The 2008 International Conference
Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality'
Organized by
INFORM and CESNUR in association with ISORECEA
April 16-20, 2008 - London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London
PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY 16th APRIL
11.30 - 16.00
REGISTRATION (Room D202, Clement House)
14.00 Preliminary visit to the Swaminarayan Temple
Participants should go directly to the Swaminarayan Temple, 105-119 Brentfield Road, Neasden, London where a guided tour will start at 14.00. Alternatively, they can assemble in front of the main entrance of the London School of Economics, Houghton Street. A party will leave from there promptly at 12.30. The guided tour is included in the registration fee. Those wishing to visit the Museum should buy their own tickets (£ 2). Please wear modest clothing: women should cover arms and legs. You will be asked to take off your shoes. There is a snack bar in the car park opposite the Temple.
17.00
SESSION 1 (PLENARY: Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Main Building)
TWENTY YEARS AND MORE
I - Welcoming Lecture - Eileen BARKER introduces Graham JAMES, the Right Hon. Bishop of Norwich
II - Chair: Sinisa ZRINSCAK (University of Zagreb)
Twenty Years of INFORM - Eileen BARKER (London School of Economics)
Forty Years of the Institute for the Study of American Religion - J. Gordon MELTON (ISAR, Santa Barbara)
CESNUR and Some of Its Cultural Policies - PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI (CESNUR, Torino)
Twenty Years of Studies of New Religious Movements: Autohagiography or Post-Mortem? - Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Torino)
19.00
RECEPTION (Senior Dining Room, 5th floor, Main Building)
THURSDAY 17th APRIL
9.30 - 11 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 2 (ROOM D302)
FROM WITCHCRAFT TO WICCA
Chair: Dorota HALL
The Baha’i Faith and Wicca - A Comparison of Relevance in Two Emerging Religions - Lil ABDO (School of Oriental & African Studies, London)
Wicca in Italy: An Outsider’s Inside View - Francesca CIANCIMINO HOWELL (Doctoral Candidate, Open University, Milton Keynes)
Spelling out History: Transforming Witchcraft Past and Present - Helen CORNISH (Goldsmiths. University of London)
SESSION 3 (ROOM D402)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE - I
Chair: James T. RICHARDSON
And What About Our Rights? Case Study of Minority Religious Communities in Croatia - Dinka Jerolim MARINOVIC & Ankica Bobinac MARINOVIC (Institute for Social Research, Zagreb)
“Krishna’s Arrangement” - Research of Religious Experience in Hare Krishna Community in Croatia - Hrvoje CARGONJA (Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb)
Eighteen Years in the Field: Types of New Religious Movements in Bulgaria (1990-2008) - Mario MARINOV (South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Blagoevgrad)
SESSION 4 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF CULT CONTROVERSIES - I
Chair: Ringo RINGVEE
Safe Passage Foundation and How “Support” Impacts the Lives of Second Generation Adults - Donna Y. COLLINS (Safe Passage Foundation)
Discussing Upcoming Events that Empower and Promote Awareness of Second Generation Adults and Children, with a Special Focus on RISE and Recent Activities in Uganda - Julianna BUHRING (RISE)
Observations of Second Generation Children - Hazel BARLOW (former member of the Unification Church)
Reversal of Dominion – Hani ZACCARELLI (former member of the Unification Church, Safe Passage Foundation)
On the Outside Looking In: Growing Up in the Moonies - Flore Singer AASLID (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)
SESSION 5 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON MOVEMENTS INSPIRED BY ASIAN RELIGIONS - I
Chair: Donatas GLODENIS
Yoga and Pedagogy: A New Discourse for the European Union of Yoga - Séverine DESPONDS (University of Lausanne)
Soka Gakkai in Brazil: Buddhism, Recruitment or Marketing? - Suzana BORNHOLDT (Doctoral Candidate, University of Lancaster)
