Organized jointly by:

CESNUR - Center for Studies on New Religions, Torino, Italy

University of Latvia, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Academic Centre for the Study of Religions

CESNUR Latvia - Riga, Latvia

This will be a multidisciplinary conference in the human and social sciences. Papers will be accepted in sociology, anthropology, history, psychology, law, and theology, mainly on the following topics:

• new religious movements (NRMs), new religiosity, esoteric and New Age groups in the new millennium;
• the social institutions (governments, health services, justice, media, schools) and their reactions to the NRMs;
• the interactions between mainline religions and the NRMs;
• the NRMs’ adaptation to the social and cultural context, particularly in Eastern Europe;
• the NRMs and the social contract: the NRMs and the search for common values in society.

Papers will be accepted in English, French, Russian or Latvian. Duration of the oral presentations: 20 minutes.

Papers by scholars, Faculty members and graduate students are welcome. Unfortunately, no scholarships will be available to cover travel and lodgement fees.

Please send a one-page paper proposal, with a short curriculum vitae to one (or both) of the following addresses: