Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America

The United States of America are one of the rare states (and according to available data, the first one), which introduced specialised anti-cult regulations. This article is dedicated to the analysis of the general perspective of the origins and reasons for the introduction of such regulations in th...

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Autor Principal: Matković Aleksandar
Formato: Artigo
Idioma:English
Publicado: Union University, Faculty of Law, Belgrade 2016-01-01
Series:Pravni Zapisi
Subjects:
Acceso en liña:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2217-2815/2016/2217-28151601134M.pdf
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author Matković Aleksandar
author_facet Matković Aleksandar
author_sort Matković Aleksandar
collection DOAJ
description The United States of America are one of the rare states (and according to available data, the first one), which introduced specialised anti-cult regulations. This article is dedicated to the analysis of the general perspective of the origins and reasons for the introduction of such regulations in the USA, to their presentation and the analysis of their content, as well as identification of their key specific and general characteristics. First, the author analyses the influences and reasons which led to the introduction of mentioned legislation. The author points to the direct link between the phenomenon of Satanist moral panic and the anti-cult movement, on one side, and anti-cult legislation, on the other. Through an observation of legislation passed in federal states of Idaho, California and Illinois, he identifies their specific features, as well as general, common characteristics. It was ascertained that Idaho's legislation, which was passed first, served as a model for other adopted legal acts. Further on, it was concluded that the main negative characteristics of USAs anti-cult legislation are: the absence or lack of foundation for their adoption; the controversies in their practical application; the absence of expected social results; their arguable compatibility with legally guaranteed religious rights and freedoms; the creation of a perspective for legalisation of discrimination on religious grounds; and the possibility and justifiability of application of general legislation which does not have a specialised, i.e. anti-cult orientation.
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spelling doaj.art-a9f092d75d06475b8b6a9b68c323ca8f2022-12-21T23:21:15ZengUnion University, Faculty of Law, BelgradePravni Zapisi2217-28152406-13872016-01-01711341522217-28151601134MAnti-cult legislation in the United States of AmericaMatković Aleksandar0nemaThe United States of America are one of the rare states (and according to available data, the first one), which introduced specialised anti-cult regulations. This article is dedicated to the analysis of the general perspective of the origins and reasons for the introduction of such regulations in the USA, to their presentation and the analysis of their content, as well as identification of their key specific and general characteristics. First, the author analyses the influences and reasons which led to the introduction of mentioned legislation. The author points to the direct link between the phenomenon of Satanist moral panic and the anti-cult movement, on one side, and anti-cult legislation, on the other. Through an observation of legislation passed in federal states of Idaho, California and Illinois, he identifies their specific features, as well as general, common characteristics. It was ascertained that Idaho's legislation, which was passed first, served as a model for other adopted legal acts. Further on, it was concluded that the main negative characteristics of USAs anti-cult legislation are: the absence or lack of foundation for their adoption; the controversies in their practical application; the absence of expected social results; their arguable compatibility with legally guaranteed religious rights and freedoms; the creation of a perspective for legalisation of discrimination on religious grounds; and the possibility and justifiability of application of general legislation which does not have a specialised, i.e. anti-cult orientation.https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2217-2815/2016/2217-28151601134M.pdfanti-cult legislationreligious cultsmoral panicSatanismoccultismdiscriminationequalityreligious freedomsreligious rights
spellingShingle Matković Aleksandar
Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
Pravni Zapisi
anti-cult legislation
religious cults
moral panic
Satanism
occultism
discrimination
equality
religious freedoms
religious rights
title Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
title_full Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
title_fullStr Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
title_full_unstemmed Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
title_short Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America
title_sort anti cult legislation in the united states of america
topic anti-cult legislation
religious cults
moral panic
Satanism
occultism
discrimination
equality
religious freedoms
religious rights
url https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2217-2815/2016/2217-28151601134M.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT matkovicaleksandar anticultlegislationintheunitedstatesofamerica