PROGRAMME

DAY 1 - JUNE 2, 1999

9-11 SESSION 1 (PLENARY)

GLOBALIZATION AND LOCALIZATION

Chair: Jane WILLIAMS-HOGAN

Greetings by Academic Authorities

J. Gordon MELTON (Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara), "The Rise of the Study of New Religions"

Eileen BARKER (London School of Economics), "Multinational Communities"

Jean-François MAYER (University of Fribourg), "New Religious Movements: Facing the Challenges of the Internet"

COFFEE BREAK

11.30-13 SESSION 2 (PLENARY)

THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOME NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

Chair: Massimo INTROVIGNE

William Sims BAINBRIDGE (National Science Foundation, Washington DC), "Values and Alienation Among the Children of God"

Lawrence FOSTER (Georgia Institute of Technology), "Black Muslim and Reorganized Mormons: The Transformation of Two New Religious Movements in America"

Reender KRANENBORG (Free University of Amsterdam), "Brahma Kumaris as a New Development and a New Religion"

BUSINESS LUNCH

14.30-16.30 SESSION 3

RUSSIAN DEVELOPMENTS

Chair: James T. RICHARDSON

Boris FALIKOV (Russian State Universities of Humanities), "New Religious Movements and the Russian Orthodox Church"

Galina KRYLOVA (Attorney, Moscow), "The Jehovah’s Witnesses Case in Moscow"

14.30-16.30 SESSION 4 (in French)

GNOSTICISME, ROSE-CROIX ET NOUVEAUX MOUVEMENTS RELIGIEUX

Chair: PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI

Jean-Claude PASCAL (Mareil-sur-Mauldre, France), "Le temps: une farce cosmique"

Pierre GOHAR (Nouaillé Maupertuis, France), "La spiritualité est-elle nécessairement rationnelle?"

Sylvain IMBS (Paris, France), "Comportementalisme, dissidences thérapeutiques, hygiénisme et nouveaux mouvements religieux"

Orestis TERZIDIS (Antibes, France), "Fin de la science?"

Sébastien GRÉGOV (Fontainebleau, France), "Généalogie de la morale rosicrucienne"

14.30-16.30 SESSION 5

RELIGION, SCIENCE, GLOBALIZATION

Chair: Reender KRANENBORG

Anand NAYAK (University of Fribourg), "Globalization of Religious and Spiritual Minorities: Steps in Discernment"

Ferren MacINTYRE (National University of Ireland), "Is Religion a Kinship Surrogate?"

Pino LUCA’ TROMBETTA (University of Bologna), "Logic and Contents of Religious Syncretism "

Federico SQUARCINI (Graduate Student, University of Florence ), " What is New in New Religious Movements?"

Michael L. MICKLER (Unification Theological Seminary), "Explosion v. Implosion: Two Extinction Scenarios of New Religious Movements"

17-18.30 SESSION 6

BAHA’I STUDIES

Chair: Anand NAYAK

Paul S. DODENHOFF (Drew University), "Identity, Authority and Growth: Stark's Model and the American Baha'i Community."

Robert STOCKMAN (DePaul University), "The Baha’i Concept of Unity and its Implications for External and Internal Dialogue"

Margit WARBURG (University of Copenhage), "New Religions, Baha'is, and the Global Field"

Will C. van den HOONAARD (University of New Brunswick), "Exploring Near-to-the-Heart Issues: The Equality of Women and Men in the Baha'i Community of Canada"

17-18.30 SESSION 7

CASE STUDIES

Chair: Lawrence FOSTER

J. Edgar BAUER (University of Heidelberg), "Franz Kafka: Power, Religious Minorities, and the Inception of Existence"

Kuniko FUJIWARA (Ochanomizu University), "From Private Experience to Public Environment: On the Development of the Guza Mifsud Movement in Malta"

Mark KOLTKO-RIVERA (New York University), "Mysticism and Mormonism: Contradiction and Strain in a New Religious Movement"

16.45-18.45 SESSION 8

MOVIE SESSION: "FAIRY TALE"

Chair: James SANTUCCI

Michael W. HOMER (CESNUR USA, Salt Lake City), "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Fairies, and Theosophy"

Movie: "Fairy Tale: A True Story"

