<P> Family members are often distressed when a relative of theirs joins a new religion . Although children break away from their parents for all manner of reasons, in cases where NRMS are involved it is often the latter that are blamed for the break . Some anti-cultist groups emphasise the idea that "cults" always use deceit and trickery to recruit members . The anti-cult movement adopted the term "brainwashing", which had been developed by the journalist Edward Hunter and then used by Robert J. Lifton to apply to the methods employed by Chinese to convert captured U.S. soldiers to their cause in the Korean War . Lifton himself had doubts about the applicability of his' brainwashing' hypothesis to the techniques used by NRMs to convert recruits . A number of ex-members of various new religions have made false allegations about their experiences in such groups . For instance, in the late 1980s a man in Dublin, Ireland was given a three - year suspended sentence for falsely claiming that he had been drugged, kidnapped, and held captive by members of ISKCON . </P> <P> Scholars of religion have often critiqued anti-cult groups of un-critically believing anecdotal stories provided by the ex-members of new religions, of encouraging ex-members to think that they are the victims of manipulation and abuse, and of irresponsibly scare - mongering about NRMs . Of the "well over a thousand groups that have been or might be called cults" listed in the files of INFORM, says Eileen Barker, the "vast majority" have not engaged in criminal activities . </P> <P> New religious movements and cults have appeared as themes or subjects in literature and popular culture, while notable representatives of such groups have produced a large body of literary works . Beginning in the 1700s authors in the English - speaking world began introducing members of "cults" as antagonists . Satanists, sects of the Mormon movement, and Thuggees were popular choices . In the Twentieth century concern for the rights and feelings of religious minorities led authors to most often invent fictional cults for their villains to be members of . Fictional cults continue to be popular in film, television, and gaming in the same way; while some popular works treat new religious movements in a serious manner . </P> <P> Tabloid articles have repeatedly combined the word "cult" with other terms to make their coverage more sensational, thus referring to various new religions as a "sex cult", "evil cult", or "suicide cult". An article on the categorization of new religious movements in U.S. print media published by The Association for the Sociology of Religion (formerly the American Catholic Sociological Society), criticizes the print media for failing to recognize social - scientific efforts in the area of new religious movements, and its tendency to use popular or anti-cultist definitions rather than social - scientific insight, and asserts that "The failure of the print media to recognize social - scientific efforts in the area of religious movement organizations impels us to add yet another failing mark to the media report card Weiss (1985) has constructed to assess the media's reporting of the social sciences ." </P>

When did religious studies began emerging as an academic field quizlet