’cult’ rhetoric in the 21st century: deconstructing the study of new religious movements

Examining contemporary understandings of the term ’cult’, this book brings together scholars from multiple disciplines, including sociology, anthropology and religious studies.Focusing on how ’cult rhetoric’ affects our perceptions of new religious movements, the contributors explore how these minority groups have developed and deconstruct the language we use to describe them.

Ranging from the ’Cult of Trump’ and ’Cult of COVID’, to the campaigns of mass media, this book recognises that contemporary ’cult rhetoric’ has become hybridised and suggests a more nuanced study of contemporary religion. Topics include online religions, political ’cults’, ’apostate’ testimony and the current ’othered’ position of the study of minority religions.

Aled Thomas is a Teaching Fellow in the Study of Religion at the University of Leeds, UK, Associate Lecturer at the Open University, UK and co-founder of alt-ac.uk.

Edward Graham-Hyde is a research fellow at the University of Central Lancashire, UK.