Religious Movements Research Articles

Anything is possible: Word of Life and utopian thinking during the revolutionary processes in Estonia, 1987–1991

ABSTRACT The late 1980s was a chaotic period in Soviet Estonia. The liberalization process of the Soviet Union brought about a sense of freedom and the possibility that Estonian people would finally have a say in the future of Estonia. This unexpected feeling of freedom formed the basis for various attempts to narrate a better society, including religious visions of a new Estonia. Several of the new religious movements that emerged during this period developed their own ideas about the future of Estonia, with some incorporating utopian perspectives. Although these movements had distinct views on the identity and independence of Estonia, their ideas have not yet been thoroughly researched. The aim of this article is to show how one of the movements, Word of Life, addressed these times of change, and to elaborate on what kind of utopias about Estonia are construed in the discourses.

Interaction of politics and religion as a factor in shaping the religious culture of Kyrgyzstan’s youth

Democracy and frequent changes of government in Kyrgyzstan contribute to the spread of various religious movements in the country. Social processes, political shifts and the spread of radical religious ideas among young people emphasize the relevance of this study. The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of Kyrgyzstan's religious policy on the religious consciousness of contemporary youth. The study used general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization, historical and critical, comparative, dialectical, as well as empirical methods of surveys and questionnaires. The study showed that the religious policy of Kyrgyzstan is characterized by democracy and liberalism, based on the secular nature of the state. Kyrgyzstan is a multi-confessional country, with more than 30 religions. The vast majority of Kyrgyzstan's population are Sunni Muslims, and the second most common religious denomination is Orthodox Christianity. Since 1991, Kyrgyzstan has witnessed a process of Islamization, and non-traditional religious movements, both Islamic and other religious doctrines, have also penetrated and gained popularity in the country. The state's liberal policy in the field of religion facilitates the penetration of non-traditional religious organizations from abroad into Kyrgyzstan. Young people are particularly susceptible to new religious movements. This phenomenon can lead to the spread of radical religious ideas among the youth of Kyrgyzstan. In this regard, the state should pay closer attention to the policy in the field of religion. The practical value of the work is determined by the fact that its results can be useful in further research on this issue.

Late Modernity and the Privatization of Spirituality

The review summarizes the main points of the first monograph on holistic spirituality in Bulgarian sociology. The study is based on twenty-three in-depth autobiographical interviews, mostly with yoga practitioners and followers of Petyr Dynov. One of the notable advantages of the book is that Teodora Karamelska convincingly and produc-tively recalibrates concepts developed Max Weber, Georg Simmel and Ernst Troelch so as to adapt them to the new religious movements.

‘Raskolniks ’ and ‘Inorodtsy ’: A Mutual Attraction

Abstract Old Belief emerged as a broad social and religious movement in the second half of the 17th century as a result of church reform. The Old Believers who did not adopt the reforms were forced to flee to the outer reaches of Russia and were persecuted by both the church and secular powers until the beginning of the 20th century. This contributed to a great extent to the development of eschatological opinions and the striving for social and general isolation. A distinctive feature of the Old Believers’ culture is traditionalism, which is expressed in both everyday and religious practice. Old Belief, as a form of Christianity, is seen among most scholars and the general public as an exclusively Russian phenomenon. However, it was also quite widespread among a number of Finno-Ugric peoples; in the territory of the Ural and Volga region most of the non-Russian Old Believers were Mordovians or Komi-Permyaks. The main reasons for the process of transition from ‘inorodtsy’ (‘infidels’) to ‘raskolniks’1 (‘schismatics’) were the lack of social barriers (both were religious outsiders) and the conflict caused by the State’s policy of violent Christianisation. There were many different nuances in this process related to the problem of language, the perception among Finno-Ugrians of the use of books, and the closed nature of the group. In this paper, I would like to describe this based on archival documents and my own field research.

Analysis of causes and factors of the spread of takfirism in Kazakhstan

The purpose of this research is to analyse the emergence of takfirism, its spread and its evolution in contemporary Kazakh society. The methodological foundation of the study was provided by general theoretical methods of scientific cognition, and various methods of collecting and systematising information. Among the general scientific methods are the method of theoretical analysis; the historical method of comparing individual religious movements of different periods in Kazakhstan, and the specific scientific and philosophical-religious methods of research. The results have suggested that unfounded takfirism poses a threat to the sustainability of diverse communities in Kazakhstan. The religious, ideological and theological preconditions for takfirism in Kazakhstan were analysed. Noted the diversity of approaches by Muslim scholars to understanding and interpreting the ayats of the Qur'an. Presented aspects of distortion in interpreting the essence of Shariah texts. Noted that the influence of political and social factors is significant. Focuses on some of the socio- psychological aspects of the development of radical attitudes among young people. The qualities inherent in young people that enable them to resist external non-ideological attacks are identified. Illiteracy, poor quality of education and the low culture of some people in Muslim countries are among the key elements. It was noted that the main factor in takfirism in Kazakhstan is the influence of the Salafi-Wahhabi movement. The practical significance of the study is that its content is of interest in developing the worldview of contemporary young people in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The results can be used as a teaching and practical material for students and researchers on contemporary history and religion in Kazakhstan.

