ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes and analyzes one incorporated organization within the anticult movement (ACM); the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). New religious movements (NRM), as Jenkins and others have emphasized, are a constant in North American culture. To postulate an ACM presupposes there are tangible groups some persons can identify in agreed-upon fashion and label "cults". There are a number of conceptual perspectives we could have employed to analyze the ACM, from conflict theory to criminology to symbolic interaction. Finally, the book also traces the problems various ACM organizations encountered as they struggled to mobilize public and official concern and member commitment as well as the financial resources necessary to stay afloat in the face of opposition by certain wealthier NRMs.
