The State and New Religious Movements in Malaysia

Abstract

In recent years the politics of new religious movements (NRMs) has raised the issue of the shifting relationship between state and religion. In Southeast Asia this relationship has never been ignored or downplayed because the political authoritarianism of many governments comprises an important factor in the reduced autonomy of religious institutions. This research note briefly describes the emergence of NRMs in Malaysia and their relationship to the state. It examines the intricate links between politics, ethnicity, and religion to demonstrate the inseparability of secular power and religious innovation. The proliferation of new religious movements (NRMs) in the United States and Europe during the 1970s and 1980s has been well documented empirically and theoretically. This large literature on NRMs in the West has suggested a religious crisis that reflects an underlying dissatisfaction with traditional Christian values and the institutional consequences of modernity. The rise of NRMs in the West has also problematized the relationship between state and religion (see Robbins 1988). As western sociologists of religion grapple with these issues, religious developments in nonwestern societies pose questions that cut into the current concern with the political significance of NRMs. In many of these societies, the political context assumes high priority in any consideration of religious institutions and innovations. The reason is that the liberal democratic assumption of the separation between state and religion is not strongly rooted in the political practices of these societies, and in many cases it receives only lip service. The pursuit of modernity in many of these societies suggests the need for local governments to control religious activities that are potential threats to their programs of industrial development. In addition, many NRMs in nonwestern societies appeal to specific ethnic constituencies. This means that the complexity of the NRMs is amplified by the ethnic dimension of religious participation that on many occasions is linked to the political processes of the state. The aim of this research note is to examine briefly the political and ethnic contexts in which NRMs have developed in Malaysia, a nation that comprises a peninsula adjoining the Asian mainland and two states in Borneo. This study,