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CESNUR
CESNUR (Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni, "Center for Studies on New Religions"), is a non-profit organization based in Turin, Italy that studies new religious movements and opposes the anti-cult movement. It was established in 1988 by Massimo Introvigne, Jean-François Mayer and Ernesto Zucchini. Its first president was Giuseppe Casale. Later, Luigi Berzano became CESNUR's president. CESNUR has been described as "the highest profile lobbying and information group for controversial religions". CESNUR's scholars have defended such diverse groups as the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, the Order of the Solar Temple (responsible for 74 deaths in mass murder-suicide), and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, accused of having aided the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. CESNUR describes itself as an independent scholarly organization, but the organization has met with criticism for alleged personal and financial ties to the groups it studies; anthropologist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955, in Rome) is an Italian Roman Catholic sociologist of religionJason Horowitz"A Clash of Worldviews as Pope Meets Putin" ''The New York Times'', July 4, 2019. and intellectual property attorney. He is a founder and the managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions ( CESNUR), a Turin-based organization which has been described as "the highest profile lobbying and information group for controversial religions". Life and work Introvigne was born in Rome on June 14, 1955. Introvigne earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Rome's Gregorian University in 1975, and in 1979 his Dr.Jur. from University of Turin. He worked from the law firm Jacobacci e Associati as an intellectual property attorney, specialized in domain names. In 1972, he joined conservative Catholic group Alleanza Cattolica. From 2008 to 2016 he has served as vice-president of the group. In 1988 he co-founded the CESNUR and has since served as the group director. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academic Study Of New Religious Movements
The academic study of new religious movements is known as new religions studies (NRS). The study draws from the disciplines of anthropology, psychiatry, history, psychology, sociology, religious studies, and theology. Eileen Barker noted that there are five sources of information on new religious movements (NRMs): the information provided by such groups themselves, that provided by ex-members as well as the friends and relatives of members, organizations that collect information on NRMs, the mainstream media, and academics studying such phenomena. The study of new religions is unified by its topic of interest, rather than by its methodology, and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature. A sizeable body of scholarly literature on new religions has been published, most of it produced by social scientists. Among the disciplines that NRS uses are anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and sociology. Of these approaches, sociology played a particularly prominent role i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reender Kranenborg
Reender Kranenborg (born 1942-2020) is a former editor of the magazine ''Religious Movement in the Netherlands'' published by the institute of religious studies of the Free University in Amsterdam. He received his PhD in the theological faculty about the subject of self-realization. He stated in the dissertation that he had attempted to research the subject following the norms of religious studies, not a theological one. He had, until his retirement, a seat at the ''Comitato Scientifico'' (scientific committee) of the CESNUR. Selected bibliography ;English *''The Presentation of the Essenes in Western Esotericism.'' ''Journal of Contemporary Religion'', 13 (2): 245- 256. (1998). * ''New Religions in a Postmodern World'' (2003) Reender Kranenborg and Mikael Rothstein (Eds.) Aarhus University Press *''Field Notes: Efraim: A New Apocalyptic Movement in the Netherlands'' in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 81–91. * '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giuseppe Casale
Giuseppe Casale (born September 28, 1923) is an Italian historian and prelate of the Catholic Church. Life Casale was born in Trani, Italy and was ordained a priest on February 3, 1946. He studied theology and history, and was a professor of Church History and Italian History from 1949 to 1953 at the Catholic colleges of Trani and Molfetta. After this, he was publishing pastoral magazines. He was appointed bishop to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vallo della Lucania on October 26, 1974 and ordained bishop December 8, 1974. He was appointed Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Foggia-Bovino on May 7, 1988 and remained in that post until his retirement on May 27, 1999. As a bishop, he spoke often on controversial political and theological issues, and gained a reputation as left-wing and progressive. He advocated the possibility for women to become Catholic cardinals, and suggested that the Catholic Church should not oppose state legislation on same-sex marriage and consider in the futur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alleanza Cattolica
Alleanza Cattolica (in English ''Catholic Alliance'') is an Italian Catholic association. Among its members are Massimo Introvigne, president of CESNUR. An article in magazine Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular ... argued that Alleanza Cattolica is "the Italian subsidiary" of Brazilian sect Tradition, Family and Property. References Religious organisations based in Italy Catholic orders and societies {{Italy-org-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luigi Berzano
