Privileging the saisines (i.e., reports by those who write to denounce a “cultic deviance”) may only lead to biased conclusions.
Massimo Introvigne
The Bavarian State Administrative Court of Appeal Rules that Applying the “Sect Filter” is Illegal
A musician refused to submit the requested “protective declaration” that she does not “use the technology” or attend courses of Scientology.
Friendship, Conscience, and the Tai Ji Men Case
Nietzsche and others made the idea that humans can really be friends suspicious. How Tai Ji Men, and its protests, show us how to rehabilitate it.
Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Strange Norwegian Decision
A Norwegian court “annulled” an ecclesiastical decision disfellowshipping a woman—a clear violation of religious freedom.
Guru Jára: Why Philippines Should Grant Asylum
International precedents support a religion-based claim for Jaroslav Dobeš and Barbora Plášková.
Friendships and the Tai Ji Men Case: An International Webinar
Friendship is an important component of Tai Ji Men’s message. And many became friends fighting together against the injustices vested on them.
Guru Jára: The Czech Court Case
Contesting the verdicts where they were sentenced for sexual abuse, as biased, Jaroslav Dobeš and Barbora Plášková seek asylum in the Philippines.
The Controversial Teachings of Guru Jára
Why the teachings of the Czech esoteric master generated a furious reaction, which prepared the unfavorable court verdicts.
Life Zen Temple Banned as a Xie Jiao and Raided
The movement promotes a radical “religious Communism,” eliminating in its communes private property and the family, replaced by free love.
The Odyssey of Guru Jára
Czech spiritual teacher Jaroslav Dobeš and his co-worker Barbora Plášková, sentenced for sexual abuse, claim they are innocent and seek asylum in the Philippines.
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.