Course Resources Archive

Religion is as much alive today as it ever was and one significant way this can be demonstrated is through the proliferation of New Religious Movements (NRMs).  This module explores the diversity of NRMs in the contemporary world.

This is an opportunity for students to explore a range of NRMs from Eastern and Western religious traditions together with the burgeoning phenomenon of cyberspace religions.  The module will discuss key beliefs, rituals and practices of each NRM examined and will investigate issues such as organisation, charismatic leadership, sex and gender, violence and coercion within NRMs.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of the cultural contexts in which NRMs arise.
2. Demonstrate a broad understanding of the key beliefs, rituals and practices of a number of NRMs.
3. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of various explanatory models for the emergence of NRMs.
4. Engage effectively with the debate surrounding coercion and ‘brainwashing’ within NRMs.
5. Work effectively within a team, demonstrating mutual respect while retaining the ability to work in a self-disciplined and self-directed manner, showing both independence of mind and initiative.
6. Possess a range of ICT skills in order to gather, evaluate and synthesise different types of information.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.