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Contemporary Religious Movements

Key information

  • Module code:

    7AATC974

  • Level:

    7

  • Semester:

      Spring

  • Credit value:

    15

Module description

  • This module considers the variety of contemporary religious movements in Western societies and Eastern Europe; the issue of conversion to controversial religious movements; problems of power, authority and change in religious groups; the origins of religious violence and conflict; "cult controversies"; and relationships between religious movements and government, law, and international politics.

    The course is designed to provide students with knowledge and skills to analyse contemporary religious movements from a variety of social scientific perspectives. It shows the importance of understanding the historical, cultural, political, and social contexts in which these movements arise. It also discusses the ways of studying them, which are as unbiased and up-to-date as possible, as well as ways of tackling ethical and logistical problems in researching them. Finally, the course points to the policy implications of the different approaches to the study of these phenomena.

Assessment details

Coursework

One 4,000-word essay (100%)

Teaching pattern

One two-hour weekly class over ten weeks.

Department

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.