New Religious Movements

1
New Religious Movements
Centre of Asian Studies, The University of Hong
Kong A Carnival of Gods A Study of
Contemporary Religions

• Dr. K. K. Yeung
• Vice-General Secretary, Religious Education
  Resource Centre

2
1. Some Facts
2. An Example Aum Shinrikyo
3. Characteristics of NRMs
4. NRMs in Japan
5. Two more examples
6. Discussions
3
Religious Population of the World, 1998
(From Britannica Book of the Year, 1999.)
4
Some estimate

• There are around a few tens of thousands of NRMs
  in the whole world (1999)
• There are around 2,000-3,000 NRMs in the West
  (1999)
• Over 3,000 NRMs in Japan (1993)
• 10-20 of Japanese population is involved in one
  or more of the NRMs
• Soka Gakkai (Largest NRM in Japan) claims a
  membership of over 17 millions worldwide and
  40,000 in Hong Kong
• There are around 100 new religions and spiritual
  groups in Hong Kong (1996)

5
Examples of NRMs in Hong Kong

• Christian-related
• Jehovahs Witnesses (??????)
• Mormons (???)
• Unification Church (???)
• Eastern
• Transcendental Meditation (????)
• Hare Krishna (??Krishna ????)
• Japanese
• Soka Gakkai (????)
• Indigenous
• Zion Church (????)

6
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
prays at an altar for victims of sarin nerve-gas
attacks on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum
Shinrikyo (?????) cult in 1995, marking the 10th
anniversary at Tokyo's Kasumigaseki subway
station Sunday, March 20, 2005. At 8 a.m.,
on March 20, 1995, Aum Shinrikyo cult members
released deadly sarin by puncturing gas-filled
plastic bags with sharpened umbrella tips.
Thousands were subjected to a sarin nerve gas
attack that killed 12 people on jam-packed
subways, and left more than 5,500 sick.
7
Tsukiji subway station of Tokyo Metro Hibiya
Line, March 20, 2005.
8
A commuter being treated by an emergency medical
team, following the lethal nerve gas attack .
9
Aums members
RECEIVED A LIFE SENTENCE
Ikuo Hayashi

• Joined the Aum cult in 1988. He is thought to
  have used electric shocks to brainwash cult
  members and advised Asahara on biological
  warfare.
• Dubbed "Dr Death" by the Japanese media, former
  brain surgeon
• The first person to be sentenced in connection
  with the 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway
• His apparent remorse and his co-operation in the
  investigation are believed to have influenced the
  decision to punish him with life imprisonment
  instead of the death penalty

10
Aums members
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Masato Yokoyama

• Had studied applied physics at a top university
  before joining Aum, where he quickly became one
  of the guru Shoko Asahara's inner circle.
• Admitted carrying two packets of sarin on to a
  packed subway train, but only managed to pierce
  one of the packets with an umbrella before making
  his escape.
• He said he did not realise the nerve gas was
  lethal, even though he held his breath while
  releasing it.

11
Aums members
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Yasuo Hayashi

• Became known in the Japanese media as Aum's
  "killing machine"
• In the 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway, he
  carried three plastic bags containing liquid
  Sarin onto the train in the morning rush hour and
  then punctured them with the sharpened tip of an
  umbrella before running off.
• Was also convicted of taking part in a Sarin
  attack the previous year in the city of Matsumoto
  to the west of Tokyo, in which seven people were
  killed.

12
Aums members
Toru Toyoda and Kenichi Hirose

• were among five cult members who released nerve
  gas on the subway on 20 March 1995.
• They carried the Sarin into the trains in plastic
  bags which they then punctured with umbrellas.
• Toyoda has been charged with attempting to kill
  former Tokyo Governor Yukio Aoshima in May 1995
  by mailing a parcel bomb to his office. The
  package exploded when Mr Aoshima's secretary
  opened it, blowing off all his fingers on one
  hand.

