CHAPTE,RTWO
The Continuum Between"Cults"
and "Normal" Religion
lar,rEsA. BscruoRD
Introduction
Whilc clrarnatic ancl tragic cveuts have beet.l
ur-rfolcling arouncl the n'orlci it-t ctlnnectiot-l
u'ith religious nrovcntents as va.rieclas Attt'l't
Shinrvkvo, tl're lJranch l)avidiarrs, the Solar
Tcrnple, anci He ;rvett's (lrrte, rl "shac'lolclramit" has been taking place in variotts cor-tt-ltrics of \\'cstern atrcl Easteru Euro;re. I at-n
rcfc'rrir-rgto the succession of public incluirics
rrncl otficill reports on religious sects or
"cnlts" n'hicir have emergecl fiom Frlncc,
(icrr.uanr'. Spdtr, Belgir-rn'r, ancl Russirr it"r
reccnt Ycirs. Tl-rerehaYc llso been dcbltes in
tl-re L.uropear-r Pirrliament. Sonle of these
rep()rts hlvc rccotlntcnclecl clracouiatr melsrlres to cleal u-ith what is ofter-r perceivecl as
the scrior.rs problem of "so callecl sects."
"clestructivecults," or "psvchogroups." Lcvels
of lnrietv, at lcirst illn()ltg some citizcns ancl
;rublic officials, are l.rigl.r cvcn rtbottt grou;rs
as
thc fehovlh's Wits'ell
knos'n
:rs olcl r,urcl
nessesrtttcl the r\'Iormons.
Public conccru abottt the gas rlttacks carriecl
in otl.rer places in
or.rt in Iirpan rrnclthc sr,riciclcs
firllv unciclstandablc.Thc citse of the Brirncl.r
l)irviclirrns is nrorc cor.uplicated bccattse public
concern is lbout the violent rrctiot-tstaken br'
the US luthorities as rrell as irbor.ttthe rcports
of authoritrrrianisrn,erploitation, and serual
abuse in the group. \Vhlt I fincl more clifEcr-rlt
to unclcrstrtttclis the i'irtuallv ltniversal flilurc
t() seethat thesc abttsesoccttr iu mlnv religiotts
orgirnizatior-rs:not just tl-restigmatizecl minorin'rlor-ernents. Evic-icncehas conre to light ir-t
rccent vears of, fbr cran-rplc:
Svstematic scxual abuse of chilclrer.rin thc care
of Catholic priests
Brutrlin' in rcsitlential it.tstitutionsfbr r,oung
(latholic church in
l.rcople run bv tl're
r-irrionscountrics
Clirtholic church policics for transporting
vor.rr-rgchilclrcn fiorr Britain ancl Ireltrtc1 tcr
Australia unclcr the bogus pretext that thcv
rr'ere orphans
-N'lassive
financial irresularities ir.r the Cltholic
Archcliocese of Chicagcr
Clergv malfblsance of varit.rttskiuds irt t-uant'
American churches (Slrupe 1995)
Scmirl improprieties among Nlethoclist clergr'
tu ,1-r. LIK
Financial irregularities itr certait.t Petrtecostrrl
churches in the UI(
Racism in rhe Church of England
Thc cx;lloitrrtiou of n'ot'uen in tt'tirtrt'Christirrn
churches
Collusior-r Lrctwccn chr.rrch otficiirls and sot-t-tc
of the n'orld's most bnrtal rcginres
Tl-ris list of exarr.rplcsof scirnclals,abuses,
irnd proble ms in mrlinstrcanr, supl-rosecllr'
rcspectable Christian churches is far fionr
cxhaustive, br,rt it is ir-rtendeclmerelt' to clrtrua.ttention to thc clisparifl' l.renr.eenthc lclels of
pr.rblic lu:rrcncss irn(-lrrnxicn' abor-rtproblems
26
I
s
THE STUDY OF NE\V RELIC]IOUS TIOVIIA,IENTS
Its"
:.1cdrnilt()r
: to lisllt in
.'.rn thc care
''
fclr 1'11.-tt-tO
. h Lrrch ir-r
::.rnsportir-rg
.: Irclencl to
- ,.: rhlt thev
. rc (lirtholic
.1. I l1 nllllt\'
' .rist
clcrgi'
.'cn tecostirl
'
( hristi;u.r
- .rntl solltc
'1..\
' . ..