Spiritual Poaching or Authentic Dao? A Transnational Yiguandao Community in Los Angeles Enters the Global Daoist Field

Abstract: This paper explores how the Taiwanese-Chinese religious movement Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity”) creates a community of non-Chinese followers by utilizing Daoism-related beliefs and practices. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in California in early 2018, published Yiguandao materials, and internet resources, the paper argues that Yiguandao activists specifically invest their messages in Daoist symbols, beliefs, and practices to reach out to non-Chinese sympathizers of “Asian philosophies” and eventually to establish a global and cross-cultural community of Dao followers. By discussing a case study from Los Angeles, the paper seeks to understand the patterns of Yiguandao activists’ engagement with Daoism and how their efforts blend into establishing a global Daoist field. Finally, it thereby invites us to rethink the often haphazardly drawn boundaries—both by practitioners and scholars—between Daoism and other religious phenomena, including New Age, spirituality, and Chinese popular sects.

New Karbi Religious Movements

The Karbi people are one of the major indigenous groups residing in Northeast India, mainly in Assam.2 The history of Karbi identity has been one of misrepresentations, contestation, and negligence, mainly as a consequence of problematic colonial constructs and majoritarian cultural biases. In this paper, in order to analyze majoritarian influences, I focus on Lokhimon, a new religious movement among the Karbi, as an intersection, a dialogue space, of cultural exchange between old, traditional Karbi practices and mainstream Hindu religious traditions. Lokhimon serves as evidence of the continuously expanding impact of Hinduism, which has become profoundly embedded inside indigenous communities such as Karbi through subtle assimilation facilitated by media, politics, and prevailing knowledge systems. The foundation of Lokhimon is based on Hindu myths, and as dominant myths are hierarchical in nature, majoritarian narratives have come to dictate, dislocate, and dislodge aspects of identity, belonging, and representation of the Karbi lifeworld. Recently, Lokhimon has been gaining political influence, and local state-backed media is being used to facilitate the assimilation of the Karbi community into the Hindu majority. I analyze how this mythic, unified idea of Karbi belongingness to a larger Hindu tradition expressed through the mythopolitics of Hinduism affects Karbi lives while engaging with oral and new religious movement traditions among the Karbi community to understand identity formations.

Emergent forms of ‘Dark Green Religion’ and the (ecofascist) future of environmental education in the United States

What is the future of environmental and climate change education in the United States given the emergence of neofascist and Christian Nationalist political movements during a time of social secularization? In this essay we discuss the politically heterogenous appeal of environmental concern in America, the tenuous nature of environmental education’s current Left-liberal political valence, and implications for climate change education amidst ongoing culture wars. We proceed by examining Bron Taylor’s influential typology of Dark Green Religions and consider how the American political Right may emerge as having their own Dark Green Religious movement. We are concerned that the field of environmental education remains ideologically blinkered toward other normative educational projects on the political Right, a situation that leaves us unprepared for how projects such as climate change education can be appropriated for reactionary and sometimes violent ends. We argue that the field of environmental education needs to pay greater attention to the multifarious political and cultural conditions that shape its enactment and develop considerations for an anti-fascist environmental education accordingly.

Från djävulsmusik till konstnärligt uttryck

From Devil's Music to Artistic Expression. The Korpela Movement, Black Metal, and Cultural PolicyThis text explores Korpelarörelsen, a Black Metal band that presents an audiovisual performance depicting a religious movement in Tornedalen during the early 20th century. In 2020 they received prolific funding from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee to conceive, rehearse and tour with the band. The article describes the band's unique portrayal of local history through the use of black metal music, while also discussing the boundaries between art and music, its implications for arts funding and the Black Metal genre's position in cultural hierarchies. The study draws on interviews, concert observations, and analysis of applications and documents outlining the funding decision from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. The historic religious Korpela movement has been described as a doomsday cult, which believed that practicing music and dance, extrovert “childlike behavior” and even nudity and free sex, was the path to salvation. The band Korpelarörelsen depicts this through raw Black Metal, atmospheric elements, spoken word passages, and peculiar onstage-rituals. Visual aesthetics, including black robes, corpse paint, and blood-like smears, contributed to the atmosphere of mystique, darkness, and death. Korpelarörelsen’s application for cultural funding strategically positioned the project as a collaboration between various art forms and emphasized the interaction between Black Metal aesthetics and music industry methods. Korpelarörelsen's innovative approach and funding success might offer possibilities for extreme music within culturally funded systems. This case study demonstrates how a Black Metal band from Tornedalen could potentially have cultural and political impact and pave the way for other extreme music groups seeking recognition and support.

