This book looks at the great many new religious movements that have grown up all over the world since the Second World War. It raises vital questions such as: Why do people join them? What effect do they have on individual members, their families and society as a whole? And how can governments reconcile the principle of religious freedom with their duty to protect the public from potential harm? Throughout the book there are differing viewpoints, facts and debates which allow the reader to make up their own mind about the subject.