Young Soka Gakkai Members as Political Actors of Civil Society - Anne Mette FISKER-NIELSEN (Doctoral Candidate, SOAS, London)
SESSION 6 (ROOM D702)
TWENTY YEARS OF DISCUSSING NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS - I
Chair: William L. PITTS
The Rise and Fall of a Public Witch Hunt: Changing Media Attitudes to New Religious Movements Since 1988 - Suzanne EVANS (Creative Director, Aquarius PR)
From Temples to Organizations: The Introduction and Packaging of Spirituality - Nurit ZAIDMAN (Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva
Gender Talk in Neo-Hindu Movements: A Discourse Analysis - Simona GALATCHI (Institute of Oriental Studies, Bucharest)
Updating the Study of the French Cult Controversy: Continuity and New Trends - Véronique ALTGLAS (University of Cambridge)
11.00 - 11.30 COFFEE (Room D202)
11.30 - 13.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 7 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF PAGAN MOVEMENTS AND STUDIES - I
Chair: Jerry HEJKA-EKINS
Paganism in London: Three Degrees of Openness - Maria BALFER (University of Koblenz-Landau)
Online and Offline - Locating Pagan Community - Angela COCO (Southern Cross University, Lismore)
The Glastonbury Effect: An Overview - Marion BOWMAN (Open University, Milton Keynes)
SESSION 8 (ROOM D402)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE - II
Chair: Henri de CORDES
Art of Living Foundation in Lithuania as a New Religion: Its Features and Peculiarities - Milda ALISAUSKIENE (Doctoral Candidate, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas)
Attitudes Towards New Religious Movements in Lithuania: Quantitative Research Data Analysis - Donatas GLODENIS (Doctoral Candidate, Vilnius University)
The NRM’s in Estonia - An Exceptional Story? - Ringo RINGVEE (Ministry of the Interior of Estonia, Adviser)
SESSION 9 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF CULT CONTROVERSIES - II
Chair: James BECKFORD
Dissecting Demons: What Twenty Years of Research on New Religions Tells Us About Terrorism - Marion S. GOLDMAN (University of Oregon, Eugene)
UDHR Article 30: Cult Watchdog Organizations and Jehovah’s Witnesses - John B. BROWN II (Human Rights Activist, Tucson)
Falun Gong’s Global Legal Campaign - Weishan HUANG (Doctoral Candidate, The New School for Social Research, New York)
From “Pseudo-Science” to “Evil Cult” - Critical Responses to Falun Gong - Benjamin PENNY (The Australian National University, Canberra)
SESSION 10 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON MOVEMENTS INSPIRED BY ASIAN RELIGIONS - II
Chair: Constance JONES
On Consciousness: Contemporary Significance of Abhinavagupta’s Soteriology - Xicotencatl MARTINEZ RUIZ (Doctoral Candidate, Lancaster University)
A New Spirituality? The Case of Yoga in Post-War Britain - Suzanne NEWCOMBE (Doctoral Candidate, Inform, London)
The Role of the Hare Krishnas in Mitigating the Social Menace of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria - Vasudev DAS (Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology, Ibadan)
SESSION 11 (ROOM D702)
WESTERN ESOTERICISM AND NEW RELIGIOSITY - I
Chair: Kennet GRANHOLM
Openings for Power-Orientated Conceptualization of Western Esotericism - Nina KOKKINEN (Doctoral Candidate, University of Turku)
New Age Terrorists from Chechnya and Anthroposophist Presidents from Georgia: How ‘Western’ Is Western Esotericism? - Eduard TEN HOUTEN (University of Amsterdam)
“Traditional New Religions”: The Use of Tradition Among Contemporary Esoteric Movements - Fredrik GREGORIUS (Doctoral Candidate, University of Lund)
13.00 - 14.30 LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
14.30 - 16.30
SESSION 12 (PLENARY: Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Main Building)
GOVERNMENTS AND “CULTS”
Chair: Massimo INTROVIGNE
Panel with Eileen BARKER (London School of Economics), Henri de CORDES (Parliamentary Assistant, Brussels), Michael KROPVELD (Executive Director, Info-Cult, Montreal), and Michael D. LANGONE (ICSA, Bonita Springs).
