‘Cult’ Rhetoric in the 21st Century: Deconstructing the Study of New Religious Movements (Religion at the Boundaries) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1350333255 ISBN 13: 9781350333253

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2026

Synopsis

Examining contemporary understandings of the term ‘cult’, this book brings together scholars from multiple disciplines, including sociology, anthropology and religious studies. Focusing on how ‘cult rhetoric’ affects our perceptions of new religious movements, the contributors explore how these minority groups have developed and deconstruct the language we use to describe them. Ranging from the ‘Cult of Trump’ and ‘Cult of COVID’, to the campaigns of mass media, this book recognises that contemporary ‘cult rhetoric’ has become hybridised and suggests a more nuanced study of contemporary religion. Topics include online religions, political ‘cults’, ‘apostate’ testimony and the current ‘othered’ position of the study of minority religions.

About this title

About the Authors

Aled Thomas is a Teaching Fellow in the Study of Religion at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion (Bloomsbury, 2021).

Edward Graham-Hyde is a Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Religion in Public Life at the University of Leeds, UK, as well as Assistant Director (Research) with The Salvation Army, UK & Ireland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350333255
• ISBN 13: 9781350333253
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 258
• Editor: Thomas Aled