13
Aums members
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Toru Toyoda and Kenichi Hirose

• Between 1994 and 1995, Toyoda, Hirose and Asahara
  also allegedly planned to manufacture 1,000
  automatic rifles modelled on the Russian-made
  AK-47, but succeeded in producing only one.
• Both had admitted the charges against them, but
  argued in court that their minds had been
  controlled by cult leader Shoko Asahara.

14
Aums members
RECEIVED A LIFE SENTENCE
Shigeo Sugimoto

• the getaway driver of the Sarin attack

15
Aums members
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Yoshihiro Inoue

• a co-ordinator of the 1995 Tokyo subway gas
  attack
• Escaped the death penalty in 2000 on the grounds
  that he did not personally release the poisonous
  sarin nerve gas.
• But a judge has now ruled that, as a co-ordinator
  of the attack, he was just as guilty as those who
  carried it out.

16
Aums guru
SENTENCED TO DEATHon Feb 27, 2004
Shoko Asahara

• Shoko Asahara (????), 48 (in 2004) was indicted
  of murder and attempted murder in the 13 criminal
  cases that resulted in the death of 27 people.
• Was the last of 189 people indicted in
  AUM-related crimes to be sentenced, and became
  the 12th to get the death penalty.
• 11 other Aum members have received death
  sentences, though none have been executed pending
  appeals. (up to Feb 2004)

17
Young Members of Aum Shinrikyo (?????)

• Thirteen young members (age 23-38) interviewed
  two months before the gassing
• Came from highly successful families
• Did well in schools, not because of hard
  working, but because were extremely bright liked
  reading, playing with computers, studying
  things of particular interest to them
• Graduated from Tokyo U (6) Waseda U (3), rest
  (4) from other highly regarded Us went to these
  Us only because of parental pressure
• Quite withdrawn and antisocial while in schools
  few if any real friends not interested in
  athletics rarely participated in school clubs
• No clear career goals, no clear political
  convictions

18
Why join the Aum?

• 11 August 1999 file picture shows a follower
  meditating before portraits of Aum Shinrikyo guru
  Shoko Asahara and his two sons posted on an altar
  at a seminary of a Tokyo building

19
Defining NRM (1) Church, Sect Cult

• CHURCH a conventional religious organization
• SECT a deviant religious organization with
  traditional beliefs and practices
• Heresy (??)?
• CULT a deviant religious organization with novel
  beliefs and practices
• Antisocial cults
• Doomsday cults
• Evil cults (??)?

(From Rodney Stark William Bainbridge)
20
Defining NRM (2) A Working Definition

• Eileen Barker
• An NRM is new in so far as it has become visible
  in its present form since the Second World War,
• and that it is religious in so far as it offers
  not merely narrow theological statements about
  the existence and nature of supernatural beings,
• but that it proposes answers to at least some of
  the other kinds of ultimate questions that have
  traditionally been addressed by mainstream
  religions. (Questions such as Is there a God?
  Who am I? How might I find direction, meaning and
  purpose in life? Is there life after death? Is
  there more to human beings than their physical
  bodies and immediate interactions with others?)

21
Defining NRM (3) 7 Characteristics (Eileen
Barker)

• Small size in early days
• Members having personal knowledge of each other
  and face-to-face interaction
• Atypical representation of population
• A tendency to attract people of a narrow age
  range, educational level, or a particular gender
  e.g. young people of above average education
• First-generation membership
• Initial members have chosen to join
• Exhibit far more enthusiasm/ fanaticism and
  commitment
• Charismatic Leader
• Usually also founder of the movement
• Likely to be accorded charismatic authority
• Unbounded by the constraints of rules or tradition

22
Defining NRM (3) 7 Characteristics (Eileen
Barker)

• New belief systems
• Tend to be more unambiguous and uncompromising
• Syncretistic
• May include millennialism
• The Them/Us divide
• Social boundary between them and us, Evil and
  Good, fallen and saved.
• Esp. sharp in world-rejecting NRMs
• External hostility
• Because usually receive antagonistic reactions
  from larger society