16.30 - 17.00 TEA (Room D202)
17 - 18.30 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 13 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF PAGAN MOVEMENTS AND STUDIES - II
Chair: Jean-Pierre LAURANT
The Role of Nature, Deities and Ancestors in Constructing Religious Identity in Contemporary Druidry - Michael COOPER (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield)
Digital Pantheon - Antonio COSENZA (University of Palermo)
Esotericism versus Neo-Paganism? - Reka SZILARDI (University of Szeged)
SESSION 14 (ROOM D402)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE - III
Chair: Milda ALISAUSKIENE
The Ringing Cedars of Russia - Kaarina AITAMURTO (Doctoral Candidate, Aleksanteri Institute, Helsinki)
Two Decades of Existence of New Religious Movements in Russia and Their Research - Vadim ZHDANOV (Doctoral Candidate, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen)
“Domestic Hinduism” in Czech Lands: Theoretical Perspective - Milan FUJDA (Masaryk University, Brno)
SESSION 15 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF CULT CONTROVERSIES - III
Chair: Marion BOWMAN
Being an Ex-Member? Meaning of the Membership in High-Commitment Religious Organizations - Minna RIKKINEN (University of Helsinki)
Should Scholars Write Sect-Reports? - Audhild SKOGLUND (researcher and author of a sect report for the Norwegian Ministry for Children and Equality)
Minority Religions and Law Enforcement: A Human Rights Perspective - Alessandro AMICARELLI (“Carlo Bo” University, Urbino)
The Spanish Resolution About the Church of Scientology: A Comment on a Recent Case - Carmen GARCIMARTIN (University of La Coruña)
SESSION 16 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON MOVEMENTS INSPIRED BY ASIAN RELIGIONS - III
Chair: Irene Maria BRIONES MARTINEZ
Why Did Dharma Come to the West? Theories of Easternization - Csongor SÁRKOZY (University of Szeged)
At the End of the Kami Way: a Closed Door. Traces of an Esoteric Shîntō in the First Part of the Kojiki and Possible Influence in the Genesis of New Attractive Japanese Religious Movements - Antonio SORO (University of Sassari)
Denied Violence, Glorified Fighting. Spiritual Discipline and Controversy in a Contemporary Indian Religious Group - Raphaël VOIX (Doctoral Candidate, University Paris X)
SESSION 17 (ROOM D702)
WESTERN ESOTERICISM AND NEW RELIGIOSITY - II
Chair: PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI
The Birth of the New Aeon: Magick and Mysticism of Thelema - Gordan DJURDJEVIC (University of British Columbia, Vancouver)
The Political Implications of the Rune-Gild World View - Thomas KARLSSON (Doctoral Candidate, University of Stockholm)
“We Demand Bedrock Knowledge”: Modern Satanism Between Secularized Esotericism and Esotericised Secularism - Jesper Aagard PETERSEN (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)
Western Esotericism and the Study of New Religiosity - Kennet GRANHOLM (Abo Akademi University, Turku)
FRIDAY 18th APRIL
9.30 - 11.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 18 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON PAGAN AND ENTHEOGENIC MOVEMENTS
Chair: Marco PASI
Recent Developments in Paganism and Research - Graham HARVEY (Open University, Milton Keynes)
Modern Paganism and Post-Materialist Value Change - Mika LASSANDER (Doctoral candidate, Open University, Milton Keynes)
Twenty Years of Pagan Studies: Lessons from the Past, Current Developments, and Guidelines for the Future Study of Paganism - Melissa HARRINGTON (King’s College, London)
SESSION 19 (ROOM D402)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE - IV
Chair: Mario MARINOV
Attitudes Towards New Religions in the “Non-Believing” Czech Republic - Zdenek R. NESPOR (Charles University, Prague)
When Charismatic Leaders Are Gone: The Catholic Church of Mariavites 65 Years After the Death of Jan Maria Michal Kowalski - Katarzyna TEMPCZYK (Doctoral Candidate, University of Warsaw)
Plurality and Religion in Transition Society: The Case of the Czech Republic - David VACLAVIK (Masaryk University, Brno)
NRMs Between Church, State, and Public - Sinisa ZRINSCAK (University of Zagreb)
SESSION 20 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES OF ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS AND NEW MOVEMENTS IN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES
Chair: Massimo INTROVIGNE
Islamic References in the French Rap: Da’wa or Mark of Secularization? - Cedric BAYLOCQ SASSOUBRE (Doctoral Candidate, University of Bordeaux II)