Luigi Berzano (born 8 July 1939, Asti) is an Italian sociologist and Catholic priest. Biography He is national coordinator of the Scientific Council of Religion Section of the Italian Association of Sociology and, since 1992, president of Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) . He is full professor at the Department of Cultures, Politic and Society of the University of Turin. He collaborates with the Faculty of Theology and Rebaudengo University in Turin. Since 2005, he is member of the Scientific Council of the Journal Studi di Sociologia of the Catholic University of Milan. His research focuses on religious pluralism and freedom in multicultural societies, particularly in relation to individual and collective religious experiences. In this field, he conducted researches on spiritual movements such as New Age and also on historical religious minorities. In ''Sociologia dei lifestyles'', he developed a new theory relating to the practices and collective behaviour in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gianni Ambrosio
Gianni Ambrosio (born 23 December 1943 in Santhià) is the emeritus bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio. Biography Born in Santhià on 23 December 1943, he studied theology in minor and major seminaries of Vercelli and on 7 July 1968 he was ordained priest. In 1970 he obtained a diploma in social sciences at the Institut Catholique in Paris and in 1972 he obtained the specialization-diploma in sociology at the École pratique des hautes études at the Sorbonne University. He was a member of the international scientific committee of CESNUR.Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio press release“L’Antonino d’oro 2009 al vescovo mons. Gianni Ambrosio” June 11, 2009. In 1995 he graduated in theology in Rome at the Pontifical Lateran University. From 1974 to 1988 he taught religion and was parochial vicar in the parishes of Santhià and Moncrivello. From 1988 to 2001 he was pastor of the parish of St. Paul in Vercelli. In 1996 he was named honorary prelat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-cult Movement
The anti-cult movement (abbreviated ACM, and also known as the countercult movement) consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices. One prominent group within the anti-cult movement, Christian counter-cult organizations, oppose New Religious Movements on theological grounds, categorizing them as ''cults'', and distribute information to this effect through church networks and via printed literature. Concept The anti-cult movement is conceptualized as a collection of individuals and groups, whether formally organized or not, who oppose some "new religious movements" (or "cults"). This countermovement has reportedly recruited participants from family members of "cultists", former group members (or apostates), religious groups (including Jewish groups) and associations of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business. In 1979, several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court. The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013. The German government classifies Scientology as an anti-constitutional sect. In France, it has been classified as a dangerous cult. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-François Mayer
Jean-Francois Mayer (born 25 April 1957 in Fribourg, Switzerland) is a religious historian, translator in Switzerland, and Director of the Institute Religioscope. He has a doctorate degree in History at the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 (1984). From 1991 to 1998, he worked as an analyst on international affairs and policy for the Swiss federal government. In 1999, he founded a firm of strategic researches named JFM Recherches et Analyses, and taught at the University of Freiburg from 1999 to 2007. In 2007, Mayer founded the Institute Religioscope and became the director. He contributed in the writing of several magazines, including ''Politica Hermetica'', ''Religioscope'' and ''Religion Watch''. His writing focuses on contemporary religious movements and cults, including Islam, the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, the Order of the Solar Temple and the Pilgrims of Arès. He also published works about aliens and links between religion and the Internet. Bibliograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COVID-19 Pandemic In South Korea
The COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case in South Korea was announced on 20 January 2020. The number of confirmed cases increased on 19 February by 20, and on 20 February by 58 or 70, giving a total of 346 confirmed cases on 21 February 2020, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), with the sudden jump mostly attributed to "Patient 31" who participated in a gathering at a Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony church in Daegu. Amidst fears of further contamination, mass gatherings in the affected cities were cancelled and about 300 soldiers in Daegu were placed in isolation. On 4 February 2020, in order to help prevent spread of the disease, South Korea began denying entry to foreigners traveling from Hubei Province in China. South Korea introduced what was considered on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) became most known as a social religious movement according to which the laws of nature and of God include "the continuity of consciousness after the transition of death" and "the possibility of communication between those living on Earth and those who have made the transition". The afterlife, or the " spirit world", is seen by spiritualists not as a static place, but as one in which spirits continue to evolve. These two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits are more advanced than humans—lead spiritualists to a third belief: that spirits are capable of providing useful insight regarding moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God. Some spiritualists will speak of a concept which they r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