23
Defining NRM (4) Formative Factors of NRM
Sociopolitical Opportunities
Organizational Structure
Socio-economic Process
Collective Action
Charismatic Leader
Identity
Religious Beliefs, Rituals and Practices
(Adopted with modifications from Chan Shun-hing )
24
Why do people join NRMs? (Eileen Barker)

• To find direction, meaning, the hope of salvation
• To find a sense of belonging to like-minded
  community
• To develop a relationship with God
• To develop their spirituality
• To find their true selves
• To find other possibilities that they felt they
  were denied in the outside world
• To get good health cure diseases
• To have moral guidance

25
Why join the Aum?
"The thing I liked about Aum was it gave me
very clear answers, unlike other religions. For
instance, if I had a problem, there were always
exercises like meditation designed to help sort
it out in my mind." "Actually I wasn't that
surprised about the sarin gas attacks, because
the word of the guru, Asahara, was absolute, and
everyone had to follow his orders. I think even I
could have done such a thing if I'd been ordered
to." "I reject the way Asahara led Aum, and
the terrible things it did. But I am still
searching for something to fill the spiritual
void I feel in life outside the cult. "

• Tatsuya Nagaoka, a member of Aum for two years
  before leaving in 1990

26
The believers

• Three types of response
• Joining an NRM will remain the most important
  thing to happen in their lives
• The experience may have seemed wonderful at first
  but has since soured through disappointment and
  disillusionment
• Having extremely unpleasant experiences and
  feeling that they have been deceived,
  manipulated, exploited and/or robbed not only of
  money and material goods but also of their time,
  innocence and faith in God/humanity

27
The NRMs Fundamental difficulty

• The aspiration to realize religious ideals in
  this world through political means met with
  strong opposition from society at large
• Choices available
• Greater confrontation (e.g. Aum Shinrikyo)
• Find hope in an ideal society in the future
• Compromise and take a more realistic position
  with regard to social reform (e.g. Soka Gakkai)

28
Typology of orientations of religion towards the
world

• World conqueror
• To control of the structures of society
• Militant use the sword or the bomb
• World transformer
• Influence the structures, institutions, laws and
  practices of a society (with accommodating
  strategies)
• Civil society rather than battlefield is the
  primary arena for interaction with the enemy

29
Typology of orientations of religion towards the
world

• World creator
• Direct competition with the outside world
  strengthen its own world to attract others as a
  clear alternative to the fallen world.
• Missionary work not to transform the structures
  of the world outside, but to increase the numbers
  of the enclave
• World renouncer
• Same as 3.1-2
• Seek purity and self-preservation (the
  self-construction of the fundamentalist world)
  more than controlling the fallen outsiders

30
What makes a cult become World-destroying ?

• Totalized Guru no deity beyond the guru no
  difference between reality and metaphors for both
  guru and disciples
• Extreme Technocratic Manipulation associated
  with both a claim to absolute scientific truth
  and the use of technical devices to transform
  disciples (in the case of Aum, hallucinogenic
  drugs).
• Impulse the relentless impulse toward
  world-rejecting purification
• Ultimate Weapons the attraction of ultimate
  weapons (e.g. nuclearism)

31
What makes a cult become World-destroying ?

• Aggressive Numbing a shared state, where
  hesitations toward violent and illegal actions go
  away
• World-destroying apocalyptic events a vision of
  an apocalyptic event or series of events that
  would destroy the world in the service of renewal
• Altruistic Murder ideology an ideology of
  killing to heal, of altruistic murder and
  altruistic world destruction

(From Robert Lifton )
32
NRMs A Postmodern phenomenon?

