Psychiatry and the Cults

John A. Saliba is a Maltese-born Jesuit priest, a professor of religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy and a noted writer and researcher in the field of new religious movements. Saliba has advocated a conciliatory approach towards new religions. He has argued that membership in such movements can serve as a temporary haven for young adults in a formative stage of their lives, and is not necessarily detrimental. He has been critical of the brainwashing concept espoused by the anti-cult movement.

• Acknowledgements. Preface: The Nature and Scope of this Study. Introduction: The Debate on the Cults in Current Psychiatric and Psychological Literature: An Assessment 1. Sources for the Study of Psychiatry and the Cults 2. Psychiatry and the Cults in Historical Perspective 3. Psychiatric and the Cults in Cross-Cultural Perspective 4. Current Psychological and Psychiatric Studies on the New Cults. Author Index. Subject Index.