lbuscs,
- --p1.r1r591l11'
. t.rr fi'ont
-- , to c'lrtt$'
. . r c l c v c l so f
. . problenrs
in u ell-establisl.red
rcligious orgt.Lnizations
ancl
the levels of concern about sci-callecl"cults."
I l t , r c , r r e r , t l r c r c a r c l L ' r i g c r r r r i r r c( t t t t r t . t t t ., t i L . j
lbout r-nrrinstrcamchnrches: nrerclt' a i)crccp
ti()n of'scrrttcrcdproblcms associatecl
n'ith particular inciivicluals.As a categor\ j churchcs irre
not pcrceiveclto givc rise to difEcult rnorirl or
lcgrl rlileurnras. Inclced. \Villiam Bainbridec
1997 241 rcfbrs to ther.n as "conr-enrional
rcligious orgar-rizations."\tt, irt rrtv lien, tl'ris
c.itegorical c'listinction bcnveen therrt rrncl soc.rLledcults is exaegeratecl.Tl.rere is actuallr.
.r continuurr-r bet\\'ee11the pftrblcrnirtic irnd
tl'rc r-rnproblem;rtic aspects of itll rcligious
. ollectivitics.
Fronr a sociological point of r.reu, it r-n:rkes
rcrl littlc rliffercnce rrhether the abuses .rre
rcciclental or couscquentiir.lon r'loctrines or
:deologr'.
Adn-rittccllr', the tnost sPectaculirr cpisocles
,rf r-iolencc lr-rd collcctive slricide havc oc. t l r r c d i l t s o i l l l L ' . 1 r t t l t i c r l r ' o 1 r P r1. . 1 1Pg1 ; l r l i c
rninrosin, against the categorv of "cult" u.as
\troug elelt bcfbre thc clestructictn of thc
I-coples Tentple Jt ]onesto\\'n, Guvan;r in
i978. In anv caserthat particular episocleancl
:hc armecl assault olr the Brrnch Dlviclian
.rrurpoi-rnd in \\taco, Tex:rs in 1993 shor.rlcl
:'cr.ninclus thar both of tl-ie religious collectii.
.ires concernecl u'ere clcvcloprner-rtsof r-norc or
.cssrespcctableChristian clenonrinltions. Ancl
.r the \\'ake of the ntirssir.eslaughter of reli
:ioLrslr.iclentified oppoltcnts in such pl;rcesirs
:hc tbrnrcr Yug<tslavi;rrrncl Northern Irelancl,
i ho crln denv that "ortlinan"' religior-rcan rrlso
.-c rt hazarc-lto lifc ar.rtllimbi
Tl.re in.rportant thing is therefbrc to lrncler.iJncl \\.h\. and hon' problcms occur on azfl
:clisit)ris collectivin': not jLlsr in collcctir-ities
:.rtcst)rizccl n priori as cultic. Tl'ris could be
.i()nc br, analvzing the processes ot, fbr
-r.rrrrple, cxpkritaticx-r, authoritarirlu lcacler.trip, harrtrssnentancl abuse, svstematic fiirucl
. . r t t i d c c c p t i o n . r i o l c l r r c J n t i P . 1 1 1 i 3 1 ' q1
11
11
1
.:// rcligious collectivities. Such an lpproacl-r
::riqht evcn reveal rhat religious collectir.ities
:rc not themseh'es complctclY clistinctivc; it
::risht sh()\\' that rcligious collectivitics arc
,nlv rntrrginalh' diflb re n t fiom oth er loluntarr,rsaanizirtior-rs
in respcct of the Problems to
27
n'l-richthev give rise. This is a hcretical rhought
t i r t '. r s ,r . i o l o g i s t , r t 'r c l i g i o n .