• Some characteristics of modern society
• The weakening of communal life after the
  breakdown of extended family
• The absence of emotional support in bureaucratic
  institutions
• In want of a mediating structure between the
  nucleus family and bureaucracy
• The meaninglessness of utilitarian individualism
  valued by capitalism
• Dissatisfaction boredom
• Loss of identity and values
• gt Counter-cultural movements

33
NRMs Reenchantment?

• Weber disenchantment of the world
• de-divinization of the world there are no
  traces of God to be found in the worldas a result
  of scientific progress, the world cannot
  considered anymore as a clue to discover the hand
  of God acting in nature.
• closely related to a process of rationalization
  gt replaces the ancient "magic" features of
  thinking with scientific naturalist explanations.
  
• attempts to overcome religion by reducing all
  explanations to those two questions "what is
  this made of"?, and "how does it work"?
• Reenchantment The re-divinization of the world
• Totally rejecting rationalism/ (capitalistic)
  materialism/ scientific advancement ?
• Or Reintroducing a religion that can mediate
  between the sacred and the modern capitalistic
  world?

34
NRMs in Japan
35
NRMs in Japan
36
3 types of New Religions in Japan

• New Religions
• New New Religions
• New Spirituality Movement (Spiritual World)
  New Age

37
New Religions and New New Religions in Japan
38
(No Transcript)
39
New Spirituality Movement

• Beliefs
• Earlier religions (with hardened doctrines and
  institutional forms) prevented individuals from
  realizing full spiritual potential
• Humanity is entering a new stage in the evolution
  of consciousness
• Each individual should search and discover their
  own inner being, develop their own spirituality,
  and bring about their own spiritual
  transformation
• Techniques meditation, ascetic training,
  bodywork, psychotherapy
• Study ancient mysticism, archaic religions and
  myths, rituals, psychological theories

40
Example Aum Shirinkyo (?????)

• At the time of the Tokyo subway attack, the group
  claimed to have 9,000 members in Japan and up to
  40,000 worldwide.
• 1,114 adopted Aums world-renouncing communal
  life. 47.5 of them were in their 20s.
• Aum's current membership is estimated at 1,500 to
  2,000 persons.
• Aum have to pay an indemnity of more than 3
  billion yens (220 million HKD) to the families
  of sarin-atttack victims

41
Example Aum Shirinkyo (?????) First stage
(mid-1980s)

• From yoga class to new religion
• Asahara Shoko (b.1955) attended a school for the
  blind from the age of five, and after graduating
  in 1977 he moved to Tokyo. This marked the
  beginning of his intense interest in religion.
• Despite earnest efforts, he failed the entrance
  exam at Tokyo University and turned to studying
  acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.
• He married in 1978 he and his wife sold herbal
  medicine and natural foods, and he continued his
  study of acupuncture.

Shoko Asahara (????) real name Chizuo Matsumoto
(?????)
42
Example Aum Shirinkyo (?????) First stage
(mid-1980s)

• Asahara joined Agonshu, a "New New Religion" that
  stressed liberation from bad karma via
  meditation.
• In 1984, Asahara and his wife began holding
  regular yoga classes, and here gained some
  following.

43
Example Aum Shirinkyo (?????) Second stage
(1986-1989)

• To prevent the destruction of the world
• In 1986, Asahara claims to have recieved
  enlightenment while alone in the Himalayan
  Mountains.
• In 1987 he changed his name to the holy Asahara
  Shoko (????), and renamed his group Aum Shinrikyo
  (Aum "powers of destruction and creation in the
  universe" (Sanskrit) and Shinrikyo the
  "teaching of the supreme truth" )
• Followed various Mahayana Buddhist (????)
  concepts concerning enlightenment and mediation
  as a means to liberation
• Aimed at the goal of saving society as a whole
  from the coming Armageddon
• Wanted to send members to preach Asaharas
  teachings and have everybody follow the path of
  non-violence

