnouncementsAnnouncements

Sign up on the sheet for a time to meet with the professor

in the old MacNeil Engineering / Science building, room 12.

Review of last classReview of last class

Readings and Online QuizzesFor every assigned reading, there will be a corresponding quiz to ensure comprehension of the reading. These quizzes will be administered online, at the Xoodle website http://moodle.library.stfx.ca/course/view.php?id=16

Log in with your webfx username and password.Enter the ‘enrolment key’ from the professor. (Write it down now.)Complete your user profile; a photo would be helpful.

What would you call a “cult”?What would you call a “cult”?

What qualifies a group to be called a cult?

Biased portrayals of cultsBiased portrayals of cults

Media

Anti-Cult Movement

The solution to the media / ACM problemThe solution to the media / ACM problem

Academic research that:Doesn’t lump all NRMs together

Recognizes NRMs are not something new

Does not let truth claims about beliefs interfere with research

Seeks to learn about ourselves from NRMs

HomeworkHomework

For next class:Read about Jehovah’s Witnesses at http://web.archive.org/web/20060828130236/religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Jwitness.html Write online quiz “Jehovah’s Witnesses” at http://moodle.library.stfx.ca based on the above reading.

For Monday:Read Comprehending Cults chapter 2Write online quiz on Chapter 2