1. RELS 225 2009-01-12 What is a cult? Attendance Announcements Review of last class What is a Cult? Syllabus

2. Announcements Sign up on the sheet for a time to meet with the professor in the old MacNeil Engineering / Science building, room 12.

3. Review of last class Readings and Online Quizzes For every assigned reading, there will be a corresponding quiz to ensure comprehension of the reading. These quizzes will be administered online, at the Xoodle website http://moodle.library.stfx.ca/course/view.php?id=16 http://moodle.library.stfx.ca/course/view.php?id=16 Log in with your webfx username and password. Enter the ‘enrolment key’ from the professor. (Write it down now.) Complete your user profile; a photo would be helpful.

4. What would you call a “cult”? What qualifies a group to be called a cult?

5. Biased portrayals of cults Media Anti-Cult Movement

6. The solution to the media / ACM problem Academic research that: Doesn’t lump all NRMs together Recognizes NRMs are not something new Does not let truth claims about beliefs interfere with research Seeks to learn about ourselves from NRMs

7. Homework For next class: Read about Jehovah’s Witnesses at http://web.archive.org/web/200 60828130236/religiousmoveme nts.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Jwitnes s.html http://web.archive.org/web/200 60828130236/religiousmoveme nts.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Jwitnes s.html Write online quiz “Jehovah’s Witnesses” at http://moodle.library.stfx.ca based on the above reading. http://moodle.library.stfx.ca For Monday: Read Comprehending Cults chapter 2 Write online quiz on Chapter 2