Spanish Budshishiyya: Local Embodiment of a Global Sufi Order - Marta DOMINGUEZ DIAZ (Doctoral Candidate, School of Oriental and African Studies, London)
SESSION 21 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
Chair: Javier MARTINEZ-TORRON
When a Religious Movement Dies: Rise and Decline of a Christian Community in Switzerland - Jean-François MAYER (Religioscope Institute)
The Revival of Religiosity and the Influence on the Marriage and Children - Irene Maria BRIONES MARTINEZ (Complutense University, Madrid)
Notes on Urban Multireligiosity in Mexico - Daniel GUTIÉRREZ MARTÍNEZ (El Colegio de Mexico)
SESSION 22 (ROOM D702)
TWENTY YEARS OF DISCUSSING NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS – II
Chair: Nurit ZAIDMAN
New Religions and the European Court of Human Rights - James T. RICHARDSON (University of Nevada, Reno)
When Religion Becomes a Social Problem: New Religious Movements Research as a Pioneer of the Field - Titus HJELM (School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London)
Minority Religions and Political Asylum in the United States: A Comparison of Cases from China and France - James T. RICHARDSON (University of Nevada, Reno; the paper is co-authored by Bryan EDELMAN, of the Jury Research Institute, San Francisco, who will not present)
11.00 - 11.30 COFFEE (Room D202)
11.30 - 13 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 23 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON ESOTERICISM
Chair: James A. SANTUCCI
French Alchemical Groups of the Second Half of the 20th Century: A Comparative Study - José ANES (University “Nova de Lisboa”)
Playing With a Tradition or Belonging to Another Tradition? The Gnostic Beliefs in Some Minority Religious Groups - Régis DERICQUEBOURG (Charles De Gaulle-Lille 3 University)
Taming the Visionary Imagination: Revelation and Authority in French Spiritism, 1858-1870 - John MONROE (Iowa State University, Ames)
SESSION 24 (ROOM D402)
FROM ANCIENT WISDOM AND FREEMASONRY TO NEW AGE
Chair: Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD
Freemasonry and Religion in Paris: How to Cast a Glance Upon Some Preconceived Ideas? - Jean-Pierre LAURANT (École Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Sorbonne University, Paris)
Twenty Years of Scholarship on British Freemasonry - Róbert PÉTER (University of Szeged)
The Changing Concept of New Age: Case Study of Some Recent Occurrences in Slovenia - Aleš ČRNIČ (University of Ljubljana)
SESSION 25 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON “OLD” NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
Chair: Clyde FORSBERG
The “New World Translation” and the Problem of the Text: Some Examples from the Book of Exodus - Giovanni FRULLA (University of Pavia)
Jehovah’s Witnesses in East Germany: “Reconfigurations” of Identity - Malgorzata RAJTAR (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle)
Christian Science and Cultural Trends: Past and Present - Daniel R. D. SCOTT (University of Cambridge)
“Sibling Rivalry”: Another Aspect of Sectarianism? - Amanda VAN ECK DUYMAER VAN TWIST (Inform, London)
SESSION 26 (ROOM D602)
PERSPECTIVES FROM WITHIN - I
Chair: George D. CHRYSSIDES
Damanhur and the Temple of Humankind: Community, Spirituality, Research and Action - Esperide ANANAS (Damanhur)
What Is Shamanic Counselling and How Much Is It Worth? - Michael BERMAN (Shamanic Counselor, London)
The Shifting Politics of the Unification Movement – Dan FEFFERMAN (International Coalition for Religious Freedom -Unification Church)
13.00 - 14.30 LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
14.30 - 16.30 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 27 (ROOM D302)
A New Religious Movement in Europe and North America: The True Buddha School
Presiding and Introducing: Gail HARLEY (South Florida University)
Religious Ideals and Spiritual Cultivation in Modern Buddhism in Taiwan: A Case Study of TBS - William NG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Nuns, Master Teachers, and Laity: Women in the True Buddha School - Constance JONES (California Institutes for Integral Studies, San Francisco)
A Study of the Religious Experience in the True Buddha School - TAM Wai Lun (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Panelists: WANG Liuer (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing), TAM Wai Lun (Chinese University of Hong Kong), LI Yu Zhen (Taiwan Tsinghua University), SOO Khin Wah (University of Malaya, Malaysia).
