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

• the established religions’ reactions to the NRMs;
• 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;
• the NRMs and the social contract: the NRMs and the search for common values in society.

Duration of the oral presentations: 20 minutes. Visits to the Swedenborgian sites in Bryn Athyn and other places in the region significant for the history of religious minorities (including Father Divine and the Amish) will be included in the programme.

The preliminary programme will appear on this Web site in March 1999.