This is not the place to delelop this particrr1:rr argument tirrtl'rcr (sec Beckfitrci 1985a,
1989), so ler me runl no\\. to thc question of
u1-rv thc problerns lttributed to "cults" sfrir-l
a much l-righer public profile than thc mr_rcl.r
nrore u'iclesprcacl
problenrs attributable to sLlfrconve ntional religior.rscol lcctivitics.
;'roscc-llv
The Social Sources of
Cult Controversies
Nlegatior.rs thrlr so-callcLlcults brainu.asl-rtheir
recrtrits, expkrit them economicallr', rtbusc
thern sexualh' rrncl, in ntiln\, other u.avs, ruir-t
their lives are to() uell knoun to necd repeat
ing hcre (Btlrker 198,1, 1989; Bcckfbrd
1 9 8 5 b ; R i c l r a r t l s o r .1
r 985, 1991, 1996). I
\\'ant to sLlggest that this pattent cif irccusatior]s
anc1,in particular, irs exclusir.efbcus on stign'rrtizeclnlovements can bc cxplaineclin tcrnts
of several chirracteristics of lirtc flr'enticthcenturv lifb in irdvancedinclusrriirlsocieties.
M ossi.fi
cnti on n tt d d em oniznti ort
Firstlr', thc colrsolidatior-rof natiol-l-st:ltes\\.itlt
relativelv stirble bounclaries rrncl effective metr
surcs tbr r-r-ror-ritorir-rg
ancl controlling the ac
tii'ities of their populations l.rad l.relped tcr
perpctlrtte the medier.al suspicion of peoplc
uto u'ere mierlnts, \'agrants,u.andering holv
men antl \\'omen, or fice spirits. Non.adavs cit
izenshi;-ris not onlv thc kel to eligibilitv fbr
various obligations :rnc1benefits br-rt it is llso
inseparablefi-om numcrous processesof official registrirtion, r'nonitoring, ancl snrvciIIance.
The surtr-rceof late r-noclcn-rlifb m;rv appear to
bc ti'rrgntenteci or conlirsccl, but tl-re undcrlr'ins fbrces of stanclardization, rirtionalizirtion,
rrnd comr-r-roclificationare still pou'erhrl. TI-re
nrctaphor of "slipping through the nct"
con\-evs the scnse that pcople ul-rose litb
course cloes not confbrm u.ith tl'rc "normirl"
proeressior-r tl-rrough stagcs of eclucation,
training, cmplor.ment, coltsLtmptiolt. sexual
relationships, leisurc, ancl n ellire hlr.c
somchou' managecl to lvoicl thc normal
THE STUDY OF NEW RELICiIOLISl{Ovirtr{HNTS
clevicesfor detecting fiilures in the sr,stct-nor
l erknesscs of i rrclivicL,ralmotivrtion.
The tlct tl-ratn'rcnrbersof some lnir-rorifi'religiolrs movcmcr-rts choosc to orcler aspects of
their lives in accorclanccn'ith clilferent priorities rnakesthcm objccts of sus;ricionl-recause,
arnong otl-rcr thines, tl'reir non-conventiollal
u'avs of living inrplv thlt son.rethingis u'rong
-fhe
ri'itl-rthc machinerv of "normalization."
public scnscof tbrrrand oLrtrageis all thc rnore
ir-rtcnsebcceuse it is uiclelr' lrelicvcclthat l;rte
nrotlernin' is a time of great individualizatiorr
iurcl that n()n-conventional religious prirctices
indiBtrt pcrn-rissible
arc thcrefi)re unnecess;rr\r.
viclualizirtion is mostlv confined to choice of
sr-rchtl'rings rrsdress, leisr.rreactivitie s, languagc.
