Doomsday cult
<h2>Etymology</h2>
<p>The term "doomsday cult" was first used in the title of a 1966 scholarly study of a group of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church" title="Unification Church">Unification Church</a> members by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lofland%28sociologist%29" title="John Lofland (sociologist)">John Lofland</a>, entitled: <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Cult:A_Study_of_Conversion,Proselytization,and_Maintenance_of_Faith" title="Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith">Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-jenkins_1-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-jenkins-1">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-lofland_4-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-lofland-4">[4]</a></sup> Lofland published his findings in 1964 as a doctoral thesis entitled: "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes," and in 1966 in book form by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prentice-Hall" class="mw-redirect" title="Prentice-Hall">Prentice-Hall</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> It is considered to be one of the most important and widely cited studies of the process of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_conversion" title="Religious conversion">religious conversion</a>, and one of the first modern sociological studies of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement" title="New religious movement">new religious movement</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Richardson_%28sociologist%29" class="mw-redirect" title="James Richardson (sociologist)">James Richardson</a> writes in the <i>Encyclopedia of Religion and Society</i> that after the publication of Lofland's work, "The term <i>doomsday cult</i> has become a part of everyday parlance, used by the media to refer to apocalyptic religious groups."<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_cult#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup></p>