After a long persecution, Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko’s Pentecostal community has been “liquidated” by the country’s Supreme Court.
Massimo Introvigne
The Ghent Saga Ends: Belgium Cassation Court Confirms that Shunning Is Lawful
On December 19, 2023, the Belgian Court of Cassation confirmed the appeal decision favorable to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Novopashin: “Sad Followers of Navalny” and “Cultists” “Recruited by the Thousands to Spy for Ukraine”
The Russian anti-cult leader ridiculously claims that “thousands of recruited agents” report to Kyiv movements of troops and military trains. Many of them, he says, are “cultists.”
The Netherlands Also Sees “No Reason” to Criminalize Shunning
After a study by the Open University, the Minister of Justice and Safety told the House of Representatives that taking action against “social exclusion” would be both against religious liberty and unrealistic.
A New Campaign Against “Bitter Winter” in China
A film with bizarre lies against our magazine was presented months ago in Brussels. It is now promoted all over China.
Happy New Year from “Bitter Winter”
All the “Bitter Winter” team wish a happy and joyful New Year and holiday seasons to everybody.
Un tribunale contraddice sé stesso: una strana sentenza spagnola sui Testimoni di Geova
Espressioni simili hanno violato i diritti dei Testimoni di Geova secondo due sentenze del Tribunale di Torrejón de Ardoz… ma non secondo una terza.
Solidarity, Taxes, and the Tai Ji Men Case
Solidarity requires both to pay legitimate taxes and to protest when taxes are abusive. This is a lesson we can all learn from Tai Ji Men.
Missouri, District Court: “Coercive Persuasion Is Not a Recognized Tort”
The court also said that negligence claims against a religious institution are (largely) barred by First Amendment.
Un tribunal falló contra sí mismo: una extraña decisión española sobre los testigos de Jehová
Expresiones similares vulneraron los derechos de los testigos de Jehová, según dos sentencias del Tribunal de Torrejón de Ardoz, pero no según una tercera.
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.