Humans have long searched for the Fountain of Youth. Dr. Hong teaches us that it is inside us: it is our conscience.
Massimo Introvigne
Honoring the Salmon: Removing California’s Klamath River Dams
The salmon is a sacred animal for the Native Nations of American Pacific Northwest. Deconstructing dams acknowledges it.
Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza: Moderate Islamic Theologian in Trouble in Pakistan
He just escaped his fourth assassination attempt. The new amendments to the blasphemy law may send him in jail for life.
Patents Filed by Chinese Companies Reveal Orwellian Surveillance and Human Rights Abuses
China keeps other data confidential but information about its plans to surveil its citizens constantly and ubiquitously are revealed by a source if cannot hide: patents.
Belarus in the Footsteps of Russia: Pentecostal Church Demolished, Members Harassed
New Life Pentecostal Church was razed to the ground in June. Members are told they are not allowed to gather outdoors and not even online.
Sunita Marshall: Pakistani Media Pressuring Catholic Actress to Convert to Islam
Sunita Marshall has been happily married to Muslim actor Hassan Ahmed for 14 years. He is now under pressure too.
Transitional Justice and the Tai Ji Men Case Discussed in Taiwan
A conference preceded the celebration of the 80th birthday of Tai Ji Men Shifu (Grand Master) Dr. Hong Tao-Tze and offered new insights.
Inventing a Mass Suicide: After 25 Years, Spanish Anti-Cultists Continue to Spread the Same Hoax
In 1998, the accusation hit a movement led by German psychologist Heide Fittkau-Garthe. The authorities did not find any evidence it was true.
Een haatzaaiende persconferentie: valse beschuldigingen van seksueel misbruik tegen Jehovah’s Getuigen
Antisekte-activisten beweren dat het aantal gevallen van seksueel kindermisbruik onder Jehovah’s Getuigen hoger is dan onder katholieke priesters. Deze bewering is onjuist.
Shiites Risk Life in Jail Under New Pakistani Legislation
Maximum penalties for those “disrespecting wives, family members and companions of the Prophet”—some of whom are cursed by Shiites—pass from 3 years to life.
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.