SESSION 28 (ROOM D402)
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT IN ITALY
Chair: Paul FRESTON
Italian Pentecostal Movement: Brief History and Future Perspectives - Alessandro IOVINO (Doctoral Candidate, University “Federico II”, Naples)
The Italian Pentecostal Movement and the Reformation: Doctrinal Heritage and New Spiritual “Discoveries” - Luca FREZZA (Doctoral Candidate, University “Federico II”, Naples)
History of the Agreement Between the Italian State and the Assemblies of God in Italy - Liberato DE VITA (Doctoral Candidate, University “L’Orientale”, Naples)
The Italian Pentecostal Movement: Between Heterogeneity and Social Emancipation - Ivan D’ALESSANDRO (University “LUISS Guido Carli”, Rome)
The Pentecostal Movement and the Horizon of Complexity - Giovanni TAGLIAFERRI (University “Suor Orsola Benincasa”, Naples)
SESSION 29 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON ALEISTER CROWLEY
Chair: Jean-Pierre BRACH
Painting Dead Souls: New Discoveries on Aleister Crowley and Art - Marco PASI (University of Amsterdam)
The Scientific Aeon: Magic, Science and Psychology in Crowley’s Scientific Illuminism - Egil ASPREM (University of Amsterdam)
The Bhikku and the Magus: Exploring Allan Bennett’s Influence on Aleister Crowley - John L. CROW (University of Amsterdam)
Crowleyan Echoes: Baraka and Fantasy - Dave EVANS (Bristol University)
SESSION 30 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON LAW AND RELIGION
Chair: Alessandro AMICARELLI
Thirty Years Constitution: Review of the Implementation of Religious Minorities in Spain - Pedro CASTÓN BOYER and María DEL MAR RAMOS LORENTE (University of Granada)
The Extent and Limits of Religious Rights in England and Wales: The Brethren, the Law, and the Development of Individual and Group-Held Rights to Practise Separatism - Joanne BRIGGS (Barrister, London) and Vanessa TOFIELD (Solicitor, Broadway, Worcestershire)
Religious Minorities in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights - Javier MARTINEZ-TORRON (Complutense University, Madrid)
State Approach Towards New Religious Movements - Sabrina PASTORELLI (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne, Paris)
SESSION 31 (ROOM D702)
TWENTY YEARS OF THEOSOPHICAL STUDIES
Chair: Aleš ČRNIČ
Conditional Immortality and the Production of a ‘Body of Light’ in the Work of the Early Theosophical Society - John Patrick DEVENEY (Attorney, New York)
Theosophists Reunite: F. Pierce Spinks and the Return of the Masters in 1975 - Jerry HEJKA-EKINS (Alexandria West Academy, Turlock)
The Theosophical Society’s Fragmented Views of Its History and Doctrines Since 1895 - Brett FORRAY (Alexandria West Academy, Turlock)
The Conception of Christ in the Theosophical Tradition - James A. SANTUCCI (California State University, Fullerton)
19.00
MEDIEVAL BANQUET
Ivory House, St Katherines Dock, London (just east of the Tower of London)
Nearest underground station: Tower Hill (on the Circle and District Lines)
The Medieval banquet takes place by flickering torchlight in the vaulted cellars of Ivory House, just a stone's throw from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Accompanying King Henry VIII are fighting knights, strolling players and dancing wenches which provide a magical medieval pageant for your delight. After the show, there is music and dancing, or you could take a two minute walk to Tower Bridge and enjoy a panoramic view of London by night. Four-course banquet: Menu. Unlimited wine and beer throughout the meal.
Conference banquet programme:
Chair: Eileen BARKER
Featured Speaker: Professor Laurie TAYLOR
With a distinguished background in Sociology, Professor Taylor is widely regarded as a leading radio and TV commentator on religion.