ancl sexual relrtions. l)epartures fiom the
e\pecte('l patterns of education. emplovment,
lnc'l consumption are grouncls fbr sus;-ricion
ancl, in some cases,demonization. It is tl-rerc
fbre acceptablc to "shogr around" fbr religior.rs
iders, alternativc thcrapies, or spiritual expreriencesi but it is not acccptableto fbllol'a religious path l'hicl.r inr.olvcs a bre:rk u'ith the
puL-rlich'approvcd life cor,rrse. The fhct that
some people choosc t() rbanclon the path of
"normal" cclucation or emplovment fbr the
sakc of non-convcntional religior:s idcals is
erperienccd bv othcrs asan afliont to their convictior.rthat modern individuals are free, rational rlecision makers. L'r other rr'ords, rrociern
living is botlr mlssifie d nndpervade cl bv an icleological convictior.r that irrdiviclual lieeclom of
choice is stronger than ever.
In these circumstances,claims that ncu'religior.rsmovements brainu'ash thcir recruits or
expkrit ther-n ur-rfairlv can be inter;rreted trs
reilctions ag;rinst the excrcise of fiee u'ill ir.t
a register to u'hich the accusers are deaf.
Allegations of brainu'ashing arc the modern
eqlrivllent of latc rlcdieval irccusations of
x'itchcraft and dcrnonic possession(Anthonv
ar.rcl Robbins I980; Robbins 1988). The
comlnon threircl is the clain that reason has
been subvcrtcd bv an external agenc\'.
cierrcv rrnd rrrpidin. r>f comm.unic&tiln in the
late tn'enticth Lentur\.. In prcvious eras it s'as
commou firr unconventional religious groups
to operate onlv in verv small geographical
areas or t() crcilte their o$'n remote conlmunities as rcfirscs lior-r-rprving e)'es. But nowrlda1'sit is possiblc for even sr-uallmovements,
u.ith the hclp of tclcccimmunicatior-rs.
to reach
l;rrge andiences scattercciover huge arcls of
the uorld. Br, the sanrc logic it is morc diffi
cult fbr such r-novemcnts to avoicl prvirrg er-es
bccause communications alnong thcir c4'rponents or critics are eclualh'efficient.So, iust as
NR-lvIs can c:'rpitalize ()n the advantagcs of
comprrterizecl m.'rilir-rglists and multimedia
presentations to spread their nressagc, cnlt
monitoring grollps fincl it relatir,elr, cas\r to
collcct infbrmation about hrge nunrbers of
NItN{s :rnd to con.rpile aggregate statistics. In
this sensc,the icleathat the categorv of "cult"
has bccomc threiltening on a l:rrge scale has
been fhcilitatccl bv tl-re technolog\, \\.hich
permits rapid exchar.rge, compilation, and
analvsis of infbm-ration benveen cult monitoring groups, researchers,journaiists, and program makers around the rxrrlcl.
The ir-rtcnsin' of todat"s cult controversies
has to be ur.rdcrstood partlv in terms of the
simultaneous applicatior-r of communications
technologx' bv NR-&Is and bl.their opponents.
If global communications har-c rnade the
humirn u'orld appearto bc a snrallerplace than
prer,iouslr', thev arc also making cult controversiesmore intensc.l There is no reason u,ht'a
srnall n,orld shoulcl bc lcss conflictual than a
larger one. In othcr u'ords, l'c should expect
that religious controversies of all kinds u'ill
become more intensein the fllture. Indecd, one
rr.rightgo furtl-rer and speculatethat re ligion u'ill
continlre to be l rnajor contributor to global
dispr.rtesbecause it is one of the placcs u'here
thc "colonizirtion of the lifb-u.orlc1" bv "the
svstcm" (Habern.rrrs1987) can be challengec'l.
Secalnrizntion and polarizatiott.