The Critique of Secularism by Talal Asad as a Chance to Look for New Ways of Proclamation

In democratic societies, it is taken for granted to withdraw religiosity from public life. In this paper, we point to Talal Asad’s critique of this taken-for-grantedness. Using his genealogical method, he attempts to find the origin of this relegation of religiosity to the private sphere. The concept of secularity, he argues, is primarily an expression of the power of those who insist on enlightened reason. At the same time, secularism becomes, in a sense, a new religion, the only one acceptable in a democratic society. While we point out the causes of the secularization process, we also point out the aspects that are problematic in such a conception of religion. The Church’s response must take into account the process of secularization, but it must not fall into the same logic that led to this process in the first place. We point out the danger that the separation between the sacred and the profane, the physical and the spiritual, is increasing even in the new religious movements. We therefore propose a form of proclamation that involves the whole person and addresses him or her in everyday life.

SACRED ARCHITECTURE OF JAPAN DURING THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM: LOCAL TRADITIONS AND CHINESE INFLUENCES

The article examines the sacred complexes of Buddhism and Shinto from the time of the beginning of the spread of Buddhism in Japan in the Nara period (645-783) in order to identify the nature of the mutual influence of two architectural traditions – the continental one, represented by the Buddhist architecture of China, and the local Japanese one, represented by Shinto architecture. As architectural examples, two authentic objects of both religious movements built in the same time period in the area of Nara were chosen, namely: the Toshodai-ji monastery complex, founded in 759 by the Buddhist monk Jianzhen, and the Kasuga shrine complex, built in the early eighth century by representatives of the powerful Fujiwara clan, the protector of imperial power. The analysis of the selected objects is carried out in four aspects: the nature of the organization of space, the nature of the interaction of structural elements, the nature of their accessibility and semantic content. The architecture of the Toshodai-ji monastery complex is dominated by continental influences, which are reflected in the organization of the complex, the structure and interior of its main pavilion kondo, and its semantics. The architecture of the complex shows the beginning of the process of transformation of local architectural traditions into Buddhist architecture, which is mainly reflected in the the structure and organization of the interior space of the kondo. The Kasuga shrine complex, on the contrary, although influenced by continental techniques, remains largely within the framework of local influences, which prevail mainly at the level of organization of the complex and at the level of its semantics. Continental influences are manifested in attempts to organize the structure of the shrine complex following the examples of Buddhist architectural complexes, as well as in the architectural form of the hondo pavilions. The identification of the characteristic features of the two architectural traditions was carried out in parallel for each of the selected objects, and based on the results obtained, the nature of the mutual influence of the two architectural concepts was compared in quantitative terms.

Iskanje nove poduhovljenosti: nova duhovna gibanja in prakse na Slovenskem med letoma 1850 in 1941

The following article explores the development of modern spirituality in the Slovenian territory, especially the emergence of spiritualism and theosophy. Spiritualism emerged in the last decades of the 19th century and soon encountered resistance from Catholic circles due to its considerable expansion. The modernisation of Carniola was also accompanied by the emergence of other alternative practices, such as vegetarianism, which was received with profound suspicion by the majority of the inhabitants as well as the medical authorities. Influenced by numerous articles from American and English historiography that examine the emergence of new religious movements, the present contribution will also address the question of the spread of the new spirituality, try to answer whether it is possible to attribute the relationship between the countryside and the cities to the differences in this regard, and determine whether all esoteric ideas were equally popular.

Imagining Global Climate Solutions: Reflections on <em>The Ministry for the Future</em> and <em>Eleutheria</em>

Even though a scientific consensus has been building for many decades that the climate emergency is real, and despite many protests and conferences demanding action, global climate solutions remain elusive. What are the main sticking points to making climate progress, and how might they be overcome? This article draws on two novels to imagine possible solutions: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson and Eleutheria by Allegra Hyde. Both envision effective social change over the next few decades. Themes and pathways include influencing public opinion, new religious movements, politics at global scale, tweaking the global economic system, geoengineering, and the various roles that people from all walks of life can play—especially young people—to deliver climate solutions. Not least, a common theme is how love can save the world.

