Kent, Stephen
Professor, Theory/Culture
PhD, McMaster
5-21 HM Tory
780.492.2204 phone
780.492.7196 fax
Research Interests
religion, deviance, new/alternative religions, social movements, specializing in alternative and controversial religions and ideological groups.
Professor Stephen A Kent researches new and alternative religions, often combining perspectives from sociology with religious studies. Most recently, he has examined controversies surrounding how researchers study these groups, and has published on Scientology, the Children of God/The Family, and newer faiths operating in Canada and elsewhere.
Professor Kent teaches various undergraduate and graduate courses related to religion and deviance. Moreover, he conducts numerous reading courses with both undergraduates and graduate students, often from other departments. In March 2009, Professor Kent received one of three campus-wide Graduate Student Supervisor Awards from the University of Alberta's Graduate Students' Association.
In May 2010, Dr. Kent received the Bill Meloff Award for Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta. Previously, in March 2009, Dr. Kent received one of three campus-wide Graduate Student Supervisor Awards from the Graduate Students’ Association, University of Alberta.
Academic Training
Undergraduate:
University of Maryland, College Park. 1969-1973.: B.A. Sociology; Social and Political Theory Minor.
Graduate:
American University, Washington, D.C. 1975-1977. M.A. History of Religions--Hinduism; Gnosticism Minor. Degree Awarded: August 1978.
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. 1977-1979. M.A. Religion and Modern Western Society; Indian Buddhism Minor. Degree Awarded: May 1980.
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. 1979-1983. Ph.D. Religion and Modern Western Society; Indian Buddhism Minor.
Selected Recent Publications
Book
From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press (2001). Selected by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries as an “Outstanding Academic Title” for 2002.
Articles
(co-author with Doni Whitsett). “Cults and Families.” Families in Society (October-December):491-502.
“Generational Revolt by the Adult Children of First-Generation Members of the Children of God/The Family.” Cultic Studies Review 3 No. 1 (2004): 56-72.
“Scientific Evaluation of the Dangers Posed by Religious Groups: A Partial Model.” Cultic Studies Review 3 No. 2/3 (2004); 101-134; Revised Reprint in The New Religious Question: State Regulation or State Interference? Edited by Pauline Côté and Jeremy T. Gunn. Berlin: Peter Lang: 343-370.
“Scientology and the European Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study.” Marburg Journal of Religion 8 No. 1 (September 2003); Downloaded from: <http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/2003/kent200> on September 11, 2003.
"The Globalization of Scientology: Influence, Control, and Oppositions in Transnational Markets," Religion 29 No.2 (April, 1999): 147-169.
"Lustful Prophet: A Psychosexual Historical Study of the Children of God's Founder, David Berg." Cultic Studies Journal 11 No.2 (1994): 135-188.
“A Matter of Principle: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy, Children, and Human Rights Debates.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 10 Issue 1 (2006): 7-29.
“Brainwashing Programs in The Family/Children of God and Scientology.” in Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. Edited by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins. Toronto: University of Toronto Press: 2001: 349-378.
“Post World War II New Religious Movements in the West.” In The World’s Religions: Continuities and Transformations. 2nd Edition. Edited by Peter Clarke and Peter Beyer. New York: Routledge: 2008: 501-519.
MA Theses and Course-Based Projects Supervised Since 2000
Schmidtz, Caitlin Cecelia. 2001. “Reflections on Death and the Afterlife in a Community of Latter-day Saints.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta.
Neilson, Julie. 2003. “Power Structures and Sectarian Abuse.” Undergraduate Student Research Award, University of Alberta, Faculty of Arts ($5,000.00).
Brodie, Renee Anne. 2004. The Kabalarian Philosophy: Charismatic Control and Sexual Convictions. PhD Dissertation, School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, University of Queensland (Australia).
Phillips, Leah. 2004. “Finding Support On-Line: Exploring the Internet Dialogue of Second Generation Ex-Member Children of God/The Family.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Raine, Susan. 2004. “The Body as a Locus of Control in New Religious Movements: Heaven’s Gate and the Children of God.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Lane, Jodi. 2005. “The Guardian’s Office of Scientology: A Test of James Coleman’s Theory of Elite Deviance.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Razavy, Maryam. 2005. “Sikh Fundamentalism in Canada: The Quest for Khalistan.” (joint supervision through the Interdisciplinary Progam in Religious Studies).
Meikle, Jessie. 2006. “Dietary Governance and Bodily Control in New Religious Movements: An Exploratory Model of Socially Imposed Anorexia.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Klemen, Danielle Rae. 2006. “America’s ‘Second Coming:’ Scientology’s Sea Organization and the Sacrifice of the Individual.” B.A. Honours Thesis in American History, Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta.
Lys, Candice. “The Construction and Perpetuation of Violence in Fundamentalist Islam.” 2006. B.A. Honours, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Joosse, Paul. 2006. “Charismatic Attraction and Legitimacy Within John de Ruiter's New Religious Movement.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Gordey, Stacey. 2008. “Religious Disaffiliation of the Second Generation From alternative Religious Groups.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Manca, Terra. 2008. “Christian Science and Health Care in Canada.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Dunfield, Timothy. 2008. “The Role of Dissent in the Creation of Seventh-day Adventist Identity.” M.A. Thesis, Interdisciplinary Program in Religious Studies, University of Alberta.
Willey, Robin. 2010. "Discovering the Evangelical Sexual Marketplace: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Development, Exchange, and Conversion of Erotic Capital in an Evangelical Church." M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Recent and Current PhD Supervision
Raine, Susan. 2010. Body, Emotion, and Violence: An Analysis of Palestinian Suicide Bombing/Martyrdom. PhD Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.
Razavy, Maryam. 2010. Faith-Based Arbitration in Canada: The Ontario Sharia Debate. Joint PhD Dissertation (and joint supervision) between the Department of Sociology and the Interdisciplinary Program in Religious Studies, University of Alberta.
Dunfield, Timothy. The Lost Boys of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints.
Manca, Terra. Dissertation topic on Alternative Healing.
Joosse, Paul. Dissertation on Leaderless Resistance and Radical Environmentalism.
Klippenstein, Janet. Spirituality Versus Religion.
Nimo, Melanie.(Co-Supervise). Women Leaving Native Gangs in Winnipeg.
Unger, Matthew. The Grotesque in Heavy Metal Music.
Willey, Robin. Dissertation topic tentatively on Christianity and Canadian Politics.
Research Collection on Alternative Religions
Stephen A. Kent and Gordon Drever Collections on Alternative Religions Working in conjunction with the University Library, Dr. Stephen Kent of the Sociology Department and Gordon Drever of Athabasca University have amassed an extensive collection of primary and secondary material on alternative religions. With an estimated 4000 linear feet of records valued at approximately a half-million dollars, this unique collection establishes the University of Alberta as a major archival and research centre for the study of non-traditional religious traditions. These records include internal policies governing particular religious groups, pamphlets, legal decisions, court documents, newspaper clippings, interview transcripts, academic books, and audio and video tapes. Dr. Kent and several of his graduate and Honours students (among other researchers) make extensive use of this collection for general research purposes as well as for thesis research projects. For reasons of confidentiality and security, the Kent and Drever collections are closed to the general public, but Professors Kent and Drever respond to public and media inquiries on a regular basis.