Cults of America: A Reconnaissance in Space and Time
This paper examines the geographic distribution of American cults based on 501 independent groups listed in the Encyclopedia of American Religions, Vol. 2 (Melton, 1978). A third of the nation's cults are in California. However, when population is taken into account, Nevada and New Mexico excee...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1979
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1979, Volume: 40, Issue: 4, Pages: 347-359 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper examines the geographic distribution of American cults based on 501 independent groups listed in the Encyclopedia of American Religions, Vol. 2 (Melton, 1978). A third of the nation's cults are in California. However, when population is taken into account, Nevada and New Mexico exceed California in terms of cults per million residents. Regionally, the Pacific states have the highest cult rate (6.9 per million) and the Southern region has the lowest. The Eastern regions have a much larger proportion of cults founded before 1930 than do the southern and western areas. Considerable regional variation also exists in the kinds of cults that predominate. Examination of the dates when existing cults were founded reveals there has been a massive decline over time in the proportion of cults that adopt Christian-sounding names. Finally, trends in the birth dates in thirteen families of cults show significant variations. Implications of these findings are considered. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3709963 |