Past the Pejorative: Understanding the Word "Cult" Through Its Use in American Newspapers During the Nineties
Within the academic study of New Religious Movements, it has become standard to understand "cult" as a pejorative term which is dismissive of minority religions and in some cases harms them. This article, through a quantitative content analysis conducted by the author of various uses of th...
| Subtitles: | "Special Issue: The Return of the Cult: Bad Religion in the Age of Trump and COVID" |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox
2023
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| In: |
Implicit religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 24, Issue: 2, Pages: 195-217 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
USA
/ Newspapers
/ Cult
/ Concept of
/ Semantic change
/ New religion
/ Society
/ History 1990-2000
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AZ New religious movements KBQ North America TK Recent history ZB Sociology ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Discourse
B United States B Media B Cult B Rhetoric B Press |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Within the academic study of New Religious Movements, it has become standard to understand "cult" as a pejorative term which is dismissive of minority religions and in some cases harms them. This article, through a quantitative content analysis conducted by the author of various uses of the word "cult" in twenty-five American newspapers through the 1990s, is an attempt to understand, in detail and supported by data, how "cult" was applied to particular religious groups and used more widely within popular discourse. It argues that the word "cult" was primarily used for subjects that were not religious groups, and when it was applied to religious groups, it was largely done so to a very small number that all shared several characteristics. It further argues that "cult" should be understood as a complex term with a range of meanings and applications. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-1697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Implicit religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/imre.23202 |