Thirdlv, I sr-rggestthat reiigior.ris parado-ricallv
likelv to rcmain at the heart of controversies
ancl clisputes ir-r the globalizecl future despitc
the llct that lcr-els of particioation in thc
Com w uui catiou an d contr otjersy
Seconcllr,,the scverin' of present-clal'strictures
aqainst NRA,{s is ;rartlv a hrnction of thc effi-
28
THtr S1'UDYOF NEW RELIGIOUS NIOVEMF.NTS
. : .': riott it'r tlte
-.. crrtsit u.as
- - i1()Ltsgrottps
Jeogrirphical
- _ - ' . ,, f c c o n r m L l . -. But nrtn'a,lo\ elnentsl
, : jrs. to rcacl-t
- -..gc lre;rs
of
. nrore diffi
.r prvlng e\.es
- :heir opp()- -:-:. So, just rrs
,
.,:r ltltlfgeS
ttf
. ' :nultin-redia
- . - -i \ \ J g e l c u l t
: : . clv easY t()
: - - : r u n r b e r so f
: . - - ' : . r t i s t i c s I. n
--:,:-r of
"cult"
r , : i a s c a l ch a s
-' ,rgr'1t'hi.1-t
-' .-..itio|r, and
-- --:,t r-r-ronitor- , -:\. lncl pro- ,ntrovcrsies
' :irn'rs
of the
- -::rur-rications
-: : ()Pll()nents.
- -- rnrrcle
the
-
-
-
..,.1..-- .t-.,Lrrdtr
f,rrrt
'- .ult contro- ::rson u'ht
rt
-':-tLtitl
than a
- . :, rlild exltect
- ... kincls
l'ill
' ': intieecl,or-tc
: - . : : c l i g i o nu ' i l l
-. :,'r to global
:
.ictivities of tirrrlal religious orgalnizations are
rn clcclinernd that religior.rexercisesrelati\-elv
.rttle cxplicit influcncc ()\'er the policics pur.Lrecibv governments, businesses,or public
iustitutions. F{ou' can religion be simultirne, rLrslvcontroversial but mrrginali \Vould it lrot
..e ntorc sellsibleto erpcct that religion $'ould
..cconte lltore bland and uninteresting as
:Iore people becamc religiouslr' "illitcratc" or
.lmplv unconccrncci irbout it)
.\Iv irnsu'er is that it is preciselv tl-rc fhct that
.rrqenunbcrs of people in irdvanccclindustrial
'ocicties are ignorant or apathctic abont rcli
:ion most of the tirne that makes the rrctivities
,i those sto are enthusiastic abotrt their rcli
ll()n potelltialiv nrorc controversial. I atn not
'inrplv repcating thc observltion that secular
of rcli
./,ltiol1is cor-npatiLrlcuith or-rtbr.trsts
lrous cuthLrsiirsnrin margit]rl placcs (\Vilsolt
1976). I .rnr arguing that a proccss of polnr'
::.tttiott is tirking pl;rcc bcnlccn religiousli'
-'ncrgctic rninorities ar-rclreligiouslv irpatl-rctic
.r.rjoritics. trloreover, this process of pohrizrr:ion ri'ill ensrlre that, in thc nridst of secul.rr../rtiol-l)religior-rnill rcmain controversial. N{r'
-L.rinris not th.lt NR-NIs rrc thro\\'-Lracks to at't
.'rrlicr ase of religious i'italin'. On the con:relr', I nant to sr,lggestthat it is a vert'mocicrtt
.h nirrnic benveen ilctivc rrinoritie s rrnd inac:ir e nrajorities u hich is helping to creatc a ne\\'
.',r'rtl pol;rrizec'lsituirtiot-r.Thc pu blic animositv
:rrrilrcls NR-NIs is onlv one erpression ol the
.rcrverse logic u'hich c()nnccts secularizatiou
r\ rth intcnsc rcligior,rscoutroversies. NRN'ls arc
'rr.r.rplv
caught Lrpin a pr()cessnhicl-r aftccts lil
:.clisit)Lrs
collectivities.
What Would Make "Cults"
to Be "Normal"
approach bv Peter Brourr's stunning insight
ir.rto the political economv of religior-rstolerirtion in late Roman antiquit\,:
Scer-rfion-r thc point of vieu' of the civic notables of the fburtl-r er"rdhfth centuries, the
annual paroxvsmof the collection of taxes. .