44
Example Aum Shirinkyo (?????) Third stage
(since1989)

• No longer wanted to save the world but needed to
  protect themselves
• In July 1989, Asahara professed political action
  was necessary to save the world and hence the
  Shinrito (???) political party emerged, so as to
  publicize Aum's teachings, offer salvation to a
  wider audience, and provide Aum with access to
  publicity.
• All 25 candidates from the party lost, and
  because they had truly expected to win, this
  served a great blow. This overwhelming defeat led
  to further estrangement of the group. Developed
  an increasingly hostile and isolationist stance
  towards society (started murders, kidnapping and
  acts of violence)
• By early 1990s, Aum increasingly preached an
  inevitable apocalyptic war
• Asahara apparently became convinced that the
  salvation of society as a whole was hopeless gt
  everything must be done to preserve Aum even at
  the expense of the society

45
Aum Shirinkyo Some More Facts

• Legal and Financial Statuses
• The status of relgious corporation granted Aum
  Shinrikyo
• Massive Japanese tax breaks
• Immunity from governmental oversight
• Over 1 billion financial assets
• Variety of businesses (computer), religious
  extortion (????,??)
• Structured as a strong government in waiting
• Membership
• 60,000 members (three times larger in Russia than
  in Japan)
• Majority of its members have college or
  university backgrounds
• Recruited from military, police, key technical
  industries, armed forces, universities and
  university faculties
• Recruited scientists and tech experts in Japan,
  Russia, and elsewhere
• Strong evidence of using mind-altering drugs, and
  brainwashing (e.g. sleep deprivation and
  isolation therapy)

46
Aum Shirinkyo Some More Facts

• Destructive weapons
• Prophesized the destruction of the world in 1997
  (Provided members with bomb shelters, air
  filters, clothing to ward off electromagnetic
  radiation, supplies of food and medicine for
  surviving the impending) war
• Acquired conventional armaments form former
  Soviet Union
• Actively engaged in acquiring sensitive US
  technologies
• Stole weapons research data from Mitsubishi plant
• Built chemical plant capable of producing
  substantial amounts of sarin gas
• In process of developing biological weapons
  (anthrax, etc.)

47
Aum Shirinkyo Some More Facts

• Assassinations, Assaults and other illegal acts
• Planned and attempted to assault the leadership
  of the Japanese Government
• Infiltrated Japanese government and industry,
  including law enforcement and military
• Used murder and kidnapping to silence its enemies
• At least twice attacked large groups of civilians
  with sarin

48
Aleph Successor of Aum Shirinkyo

• Fumihiro Joyu (????)
• graduated from Waseda University, with M.A.
  degree in Artificial Intelligence
• Previously Aums Information Minister,
  spokesman and Russia branch leader
• Have changed Aums name to Aleph
• Now an Icon for Teenage Girls

49
Junkou Inoue (religion professor at Kokugakuin
University)

• After the 1995 attack stained the image of
  religions, an alternative has emerged in the form
  of popular celebrities and fortune tellers
  appearing on Japanese television and in magazines
  claiming to have the mystical power to tell other
  people's fate. Mass media have created 'virtual
  gurus.'
• This is a reflection that Japanese people are
  longing for religious guidance, with many people
  feeling anxiety about modern life.
• Japan has seen a painful transition since the
  early 1990s after its "bubble economy" burst and
  once-unthinkable ideas such as unemployment
  reared up.
• Some people show negative reaction to
  globalization. This can lead to nationalism or
  provide a fertile ground for more cults.
• Now, anomie exists with people having no moral
  standards to adhere to. In this chaos, new sects
  could emerge to influence people. The only thing
  preventing it is the mental scars from the Aum
  crimes.

50
Soka Gakkai First Three Presidents
First President Makiguchi Tsunesaburo (?????)
Second President Toda Josei (????)
Third President Daisaku Ikeda (????)
51
Example Soka Gakkai (????)