The Maetreum of Cybele

In 2008, a legal case, “The Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater, Inc. v. Nancy McCoy [tax assessor)] &c., et al., for recognition of tax-exempt status between the Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater Inc. and the Town of Catskill, New York” began. The court was asked to decide whether the pastoral work of a Pagan church could be viewed in the same way as the clerical work of other accepted religions. The court also needed to determine how much of the landholdings must be dedicated to worship space. The rulings have been cited as precedent in other cases. In addition, they can act as a rallying point for other new religious movements and Pagan groups to fight for equal legal status.

New Religious Movements in Iran: Determinants of Toleration and Repression by the State

ABSTRACT: New religious movement activism can be perceived as a threat to mainstream order, sometimes resulting in repression by the state. New religions have become popular in Iran, a nation ruled by an absolute theocracy since 1979, yet the state appears to have tolerated the majority of new religious movements while repressing others. Through a comparative examination of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s varying responses to the presence and activities of such movements, I present a model in which state repression is predicated on a movement’s strength as measured by its access to resources vis-à-vis resource mobilization theory. Three characteristics—membership size, expansive geographical presence, and cultural proximity to the mainstream—seem to be the factors that differentiate repressed movements from tolerated ones. In addition, the comparison reveals that protests against state repression of a given movement reduce the severity of the state’s actions against it.

New Religious Movements in Iran: Determinants of Toleration and Repression by the State

New Religious Movements in Iran: Determinants of Toleration and Repression by the State

Socinianism and Tacitism: tracing the path to secular thought in early modern religious and political discourse

ABSTRACT This study delves into the unexplored intersection of Socinianism, a religious movement challenging Christian orthodoxy in the Early Modern period, and Tacitism, a political discourse inspired by Tacitus. Both fostered critical thinking, intertwining in nuanced ways. Socinianism’s theological skepticism questioned established beliefs, while Tacitism scrutinized historical and political accounts. Their controversial nature resulted in covert existence among elite intellectuals, shaping socio-political discourse. Socinianism’s theological nonconformity, akin to Tacitism’s critique of traditional political narratives, often sparked conflicts with authorities, revealing the intricate relationship between religion and politics in the Early Modern Era and influencing the development of secular thought.

Sohbet

Sohbet (conversation) is a weekly, informal, religious-learning gathering that has been conducted by members of the Islamic Hizmet/Gülen Movement since its inception. The movement was established in Turkey in 1966 by Fethullah Gülen and his followers. It has evolved into a transnational social movement through educational, dialogical, and humanitarian aid/entrepreneurial activities. The movement was held responsible by the Turkish government for the so-called coup attempt in 2016. Tens of thousands of members fled, and the movement’s centre of gravity shifted from Turkey to the diaspora. This ethnographic research project addresses the transformations within the movement during the diaspora phase. Focusing on a female sohbet group in Helsinki, I investigate the participants’ understandings of sohbet and how the sohbet has evolved since 2016. Thematic analysis reveals three predominant themes for understanding: socialization, belonging to a community, and a quest for piety. This article illustrates that sohbet is a space for religious learning, social interactions, and affirming a shared identity that shapes the hizmet habitus. Furthermore, sohbet revitalized the hizmet habitus following the forced migration. This study contributes to the existing literature on the sohbet by investigating it post-migration. Simultaneously, it contributes to studies on religious movements and how migration affects them.

Dynamics of Religious Thought in Pesantrens in Indonesia: Between Radicalism, Moderation, and Liberalism

This research aims to track the evolution of thought and religious movements in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) within the era of globalization. The approach employed in this study is literature review. The findings from this research indicate that radicalism and liberalism within a pesantren are greatly influenced by its leaders, whether they are the owners, kyai (religious leaders), or senior students (santri). If the leaders of a pesantren tend towards radical views, then the pesantren and its students are likely to also hold radical perspectives. Conversely, if the leaders maintain moderate attitudes, the pesantren and its students are inclined towards moderation, and in certain situations and times, may even lean towards liberalism. In the context of globalization, pesantren in Indonesia are no longer entirely dominated by traditional or fundamental-radical groups. New pesantrens established by other Islamic groups have altered the landscape of pesantren, each with its unique identity. This illustrates changes in the face and mindset of pesantren, which have become increasingly diverse over time due to the influence of globalization.

Abusive taxation of religious minorities. A comparative study of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan and the Jehovah’s Witnesses in France.

On 23 April 2023, US Senator Orrin Hatch passed away at age 88. Two of his main interests were tax reform and religious liberty, topics that sometimes happen to intersect.2 Senator Hatch was well aware that abusive taxation can target religious or spiritual movements or religiously motivated advocacy groups which, for whatever reason, are disliked by some tax bureaucrats. One such instance is the case of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan, which remains unre- solved after more than 25 years of legal battles and public advocacy.3 I will com- pare that case with ones that the European Court of Human Rights has consid- ered in the last two decades.