. ancl not religious affairs - hol'ever cxcitir-rg
t h c s cn r i r , l r lt, c . . r , r r h u s cr i l t , r k r r c u . t l . o t t t
such things, on a supenliltural lcvcl \\'asthc
trr-rcelcphirnt in the zoo of latc Ron-ranpolitics . . . In most arcrsl thc svstcm of ncg()tiatecl consensus n'as usualh' stretched to its
l r r n i t sl r r t l r c t , r s k, , i c r t r , r e t i n gt . r r c s .I t h a . l
little energv left or,er to gii'e "bite" to ir-rtol
erant policies in urattersof religion. (l}nlvn
1993:11-2't
In short, religious rninorities antl enthusi:rstsin late Antiquitl'could be toler:rteclif thcv
p-raicltheir ta.xes.Toleration n'as e.rtendcd t<;
r-r-rinorin'religions firr pragn-ratic reasons: not
out of concern tbr philosophical principlcs. ls
tl-risstill tl-resituationi l,et n.rcdiscr,rssfir'c u avs
ir.r q hicl.r toleration is extended these days to
NR-N'Is uhich satish, r'irrioLrs non-religious
conc'litions imposecl bv state authorities.
I
Appear
- l,.tCCS $hCrC
:.J" br' "thc
: ', :h.rllengecl.
.: ::.1,it011
- r.rracloxicallv
:;orttrot'ersies
-'. :.rture clespite
- :'.rrion in tl-re
\\-hat cviclencc is there to sllpport m\' .lrgr.llncnt
:h;rt the clcnronization of "cults" is rr product
, rt' socill iirrccs inhercnt ilr lirte t\\'enticthsocieticsi Oue u'irv
.cntllrv aclr'ancctiinclr-rstrirri
,rilnsu'ering tl'rist1-restiouis to calcttlirtehou'
t.rr Nl{trls u'onlcl have to chansc in orclcr tcr
i.econrc rrcceptaLrle. In othcl n ords, u'hrt
n oLrlclhelp to make NR-\'ls appcal'to be norrnrrl
,rr ecce;rtrrbleiI u'irs inspirccl to pLlrsLlethis
29
Toleration depencls thcsc davs on mucl.t
n r , r r c t h l n p . r r i n g tl . r r c s ,l l t h o r r q h r I , , r c rrents lhich arc secn to cvaclcthcir fiscal
obligations ccrtainh' confirm thc n'roclert-t
stcreot\-pc of cults .ts -f/nuduluzr. Tl.rc
Chr.rrch of Scicr.rtologr,fbr examl.rle,lus
attractccl cspcciailv harsh criticisnr firr its
attempts to qualifi'fbr t;rr prir-ilcgeson the
srouncls of'bcing a religious organizatiotr
in the USA (succcssfirllr')or a charin' in
In both cases,thc
thc UI( (trnsucccssfirllr').
cmcial cplesti()n is n'hether Scientologrconstitutes a rcligio|r: rrnd the lnsu'er is
sor,rght parrrcloricall\. fiom st:1te agencics
u i t l t r c s p o n s i l , i l i r r ' l i r r p r r r c l r r t t . t t te' i : t l
thir-rgs.Nevertheless,religior-rsnlovements
seeking to have thcir religious authenticitv
affirmecl mllst trlrn to these seclrlaragencics. Being recognizec'las reliplious irr the
eves of the US Inten-ral Revenr.reScrvice or
the (lharin' (lomn.rission in the UI( or a
cor"rrt of law in Itrlr' is a necessan' but r-tot
T H h S T U D Y O F N E W R E L I C i l O L T St r t O \ , ' E N { I - . N T S
sufficient conditior.r for acl.ricvingaccept,
lbilin'in rhe lone ntn.
