The emergence and rapid growth of many new religious movements since the 1940s has caught the attention of the public, media and academia alike and has been the source of interest, fear and controversy.
Sects and cults have many definitions depending on the user's frame of reference. Beckford describes cults as "...relatively small, new, and unconventional religious groups...", whilst other people's perceptions of cults are far more negative. A popular concept of a cult is one of groups that are to be avoided, hated and feared and they are therefore a social problem. …
