Ep. 53: New Religious Movements

New religious movements are religions that are peripheral to a society's dominant religious culture, the earliest and most enduring example being Mormonism (which began in 1830). The majority of practitioners in new religious movements are recent converts and NRMs often get labeled the pejorative term “cult.” On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys explore how NRMs emerged in response to the problems of modernity by examining Mormonism, The Baháʼí Faith, The Enthusiastic Sobriety Movement, The People’s Temple Movement, The Rajneesh Movement, Twin Flames Universe, and Love Has Won. Amongst other things they discuss how NRMs appeal to people raised in the suburbs because of the communal living arrangements they offer, how federal interference is often the tipping point that leads to mass casualty events, and how Nathan’s brother once worked for a restaurant operated by an NRM.

Links:

What are New Religious Movements ft. Professor Eileen Barker

Death of a Scientologist by Tori Marlan

Hunter x Hunter Intro

Snowflake, Arizona LDS Temple

The Love Bomb by Daniel Kolitz

Wild Wild Country (2018)

Escaping Twin Flames (2023)

How ‘Twin Flames Universe’ leader pretends to be Jesus to create an abusive multi-level marketing scheme by Mallory Challis

Cult Info Since 1979 by the The International Cultic Studies Association

Artwork:

The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois (1969)