Johannes Monrad Aagaard (29 April 1928 – 23 March 2007) was a Danish

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a co ...

. He was a professor of

missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. History Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...

at the

University of Aarhus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

. He founded the Department of Missiology and Ecumenical Theology and the Center for New Religious Studies at the University of Aarhus. He was active in the Christian countercult movement as the founder of the Dialog Center International, an international educational organization concerned with groups it defines as

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

s and other

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...

s. He was a former president of the International Association for Mission Studies. He was a member of the Faith and Order Commission and was on the board of the Theological Educational Fund. He co-founded and chaired the Nordic Network for Missiology and Ecumenical Studies. Aagaard had traveled to Asia and was concerned about

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and other

Eastern religions The Eastern religions are the religions which originated in East, South and Southeast Asia and thus have dissimilarities with Western, African and Iranian religions. This includes the East Asian religions such as Confucianism, Taoism, Chine ...

, which he felt were gaining influence in Europe. In 1973, Aagaard founded the Danish Dialog Center, which was part of the Dialog Center International, which was later greatly influential in promoting a negative public opinion of cults in Denmark and other European nations. He regarded

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

as being especially dangerous, but later in his life stated that

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

was an even greater threat. Other concerns included

Satanism Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...

and

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

groups. Aagaard cooperated with both religious and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

anti-cultists, but opposed

deprogramming Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive be ...

of cult members since he felt that it was ineffective and often counterproductive. He retired from the Dialog Center in 2002. Rothstein, Mikael in ''Regulating New Religion in Denmark'' in ''Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe'', edited by

James T. Richardson James T. Richardson (born August 25, 1941) is Emeritus Foundation Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a sociologist with legal training, who has edited and co-edited over a dozen books and has author ...

, Springer, 2004, , , pages 229-231 He was married in 1954 to (b. 1935), the first Danish woman to obtain a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in theology.

Bibliography

*''Mission, Konfession, Kirche: Die Problematik ihrer Integration im 19. Jahrhundert in Deutschland'', Gleerup, 1967 *"The First Furlough", ''International Review of Mission'' 56, no. 224 (1967): 439–43 *"Trends in Missiological Thinking During the Sixties", ''International Review of Mission'' 62, no. 245 (1973): 8–25 *''Missions from the north: Nordic Missionary Council, 50 years'', co-author with Carl F. Hallencreutz, Universitetsforlaget, 1974 *"The Truth Which is at Both Extremes: A Reaction", ''International Review of Mission'' 66, no. 261 (1977): 29–31 *''New religious movements in Europe'', co-author with Helle Meldgaard, Aarhus University Press, 1997 *''Identity in conflict: classical Christian faith and religio occulta'', co-author with Moti Lal Pandit, Helle Meldgaard, Mike Garde, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1998 *''The hidden way: a study in modern religious esoterism'', co-author with Moti Lal Pandit, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2002 *"Occultisme/Satanism and the Christian faith" in ''Le Défi Magique, Volume 2: Satanisme, Sorcellerie'', edited by Jean-Baptiste Martin and Massimo Introvigne, Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 1994

References

External links

Dialog Center International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aagaard, Johannes 1928 births 2007 deaths Danish Protestant theologians People of the Christian countercult movement 20th-century Protestant theologians Academic staff of Aarhus University