• Largest New Religion in Japan (claims a
  membership of over 17 millions (in 1993))
• Founded first in 1937 as the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai
  (??????), and then again in 1951.
• Soka Gakkai (????) saw themsleves as a vehicle
  for Nichiren Shoshu's (????) teachings and
  focused on the ultimate goal of world wide
  dissemination.
• Later, Nichiren Shoshu accused Ikeda of having
  seriously strayed from the "correct doctrines" of
  the Nichiren faith. Soka Gakkai subsequently
  accused Nichiren Shoshu of spending the lay
  organizations money on expensive foreign cars and
  the like while not doing their job properly.
• Soka Gakkai was excommunicated from Nichiren
  Shoshu in November 1992.

52
Soka Gakkai Basic Beliefs

• 1.?????
• ?????????,????????????,?????????,??????????????,?
  ????????
• 2.??
• 3.????
• ????????????????????????????,????????,???????????
  ??????????,??????????,????????,??????????????????,
  ?????????????????????,????????????,???????????????
  ??????

53
Soka Gakkai Basic Activities

• 1??????
• ????????????,?????????????????,??????????????,??
  ???????????????????
• 2????
• ????????????????,?????????????????
• 3?????
• ??????????????????????,????????????,???????????,
  ???????????????
• 4?????
• ???????,????????????,???????????????????????????
  ???

54
Soka Gakkai Daisaku Ikeda
Dr Daisaku Ikeda was awarded the degree of Doctor
of Social Science, honoris causa by CUHK in 2000.
55
Daisaku Ikeda Promoter of Sino-Japnese Dialogue
56
Daisaku Ikeda Promoter of Peace and Philosophy
57
Daisaku Ikeda Philosopher of Peace and Future of
Humanity
58
Soka University, Japan
59
Soka University of America
60
Four Distinguished Persons Honoured by CUHK
(Press Release)

• Dr Daisaku Ikeda
• A prominent cultural and religious leader,
  philosopher, educator, author, photographer and
  poet
• A staunch advocate of world peace and
  humanitarian ideals
• has travelled widely and published extensively
  in an effort to promote peace and international
  understanding
• has conducted dialogues with distinguished world
  leaders on international affairs, culture and
  education
• was awarded the United Nations Peace Award in
  1983, and the Humanitarian Award of the United
  Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1989. 
• is also an honorary citizen of more than 70
  cities around the world and honorary professor in
  over 20 universities
• is also recipient of over 40 honorary doctorates
  conferred by prominent institutions the world
  over.

61
Four Distinguished Persons Honoured by CUHK
(Press Release)

• has founded the Soka University, the Soka schools
  and other educational institutions, the Min-On
  Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum,
  the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, and the
  Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy
  Research
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong was the first
  tertiary institution in Hong Kong to establish
  academic links with Soka University in 1975.  The
  two universities have since engaged in extensive
  academic exchanges. 

62
Example Falun Gong (???)
63
Example Falun Gong (???)
64
Example Falun Gong (???)

• Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance
  (?????)
• Reasons for joining
• Physical cultivation (qigong) Health Curing
  diseases (The breakdown of public healthcare
  system)
• Moral directions cultivation of moral character
  (Forbearance)
• Spiritual supports (Truthfulness Benevolence)
  (esp. decline of Marxist ideology and rapid
  socioeconomic changes)
• Social communications, social security and mutual
  supports (Absence of freedom of association and
  speech)

65
Anti-Cultist Movement

• Allegations of danger
• Diminish the rights of those who enter their
  orbit
• Often use inappropriate techniques to draw people
  in.
• Deception and coercion (mind-control,
  brainwashing, forced separation from families)
• Illegitimacy of beliefs
• Sexual perversion
• Political subversion
• Financial exploitation

66
Arguments against Anti-cultist movement

• NRMs techniques of influence are not any
  different than the methods of influence that are
  widely used in every sector of human society gt
  it is not illegal.
• An abundance of empirical knowledge demonstrates
  that the average person who joins a cult remains
  only a short while. When the group ceases to
  serve the purpose that initially attracted them
  to the group, they leave.
• Cult and sect formation are a normal part of
  religious life.
• So long as cults and sects do not act in ways
  that demonstrably diminish the rights of other
  citizens, they are entitled to the full
  protection of the law.