SATURDAY 19th APRIL
9.30 - 11.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 32 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON THE NEW AGE AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES
Chair: James BEVERLEY
New Spiritualities 2.0: New Age and Social Networking - Daren KEMP (Co-editor, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, London)
Measuring the Sacred: Research Notes on So-Called “Holistic Paradigm” in Science as Actualized by New Spiritualities Adherents - Dorota HALL (University of Warsaw)
The Evolution of American Spiritual Communities, 1965-2008 - Timothy MILLER (University of Kansas, Lawrence)
SESSION 33 (ROOM D402)
“KNOCKING”: A MOVIE ON JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
Showing of the movie followed by a panel discussion. Panelists: James BECKFORD (University of Warwick), David VOAS (University of Manchester), Tony BRACE (Jehovah's Witnesses/UK)
SESSION 34 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS - I
Chair: Christine SCOTT
A Crisis of Charismatic Authority: Developments Within the International Churches of Christ - Sarah HARVEY (Inform, London)
Quakerism in Exile: American Imperialism and the Search for Peace - Kevin KENJAR (Central European University, Budapest)
Case Study: A Close Look into an Immigrant Workers’ Church in Beijing - LIU Qi (Doctoral Candidate, Peking University)
SESSION 35 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS - I
Chair: Michael W. HOMER
On the Road from Salt Lake to the Conversion of French Academia - Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD (Michel de Montaigne University, Bordeaux 3)
Progressive Spiritual Politics at a Global Level: A Healthy Response to the Archetype of the Apocalypse? - Sebastian JOB (University of Sydney)
Crossover Trends Between Aesthetic Diversity in Belief and Dogmatic Uniformity in Believing, as Currently Observable in New Religious Movements - Raphaël LIOGIER (Institute of Policy Studies/Political Science, Aix-en-Provence)
11.00 - 11.30 COFFEE (Room D202)
11.30 - 13.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 36 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF PENTECOSTAL AND CHARISMATIC STUDIES
Chair: Alessandro IOVINO
Gold Dust and Heavenly Oil: New Trends in Charismatic Ritual - James BEVERLEY (Tyndale Seminary, Toronto)
Pentecostals in Latin America: Local Dynamism, Global Significance and Uncertain Future - Paul FRESTON (Calvin College, Grand Rapids)
Charismatic Movement in Finland Today - Tuija HOVI (Church Research Institute, Tampere)
SESSION 37 (ROOM D402)
FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER WACO
Chair: Timothy MILLER
Researching the Branch Davidians: Primary Source Holdings - William L. PITTS (Baylor University, Waco)
Catherine WESSINGER (Loyola University, New Orleans) introduces and interviews Livingstone FAGAN (Branch Davidian survivor)
SESSION 38 (ROOM D502)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS - II
Chair: Véronique ALTGLAS
“Chocolate Mary” - “Roma Christianity” as Ethnic and Cultural Approximation of Christianity Among the Roma in Slovakia - Tatiana PODOLINSKA (Institute of Ethnology SAV, Bratislava)
(Old) New Religious Movements: Christianity and Ancestor Worship in the St. Joshua Star Church - Josué TOMASINI CASTRO (University of Brasilia)
On Being Raised in and Leaving the Exclusive Brethren: Resonances of Childhood - Jill MYTTON (London Metropolitan University)
SESSION 39 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS - II
Chair: Liselotte FRISK
Religious Social Capital and Minority Religions in Hungary - Gábor Dániel NAGY (University of Pécs)
Failed Prophecy and Group Demise: Challenging the Festinger Thesis - Stuart A. WRIGHT (Lamar University, Beaumont; the paper is co-authored by Arthur L. GREIL, of Alfred University, who will not present)
Radicalism, a Mean to Identify NRM’s? - Sébastien GREGOV (Doctoral Candidate, University Sorbonne, Paris IV)
SESSION 40 (ROOM D702)
Shifting Legal Frameworks for Protection of Non-Traditional Religious Communities in Post-Communist Lands
Presiding and Introducing: W. Cole DURHAM, Jr. (Brigham Young University, Provo)
The Changing Legal Setting for Religious Groups in Russia - Alexander VERKHOVSKY (Director, SOVA Centre for Information and Analysis, Moscow)