DINNER

20,30 SESSION 9

A CRASH COURSE ON BRYN ATHYN’S ANTECEDENTS AND HISTORY

Jane WILLIAMS-HOGAN (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church)

DAY 2 - JUNE 3, 1999

9-11 SESSION 10 (PLENARY)

CULT CONTROVERSIES OLD AND NEW

Chair: David BROMLEY

Philip JENKINS (Penn State University), "The Great Anti-Cult Scare 1925-1945"

Thomas KEISER (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "Investigator Polarization in the Study of New Religious Movements: A Constructivist Position"

Herbert ROSEDALE (American Family Foundation, New York), "Legal Ramifications of the Brainwashing Argument"

Dick ANTHONY (Forensic psychologist, Richmond, California), "Tactically Altered Versions of the Brainwashing Argument"

COFFEE BREAK

11.30-13 SESSION 11 (PLENARY)

THE GREAT EUROPEAN CULT SCARE

Chair: Eileen BARKER

George D. CHRYSSIDES (University of Wolverhampton), "The Rise of the Counter-Cult Movement in Post-Christian Britain"

Philip BRUMLEY (Attorney, Patterson, New York), "Protecting Religious Convictions: Is European Paternalism Necessary?"

Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Torino) and James RICHARDSON (University of Nevada, Reno), "European Parliamentary Reports on Cults and the Brainwashing Argument"

Willy FAUTRE’ (Human Rights Without Frontiers, Bruxelles), "Cult Controversies in France"

LUNCH

14.30-16.30 SESSION 12

THE MOVEMENT OF SPIRITUAL INNER AWARENESS (MSIA)

Chair: J. Gordon MELTON

Constance JONES (California Institute for Integral Studies), "New Age Religion: MSIA and Ramtha"

James SANTUCCI (California State University, Fullerton), "Esoteric Themes in MSIA Thought"

Robert S. ELLWOOD (University of Southern California), "The Americanization of Asian Religion: The Case of MSIA"

14.30-16.30 SESSION 13

DEVELOPMENTS IN CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS

Chair: George D. CHRYSSIDES

Stephen D. GLAZIER (University of Nebraska), "Spiritual Baptist Prayer: Spirituality, Sex Roles and Altered States of Consciousness in a New Religious Movement"

Richard SALTER (Hobart and William Smith Colleges), "Reference Groups, Established Religions and New Religious Groups"

Kent GUNNARSSON (University of Umea), "Swedenborg’s Impact on Contemporary Swedish Faith Movement"

Stephen HUNT (University of Reading), "The Health and Prosperity Gospel of the Faith Movement: Some Regional Variations with Special Reference to Britain"

14.30-16.55 SESSION 14

MEDIA, NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS, AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Chair: Jean-François MAYER

Ryan C. COOK (University of Chicago), "Reporters in God-Land, Texas: The Role of Mass Media in a New Religious Movement’s Adaptation to Suburban America"

Forrest JACKSON (Dallas, Texas), "Chen Tao: A Personal Encounter"

Michael PROTERRA (Creighton Universitry), "From the True Face of God to Religious Liberty"

Justin WATSON (Florida State University), "Cults and Death on the Editorial Page: Jonestown, Waco, and Heaven’s Gate"

Shelley RABINOVITCH (University of Ottawa), "Cat-Herding: Neo-Pagan Attempts at Institutionalization in Canada"

James A. BEVERLEY (Tyndale Seminary, Toronto), "Paper Wars: The Post vs. The Times on Sun Myung Moon"

17-18.30 SESSION 15

BOOK SESSION: "THE POLITICS OF RELIGIOUS APOSTASY"

Chair: Lynne NEALE

Panel: David BROMLEY (editor of the book), Eileen BARKER, James T. RICHARDSON, Massimo INTROVIGNE

17-18.30 SESSION 16

THE GLOBALIZATION OF ESOTERICISM

Chair: Robert S. ELLWOOD

Mark SEDGWICK (American University of Cairo), "The Globalization and Localization of Traditionalism"

PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI (CESNUR, Torino), "Notes on an Unpublished Correspondence between René Guénon and Louis Charbonneau-Lassay"

Mark STAVISH (Counselor, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), "Alchemy and Its Modern Practitioners"