67

• I cant simply file away the gas attack,
  saying After all, this was merely an extreme
  and exceptional crime committed by an isolated
  lunatic fringe. Rather than seeing the event as
  Evil Them versus Innocent Us, we should look
  into mainstream society for clues. Wasnt the
  real key more likely to be found hidden under
  our territory? 
• If the cult peoples lives were absurd, so
  was the existence of the uncomplaining commuters
  who sacrificed everything for Japans miracle. I
  think their lives too are absurd. They are
  consuming, consuming themselves, you know. They
  commute two hours and work so hard. Its inhuman.
  And when they come back to their house, their
  children are sleeping. Its a waste of
  humanity. The cult people got out of that
  system and they entered the right system, a
  system they thought was right at least. They were
  very pure and they decided to live for
  themselves, for something good, for something
  immortal. Of course, they committed a crime, and
  they should not have done that.

Haruki Murakami ????, ?????
68
References (1)

• ????. 1998.lt??????????????????????gt?????
  ????. 554-582. ????????????????.
• ???. 1995.lt????????????????gt????????30(8?)
  149-158.
• ??.??.??. 1999. ?????????. 21????. ????.
  ?????. 109-143. ??? ????????????.
• 1995.lt???????????gt????. 4?2? 20-24.
• ????. 1999.?????????????.
• ???. 2002. lt?????????gt???????????? ?????.
  468-515.
• Barker, Eileen, ed. 1982. New Religious
  Movements A Perspective for Understanding
  Society. New York Edwin Mellen Press.
• Barker, Eileen. 1999. New Religious Movements
  Their Incidence and Significance. In New
  Religious Movements Challenge and Response.
  Edited by Bryan Wilson and Jamie Cresswell.
  15-32. London, New York Routledge

69
References (2)

• Beckford, James A. 1985. Chapter 2 A New
  Conceptual Framework. Cult Controversies The
  Societal Response to New Religious Movements.
  London Tavistock Publications.
• Lifton, Robert Jay. 1999. Destroying the World to
  Save It Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and
  the New Global Terrorism. New YorkMetropolitan
  Books.
• Metraux, Daniel Alfred. 1999. Aum Shinrikyo and
  Japanese Youth. Lanham University Press of
  America.
• Stark, Rodney and William Sims Bainbridge. 1979.
  Of Churches, Sects, and Cults Preliminary
  Concepts for a Theory of Religious Movements.
  Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion,
  18(2) 117-133.

70
Concepts Charisma

• Max Weber
• The term charisma will be applied to a certain
  quality of an individual personality by virtue of
  which he is set apart from ordinary men and
  treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman,
  or at least specifically exceptional powers or
  qualities. These are not accessible to the
  ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine
  origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them
  the individual concerned is treated as a leader.

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Concepts Charisma

• Richard Young (a scholar of Japanese religion who
  has participated in an Aum meeting)
• If you had been there, I think he might have
  almost convinced you that the Buddha was alive
  again and that the possibility of you becoming a
  Buddha too, might not be so remote. What
  originally sparkled with wit, humor and flashes
  of insight became flat, pedantic and redundant
  when confined in print.

Shoko Asahara (????)
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Concepts Millennialism/Millenarianism

• Original meaning (Premillennialism/ catastrophic
  millennialism)
• Belief in the Second Coming of Christ and the
  establishment of his kingdom on earth
• Worldwide destruction and the return of Jesus
  Christ are required to save humanity and bring
  about a new era of peace on earth
• More generally
• A pessimistic view of modern society and sees the
  world as fatally flawed.
• Beliefs about the imminent transformation or end
  of the world and the creation of an age in which
  human suffering and violence will be eliminated
• Any religious movement that prophesies the
  imminent destruction of the present order and the
  establishment of a new order, usually reversing
  the relative status of the oppressed and the
  oppressor.