Position of Non-traditional Religious Communities Following the Adoption of
the Romanian Law on Religious Freedom and the General Regime of Religious Denominations - Romanita IORDACHE (Human Rights Lawyer, Center for Legal Resources, Romania)
Religious Rights in the Georgian Setting - Archil GIORGADZE (Head of Human Rights Protection Unit, Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia)
13.00 - 14.30 LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
14.30 - 16.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS
SESSION 41 (ROOM D302)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON MORMONISM
Chair: Audhild SKOGLUND
The Mormon Factor in the Romney Presidential Campaign - Michael W. HOMER (Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City)
Me Thinks the Lady Doth protest Too Much: Orientalism and the New Mormon History - Clyde FORSBERG (Fatih University, Istanbul)
The Experience of Mormon Children in English School-based Religious Education - Ronan James HEAD (Doctoral Candidate, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore)
SESSION 42 (ROOM D402)
PERSPECTIVES FROM WITHIN - II
Chair: Catherine WESSINGER
Aumism: Religion and Church - Christine AMORY and Aumism: The Birth of a New Religion. A Short History of the First 46 Years, 1961-2007 - Jean-Marc JACOT (Aumist Religion)
The Unification Movement (UM) From 1990 to 2008 - Developments and Continuities - William CHASSEAUD (former member, Unification Church)
Salvation and the Descendants of Abraham, a New Paradigm for Faithfull and Unfaithful - Olivier DE LAGAUSIE (Pilgrimage of Arès)
SESSION 43 (ROOM D502)
IF NOT NEW AGE, THEN WHAT?
Chair: Stuart A. WRIGHT
Is “New Age” a Coherent Concept? - George D. CHRYSSIDES (University of Wolverhampton)
The Challenge of “New Age” to the “World Religions” Taxonomy - Steven SUTCLIFFE (School of Divinity, Edinburgh)
New Age Revisited: A Deconstruction of a Concept - Liselotte FRISK (Dalarna University, Falun)
New Age or Mass-Popularized Esotericism? - Kennet GRANHOLM (Abo Akademi University, Turku)
SESSION 44 (ROOM D602)
TWENTY YEARS OF CASE STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
Chair: Sébastien GREGOV
The Black Hebrews of Dimona: An Afro-American Community in Israel - Enrico GIRMENIA (Clinical Psychologist, Rome)
New Religious Movements and the New Spirituality as a Challenge to the Secularization Paradigm - Implications for Theoretical Developments in the Sociology of Religion - Katarzyna ZIELINSKA (Doctoral Candidate, Jagellonian University, Krakow)
Death in New Religious Movements (NRMs) in Britain: ISKCON, The Western Buddhist Order and Scientology - A Comparison - Silke STEIDINGER (Inform, London)
Let’s Talk: An Exploration of the Applications of Systemic Theory and Practice in the Development of Relationship with New Religious Movements and Their Current/Former Adherents - Alastair PEARSON (University of Oxford)
SESSION 45 (ROOM D702)
TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
Chair: José ANES
Anastasia and Vissarion Movements - The Fashionable versus Minor Spirituality - Rasa PRANSKEVICIUTE (Doctoral Candidate, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas)
The Conversion of the Kyrgyz to the Christian Faith - A Case Study on a New Religious Movement in the Post-Soviet Era - David RADFORD (Doctoral Candidate, Finders University, Adelaide)
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat: New Religious Movements in Central Asia - Christine SCOTT (Brigham Young University, Provo)
16.00 - 16.30 TEA (Room D202)
16.30 - 18.00
SESSION 46 (PLENARY: Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Main Building)
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Chair: James BECKFORD
Panelists: Véronique ALTGLAS, Marion BOWMAN, Dorota HALL, Michael D. LANGONE, James T. RICHARDSON, Jean-François MAYER
SUNDAY 20th APRIL
11.00 - 18.00
FIELD TRIP
“Religious Pluralism in London: Old and New Religions”
Notes
For directions to the London School of Economics (LSE) please see the LSE Web Site.
For transportation in London, see “Getting around”.
The organization does not handle hotel reservations. However, you can find information about budget accomodations and a list of nearby hotels here.
For a quick lunch, there are several options within the LSE area. Leaflets will be included in the conference materials.
