ABSTRACT
While scholars have focused an increasing amount of attention on the secular cult awareness movement (currently represented by the American Family Foundation), the Christian part of popular opposition to new religions, while continuing to grow, has attracted significantly less interest (Melton 1986; Introvigne 1995; Melton 2000; Barker 2002). In light of the ups and downs of the cult awareness movement, the steady expansion of the Christian countercult movement becomes ever more important for its obvious success in bolstering public concern with and generally negative attitude towards groups labelled as cults (Cowan 2003). Far older and larger than their secular counterpart, the countercult ministries have also produced far more literature on new religions (Tolbert and Pement 1996). Though it has not been as visible in the cult wars-in either the formulating of proposed legislation against cults or participating in court cases-the countercult movement has nevertheless mobilised a large constituency opposed to the further spread of religious pluralism, especially in the United States.
