Cults and New Religious Movements in America

Tue., Oct. 6-Nov. 10, 12-1:30 p.m.

Location: Online

Cost: $70

With Kathryn Phillips, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Defiance College

America has provided fertile ground for new and alternative religions to sprout and grow. Some prosper and eventually become accepted as part of the normal religious landscape, some wither away and are forgotten, and some detonate, creating public scandal and in the worst cases, national tragedy. This course will examine New Religious Movements, popularly known as "cults," within the U.S. context. We will examine these religious movements both from insider perspectives and outsider perceptions. We will analyze the history, practices, and beliefs of these organizations to better understand them and deconstruct misconceptions. This course covers the 18th and 19th centuries.

Kathryn Phillips is the Schauffler Chair and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Defiance College. She received her PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Riverside. Her research is primarily focused on the use of Gender Studies in the historical approach to Christian Late Antiquity. She teaches a wide range of classes and loves teaching students about traditions they might be less familiar with. She is also a Fellow in the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity at Defiance College, leading annual student research surrounding refugees to Rome, Italy.

Register by 12 p.m., September 12.