Taoist sages embody and transmit to others compassion, humility, and wisdom, even when confronted with persecution. It is the story of Dr. Hong and Tai Ji Men.
Massimo Introvigne
Is Japan Introducing State-Sponsored Deprogramming?
At a Cabinet Meeting on January 19, proposals were made aimed at inducing current members of the Unification Church to leave the “cult” with the help of apostate ex-members.
Tai Ji Men Case: Scholars Visit the Swiss Mountain Villa
Collateral damage in the ill-founded harassment of Tai Ji Men: a beautiful and precious property lies in ruins.
Pakistan: Christian Musarrat Bibi, Acquitted of False Blasphemy Charges, Lives Under Constant Threat
A judge ruled that charges of Quran-burning were fabricated but she lost her job and has to live in hiding.
China, ISIS, and Pakistan: Unholy Alliance Eyes Maldives
A new pro-China President has asked Indian troops to leave the Maldives within two months. The United States wants to know what he plans to do with ISIS-connected terrorists.
Japan Proposes Guidelines That Would Artificially Multiply the “Victims” of “Cults”
Under the new draft proposal, a “victim” is a “victim” even if she denies being one, if the anti-cult lawyers or the government says she has been victimized.
World-Famous Sociologist Rings the Bell of World Peace and Love
On January 7, Eileen Barker, the scholar who created the academic field of new religious movement, rang the Bell in a historical ceremony in Taipei.
Spain, Judge Raquel Chacón Continues Her Anti-Jehovah’s-Witnesses Crusade
For the second time, the 6th section of the Court of Torrejón de Ardoz ruled against the 1st section of the same court. What according to Section 1 offends the honor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was declared non-offensive by Section 6.
An International Forum on the Tai Jai Men Case Before Taiwan’s Judicial Day
At National Taiwan University, more than twenty scholarly papers discussed different features of the long-lasting case and suggested possible solutions.
Behind the Bivolaru Case. 4. GéPS Versus MISA
How Gascan and his friends framed Gregorian Bivolaru looks like a fairy tale. But behind any fairy tale lies a truth.
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.