Surely we have moved past the idea of sinister cults brainwashing innocent victims? When it comes to the law, not so, says Susan J. Palmer, which uses the terms “cult” and “sect” uncritically. Nevertheless, outside of academia, the language of “cults” continues to be used, and particularly through the law, has an affect on the lives of real people.

In this episode, Susan J. Palmer, co-editor of Storming Zion: Government Raids on Religious Communities, joins David G. Robertson to discuss the intersection between new or minority religions and the law. Professor Palmer describes how she came to study these minority groups, and to realise that they were often being misrepresented, or at least unduly targeted. Discussion ranges from Scientology in France to the Branch Davidians and the Nuwaubians in the US, with issues of secularity, race and “brainwashing” come to the fore. A fascinating overview for anyone interested in how the discourse on “religion” operates in the contemporary world.