Cults, sects and new religious movements

The worldwide proliferation of cults, sects and new religious movements in the late 20th century is a characteristic of the contemporary age. Often new religious movements (NRMs) are treated with hostility.

The 1960s saw the birth of many NRMs such as Scientology, the Unification Church (Moonies), the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and the Children of God. Nineteenth century NRMs like Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons were broadly Christian-based, whereas the modern NRMs are often not based on Christianity.

Professor Eileen Barker explains that revolutions in the media, migration and travel have facilitated the growth of today's NRMs. People today have access to information from all over the world and they generally live apart from their parents and thus are open to new ideas.

NRMs may be seeking to address the gaps in traditional religions and as such they may be useful for society and may not be completely opposed to traditional religions. The value of NRMs varies considerably as some are peaceful and open to dialogue while others preach seclusion and violence.

The Catholic Church sees a number of problems with NRMs as they threaten the unity and ecumenism of the Church and what is more they often deny the Christian faith and promote the abandonment of Christianity. Some methods of proselytism by NRMs give religion a bad name and are deceiving and psychologically damaging.

Many examples show the seriousness of the threat posed by certain NRMs. The Manson family group murders shocked the world and in 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana, over 900 members of an American NRM committed mass suicide after state investigations into money laundering and violence by the group.

Professor Barker warns that the reactions of society must be sensible as a sensationalist and aggressive approach can have very undesirable outcomes. Governments differ in their understanding of religious freedom and in France, Belgium and the USA violence towards NRMs and by NRMs may have been fuelled by an overly stringent approach. The Catholic Church proposes dialogue with NRMs as, although this may at times be difficult to achieve, it is part of the Church's mission.

Some NRMs are spreading in Malta and one should have a clear view of their sociological as well as theological positions. It is with this scenario in mind that Discern, the Institute for Research on the Signs of the Times, has invited Professor Barker, from the London School of Economics, to give the Discern Annual Lecture 2006 "Cults, Sects and New Religious Movements: What are they doing in Contemporary Western Society?"

The lecture will be held at Le Meridien Phoenicia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. All are invited.