PAR 193 - Cults & Covens: Investigating New Religious Movements

This course will look at a variety of New Religious Movements or “minority religions” such as Neopaganism, the Nation of Islam, the Church of Scientology, the Branch Davidians, and the Church of Satan. Students will become familiar with the tools and methods of the academic study of religion, and will critically analyze the merit of controversial concepts like “cult.” By the end of the course, students will be literate in the history of these traditions and in how religious identity connects to other social categories, such as race, gender, and sexuality.

Credits: 3