The article deals with the public controversies about cults and religious minorities in an European context. In several European countries religious sects and cults are considered a serious societal problem and in some cases, as in France, Belgium and Germany, parliamentary commissions have published reports describing the perceived dangers caused by cults. In the first part of the article the processes defining religious minorities as a societal problem are shortly analyzed. The second part deals with the role of academic researchers as observers of and at the same time participants in cult controversies. It is argued that the academic study of religion cannot confine itself to the role of detached observer since its research results are processed in the context of the public controversy. Scholars of religion may have a responsibility to contribute to the public debate by offering empirical data and rational arguments that in many cases contradict the general perception of religious minorities and new religious movements. In this way may the academic study of religion may help to better identify existing problems and contribute to more rational forms of decision making in a debate that otherwise is dominated by emotional and ideological reactions.