2 In prrrtsof southern F.urope irnclelscn.hcre
ir-rthe uorlcl, NRr\ts trc t()lcriltccl ()n c()ltdition thlt thcir nternbers complv u.ith
reLlLlirententsto pcrfirn-n militnrt, sertlicc.
S t . r t c :r r l r i c l ro l l l r . c r c n r P t i o r r t o c , r t c g o r . i c .
ot' religious profLssionals still tentj to
clemand rhat NR.r\.,Isprovc rheir religious
tuthe nticirv bv shou ing u'illir-rgr.ress
to
conrplv uith conscri;-rrionlllr.s befbrc be
conring clisible to applv fbr crer-r.rp.rtior-r.
3 A.rother conclition of NIL\{s' ;lcccprtbilirv
ln nranv countries is the rblnclonr-nent of
all clirir-nsto cut,r r-nedicalproblenrs, especiallr. if thera;rr. fornrs part of the move
rneltts' rtrtrntll practices.(ll-ralle
necs tO, or
cvasions of, st:rtc-liccr-tsccl
rrcciical practlccs are rareh' tolcriltcd. NRA.{s trc llltclcr
sns;-ricion if tl-reir mcr-nbers clo not avrril
thcmselles of publiclr. rrr.lilable n-rcclical
servlcesor personncl.
I
Educntion is lesstightlv controllccl b\- srrlte
asencies than is the provision of hcalth
cirrc, but NRtr{s u'hich pref.:r to educate
their nrcrnbcrs'chilcircr.rin their ou.n
schools ilre srill u.ideli'sltspected of irrcspor-rsibilin'or lrltcrior utoti\-es. NIove
rnents u'hich ectlc:lrc thcir chilclren fior.n
tlitlbrcnt countries in a sir-rgleinrernirrionll
school arc especiallv suspect. Thev are
:rccused of trr.ing to hicle their chilclren ir.r
places n hcre the standarclsof ecjucirtior-r
r.-urcl
care calltot bc easili' ntonitorecl.
5 A novcl conclirion of acccptabilitv in the
UIi crrrrcerns tbe nccessibilirl to thc public
of NRX,Is' n,orship scrviccs. Tl.re Brorrclc:lsting Act 1990 rrrrcic it a conditior.r of
rcligious organizations' accessto collnter
ci:rl ch:rnnels of telclisior.r antl rac-lio that
thcir uorship serviccs should bc publiclv
adlertised rrncl accessiblc to r-ner-nbersot'
the public rr.ithout specialiuvitatior.ror thc
pa\.ntenr of enrrance fbes. l'his conditior.r
secms to tre preciicatcd on t\\'o assumpti<rr-rs.
Thc first is rhirt bona .fidc religious
orsaltizations presuntablr.hlvc no need to
inrposc restrictions on ilcccssto thcir servrccs; ancl rhe second is that the risk of
alxsc or expktitation is recluceclif a reli
30
grolrs organizrrtior.r's scn,ices arc opcn tc)
public scnrtir.rv.
In short, there is a closc parallel betu.een late
anticluitY ancl tl-re lirtc nventicth celttllrV
i r r s o l a r. r s t o l c r ' . r t i o no t ' r c l i g i o L r sn r i r r , , r i r i c si r r
both eras uas arrc-lis still conditional on their
satisfi'inglargelr, "sccular" criteria of religious
alrthenticit\'.N{v point is tl-ratthis depcndence
()n the deplovrnent of non-religiotrs criteria
br,
asenciesof the state in order to make clccisior-rs
about the rluthenticitv of NRMs is r.irtualh,
i r r c ri r . r l r l c . r r r r i n t c u h c n r c l i c i o n i s l i a g
mentecl lncl uhert r-rosingle religious oreani
zation hlrs control ovcr ir (Bccktbrcl t9g9).
Conclusion:
Normal-Abnormal
The
Continuum
Thc cliflbrcr-rcebenveen ,,normal" and ,,abnor
mal" religious groups is not so ntuch ir matter
of fixed categorical clistinctions but more a
nratter of skirrnishesalong a slrifting frontier,
In fhct, sociological analvsisis best sert,eclbv
s t t l r s t i t u t i r r ! "I c o n I i l r u u n . l " l i r r . . t i i s r i n c t i , n r . i .
