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Course: Contemporary Religious Movements I

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Course title Contemporary Religious Movements I
Course code KRE/NNH1
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Černá Zuzana, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
New religious movements as an image of the Other. Discussion about terms (Sect, Cult, NRM, alternative religions, and so on); historical context of the study of New Religious Movements (NRM). New religions, anti-cult movements, and academic study - a triangle of multiplied relationships. A situation in some Western states and Czech contemporaneousness of an academic study (institutions, centers, publishing, and other activities). Points of departure and methods in the study of NRM. General theories, typology, specialized studies. A theory of conversion (applied on the organization of the Jehova Witnesses). The problem of authority and a group dynamics (the example of the Hare Krishna Movement). Various models of sexual relationships and family in NRM. Second generation and changes in NRM (Bhagavan Rajneesh and his followers). Doctrine and spiritual practices: continuity, innovation, new understanding? (The Unification Church, and the Hare Krishna Movement). Few notes: faith and belief, fanaticism, and "normality" in relation between NRM and society. Where are the boundaries of "religiosity"? Examples: Church of Scientology, Transcendental Meditation. Anti-cult movements are also (anti)religious organizations (examples from abroad, situation in the Czech Republic). Final discussion; introduction of the projects for next term.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Methods of individual activities, Work-related activities
Learning outcomes
The objective of this course is to connect the knowledge of Contemporary Religiousness.
Student will acquire overview both of the present state of theories applied to the study of New Religious Movements and of some chosen groups. They will also get basic knowledge about the present situation in foreign as well as Czech research, and about specific problems connected with the research in New Religious Movements.
Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Didactic test, Discussion

For the chosen project, with which the students will deal in the summer term, students will hand in 1.) an acceptable information search; 2.) the proposal for the structure of the paper, 3.) they make contacts with the chosen group.
Recommended literature
  • ADORNO, T. W. The Authoritarian Personality, 1st ed., xxiii, 990 p.. New York, The Norton Library, 1969.
  • BAINBRIDGE, W. S. The Sociology of Religious Movements, 1st ed., 474 p.. New York, Routledge, 1997.
  • BARKER, E. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction, 1st ed.. London, HMSO, 1989.
  • BOROWIK, I., BABINSKI, G. (eds.). New Religious Phenomena in Central and Eastern Europe, 1st ed., 392 p.. Krakow, NOMOS, 1997.
  • BREEN, M. Son-Mjong Mun: rané období 1920-1953, 1. české vydání. Praha, Ideál, 2001.
  • BROMLEY, D.G., HAMMOND, P.E. (eds.). The Future of New Religious Movements, 1st ed.. Macon, Georgia, Mercer University Press, 1987.
  • CONEY, J., SAHAJA, Y. Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement, 1st ed., xvi, 269 p.. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999.
  • HOFFER, E. The True Believer. Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, 2nd ed., (1st ed. 1951), 160 p.. New York, Harper and Row, 1966.
  • JUDAH, S. J. Hare Krishna and the Counterculture, 1st ed., xviii, 301 p.. New York, J. Wiley and Sons, 1974.
  • KUNDALI, D. Our Mission. Part Two. The Varieties of Dysfunctional Experience, 1st ed., xxxii, 240 p.. New Delhi, Eye-of-the- Bird-Books, 1997.
  • LUŽNÝ, D. ,,Antikultovní hnutí. Otázka nebezpečnosti nových náboženských hnutí a metody akademického studia náboženství",1. IV, s. 16-36. Religio. Revue pro religionistiku, 1996.
  • LUŽNÝ, D. Nová náboženská hnutí, 1. vyd., 181 s., edice Religionistika, sv. 3. Brno, Masarykova univerzita, 1997.
  • LUŽNÝ, D. ,,Nové formy religiozity (metodické poznámky)", 1. II, s. 82-91. Religio, Revue pro religionistiku, 1994.
  • PALMER, S. J., HARDMANN, CH. E. (eds.). Children in New Religions, 1st ed., ix, 251 p.. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1999.
  • PALMER, S. J., SHARMA, A. (eds.). The Rajneesh Papers. Studies in a New Religious Movement, 1st ed., xx, 188 p.. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1993.
  • ROCHFORD, B. E. "Family Formation, Culture and Change in the Hare Krishna Movement". ISKCON Communications Journal, 2. V (December), 1997.
  • ROCHFORD, B. E. Hare Krishna in America, 1st ed., 130 p.. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1985.
  • SHINN, L. D. The Dark Lord. Cult Images and the Hare Krishnas in America, 1st ed., 204 p.. Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1987.
  • ŠTAMPACH, I. O. ,,Kořeny, současnost a výhledy nové religiozity", 1. II, s. 3-14. , Religio. Revue pro religionistiku, 1997.
  • ŠTAMPACH, I. O. Náboženství v dialogu, Kritické studie na pomezí religionistiky a teologie, 1. vyd., 205 s.. Praha: Portál, 1998.
  • WEBER, M. Autorita, etika a společnost. Pohled sociologa do dějin,. Praha, 1997.
  • WEBER, M. Sociologie náboženství, 1. české vydání, 368 s.. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1998.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Study plan (Version): Religious Studies (2013) Category: Philosophy, theology 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
University of Pardubice, date of update: 28.05.2024 23:50.