Christopher HARTNEY (Graduate Student, University of Sydney) and Sergei BLAGOV (University of Moscow), "The Globalization of Caodaism"

17-18.30 SESSION 17

LOCALIZATION AND GLOBALIZATION IN EUROPE

Chair: Ulf SJODIN

Tiago SANTOS (New University of Lisbon), "An Analysis of the Portuguese Scholarly Discourse on the New Religious Movements"

Miguel FARIAS (New University of Lisbon), " The Siege of Oporto’s Coliseum : Portuguese Media and the New Religious Movements"

Tuomas A.K. MARTIKAINEN (Bo Akademi University), "Globalization and New Religious Movements in Turku"

Kimmo KETOLA (University of Helsinki), "Globalizing Krishna-Bhakti: Cultural Transplantation of Indian Religion to Western Societies"

Nikandr GILLS (University of Latvia), "Reactions of Latvian Mass Media to New Religious Movements"

17-18.30 SESSION 18

GLOBALIZATION OF SWEDENBORGIANISM: COPING WITH RELIGIOUS ISOLATION

Chair: Jane WILLIAMS-HOGAN

Elaine KIM (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "Korea and Argentina"

Liliya FRUMKIN (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "Israel and Russia"

Taras TKACHOV (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "Ukraine"

Sonia WERNER (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "Concluding Remarks"

17-18.30 SESSION 19

LEGAL, ETHICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES IN DEALING WITH THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: A CULT AWARENESS PERSPECTIVE

Chair: Thomas KEISER (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church)

Herbert ROSEDALE (American Family Foundation, New York), "Cults the Law and You - What You Have to Lose"

Steve DUBROW-EICHEL (Clinical psychologist, Philadelphia), "Can Scientists be Deceived? Empirical Evidence from Social Psychology and History"

Priscilla COATES (New York), "The Paradox of Freedom in a Litigious Age"

19.15 COCKTAIL SPONSORED BY THE SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION

20 BANQUET

THE POLITICS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Guest Speakers:

Karen S. LORD, Counsel for Freedom of Religion, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), Washington DC

Jeremy GUNN, Office of International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C.

DAY 3 - JUNE 4, 1999

8.30 - 10 SESSION 20 PLENARY

EMERGING TRENDS

Chair: James T. RICHARDSON

Ulf SJODIN (University of Umea), "Changing Views on Religion and Science: A Theoretical Outline"

Frank USARSKI (Pontifical Catholic University, Sao Paulo, Brazil), "Religious Adaptation through Reincarnation? The Role of Lama Michel, the ‘Little Buddha’ of Sao Paulo, within the Globalized Tibetan Buddhist Movement of Lama Gangchen"

Catherine ALBANESE (University of California, Santa Barbara), "Tell My Cat: Animal Communication, Nature Religion, and Metaphysics"

COFFEE BREAK

10.30-12 SESSION 21 PLENARY

SWEDENBORG’S CONTINUING INFLUENCE

Chair: Jean-François MAYER

Sonia WERNER (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "The Psychological Cost of Religious Isolation: Small Swedenborgian Communities"

Ray SILVERMAN (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "The Way of the Divine Commandments"

Jane WILLIAMS-HOGAN (Bryn Athyn College of the New Church), "One Church, Different Voices: Internationalization and the Swedenborgian Church"

12.15-13 SESSION 22 PLENARY

PERSPECTIVES

Chair: J. Gordon MELTON

Solveiga KRUMINA-KONKOVA (University of Latvia) and Nikandrs GILLS (University of Latvia), "Development of the New Religious Movements and Its Social and Cultural Context in Contemporary Latvia"

Timothy MILLER (University of Kansas), "Father Divine: A General Overview" (Introduction to the field trip)

BUSINESS LUNCH

14.30 FIELD TRIP: FATHER DIVINE’S PENNSYLVANIA (Dinner Included)

DAY 4 (OPTIONAL) - JUNE 5, 1999

9.00 - 18.00 FIELD TRIP 2: THE AMISH OF LANCASTER COUNTY (Lunch Included)

Tickets for the field trips will be on sale at the conference. Walking tours of Bryn Athyn will be offered every day for small groups. Information on hotels, other information and a registration form will be posted shortly. For additional information you may contact CESNUR.

Practical Information