Of course, public opinion ancl some religious
ntercst groups preflr to make catcgorictll
clistirrcticx-tsL-retueen,sir\', ..real religion,' antl
"destrr-rctivccults." But ir dispassionateanalr,_
sis of thc social aspects of religion suggests
that. riithirrall rcliqi<,uo
s r g a t ) i z J t i o t ) s )( ) m c
practicesare acceptcd as clcar er.idenceofreli_
grous ;ruthenticitv ancl others are sllspcctecl
of conprourisir-rg rhar authenticin,. The
r r i t c r - i r ro l ' . r ec c p t l h i l i n c h a r r g e ( ) \ c r t i t n c )
oftcrt reflecrir.rg ethical end icleological
changes ri.lrich tahc place outside religious
organizations.
A,lorecxer, tl-re skimrisl-res that irrcak out
fiorn tir-ne to time ir-r connection u.ith the
cibjectioni.rble pramices of specific NRtrIs are
rareli. concluctctl in isolation fiom other gricr,_
ances. Discnssion of particular cases quicklr.
slves \\'av to claints about thc entire categorl
of "destnrctive cults" or.,cultisn.r",rs a gerieral
rssue.(lontinuities betlr.eer-r
NRMs ancl othcr
religior-rs organizations are therebv ignored
or
sup;rresscci fbr
iclcological reasons.
Sociologists u'ould be better advised to
I
i
T H E S 1 ' U D Y O F N I r W R I - - I - I C I I O U SN l O V E t r ' I E N T S
r.e\ ire opcn tc)
, .cl betn'cen lrrtc
r:tfieth centrlrY
- : ' n r i n o r i t i e si n
. : : r i o n a lo l t t h e i r
: : r.i,r of rcligious
: ri. rlcpendencc
::otls criteria bt'
:r.rkc clccisicx-rs
:-.\ ls is virtuallv
--.:gron is
ti'ag: - . rS l o n s o r g a n . i : , i : i r r c l1 9 8 9 ) .
,r'lccntrlte on anirllzins s;-rccificdimensior-rs
. .rll religious collectivitics u'ithout lraking
":,rr juriements abont tlreir chr-rrchlike or
. ,r likc nrltrlre.
Societal Responsesto Nen, Rtlaions
l,orrdon: Tai'istock.
Note
l)ispurcs irr sonre Clhristirincirurches arc illso
r n t c n s i f i c c lb v t h c c l s e o t ' r t r o t l e r t r c t . r m n r r r n i c . r lions rrutl bv the rclcntlcss sctrch of lounralists
ior scrrsntionll stories. Scc An.rmcrnrln ( 199{))
r r r t t h c c o n c l u c t o f d i s p r r t e si l t n o l t g t h c s o u t h e r
Beckfirrcl, larles A. l.1L)89) Rehgiort in Adyttnccd
Indtntrial Sorzctr,,Lonclon: Routle clge.
Brcrn'rr, Petcr t I995 ) Authoritt, nnd tlte Sacrtd,
( i a n r b r i d g e : O : r n t b r i c i g eU n i v e r s i t v P r e s s .
Habe rnras, Jiirgen (l9B7 l The Tbnrr o-f'(iontruurticntiyt Actiott, Yol. 2, l3ostor-r. r\IA: l3ercon
Press.
ziltion;ll firctors." Pp. 163-75 in T. Roblrins. W.
S l r e p h c r c l ,a n d J . I I c 1 3 r i d e ( e d s ) , C u / t s . C u l t u r e
n t t d t b r I n l , . C I t i c o , C A : S c h o l : r r sP r e s s .
f u c h a r c l s o n . J a n - r c s ' l ' .( I 9 9 1 1 " C L r l t / b r a i n u ' a s h i n q
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^'
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TransJorOrtirrcl Llniversin-