This book summarizes, synthesizes, and assesses the results of years of research into new religious movements by historians, sociologists, and psychologists of religion.

Cults, what do we really know about them? Long the focus of controversy, cults or what sociologists prefer to call new religious movements, have been studied by scholars for years. This book summarizes, synthesizes, and assesses the results of years of research into new religious movements by historians, sociologists, and psychologist of religion. Organized in terms of seven of the most commonly asked questions about cults (e.g., Why did they emerge? Who joins them and why? Why do some become violent?), the book clarifies the issues at stake, seeking to replace prejudice and speculation with reliable insights into the nature of cult activity.