New religions are constantly
emerging and older religions slip away into oblivion. No new religion emerges
fullblown but evolves - sometimes slowly, other times as a rapid pace. New
religions take the form of either a sect or a cult and only
gradually become recognized as a legitimate faith tradition of the culture in
which they reside.
This course is about how cults and sects emerge, develop and interact
with their host culture. The sparsity of historical records prohibits a
detailed reconstruction of the emergence of any of the world's great religions.
By studying emerging religions, however, we can learn a lot about how and why
religion has persisted. New religions seem always to be controversial. The
"cult controversies" of our day are not very different from the conflicts
of new religions over the course of human history. Studying new religions
from a social science perspective provides a mirror to history and important
insights about the nature and central role of religion in human
social organization.
The emergence of the Internet has enriched manyfold the amount of
material available on religious movements. Further, we can obtain information
on groups that are so new that no scholarly literature yet exists (eg. the
Toronto Blessing and the Promise Keepers). Not all information available
is useful. Indeed, some is misleading and even incorrect. But this serves well
the learning goal of assessing the quality and value of information.
This class will rely heavily on information posted on the Internet
about religious movements. Basic skills required to "surf" the Internet can be
learned in a few minutes, and most students who enroll in this course will
already have some experience in using the World Wide Web. Developing the skills
required to create a web page that can be a useful contribution to the
advancement of learning is a challenge, but within the grasp of most students.
Ninety percent of the students enrolled in this class over the past three terms
have elected to create a web page for a specific group. Students taking the
course this term will be using these resource materials. And, hopefully, most
will elect to participate in expanding and improving the class home page.
This class, then, will pursue the dual objectives of exploring the
origins and nature of new religions while simultaneously learning how to
creatively use emerging "new media" modern communications technologies. Most of
you will begin with little substantive knowledge about new religions; your
technology skills will vary from little to extensive knowledge. The only
prerequisites to this course are (1) an interest in the subject matter
and (2) a willingness to learn about new media like the Internet.
If necessary, we will hold special sessions for those who are not skilled in
utilizing electronic communication technologies.