Sects as a Threat Sects are both a social and religious phenomenon in contemporary society. We often hear about religiously motivated violence. Therefore, the phrase Sects as a threat is not a very suprising term. Often, there appears a situation in which sects threaten not only their members but also the whole society. Based on that, it is important to characterize them and determine where religiously motivated violence or extremism could be seen. In the introduction of the theoretical work I mention the basic terminology, explain the nature of religion and differentiate the basic religious faiths. Next, the new religious movements follow. Related to that is the legislation of churches and religious societies, their registration, rights, obligations and the like. Followingly, the religious movements which could represent a potential threat or raised public awareness by their controversial affairs are described. Despite the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are a registered church, the thesis includes also them. I have mentioned them because the majority of respondents believe that they actually are a sect. A similar situation is with Satanism. Even they have church associations. At the same time, there sometimes happen situations, when extremist groups refer to satanism, for example after an act of violence. This phenomenon appears in far more religious movements. The next step is to sketch the negative influences of new religious movements on both an individual and society as a whole. After that the term Sect is described in detail. This part contains information on the features of particular sects, psychical manipulation methods and the ways of recruiting new members. Nevertheless, even the characteristics of sect leaders is included. What we cannot forget is the prevention of affecting of these dangerous groups and also help for the sect members who want to escape them. In the last part of the theoretical work I concentrate on The Czech Republic as a state. I describe the attitude of the state to churches and religious societies. Next, I aim at the religion policy of the state and how different govermental and nongovermental organizations participate in the problem. The thesis also deals with the rate of participation of different governmental offices, such as Home office and Culture office and also with the rate of participation of Police. The main goal of the thesis is the evaluation of the activity and threats of religious groups active both in the area of The Czech Republic and foreign countries as well. I have also dealt with a statistic qantitative research strategy using the questionaire research in both non-professional and professional public. The questions were asked in the areas possibly threatened by sects and mainly concerned the security risks of The Czech Republic related to the activities of sects. Next, the statistic evaluation of differences between non-professional and professional public awareness of the issue followed. The thesis also dealt with the analysis of available literature sources on the issue of sects. The result of the research shows a considerable difference between non-professional and professional public awareness. The thesis could be possibly used as a summary of possible risks originating in sects and can also serve as a source of information of the problem of religious groups.

The problem of new religious movements is quite a current topic. Therefore, I have decided to write my thesis about this subject. The theoretical part contains the definitions of the basic terms, the characteristics of new religious movements, their catagories and characteristics of their victims, the context of new religious movements and the law, as well as the connection of religious groups and socially-pathologic phenomena. Each of the phenomena is attached to concrete examples of the social groups involved. Both qualitative and quantitative research was employed in the practical part. The methods that have been used to obtain this information were a survey and and interview, as well as the anaylsis of the data and content. One of the files for the survey was collected in the Klatovy Region, while the other was gathered from the people of the Ceske Budejovice Region. Thus, the acquired data were compared in order to reach the aim of the work. The two aims were set based upon the secondary data and one hypothesis was declared for each. The first aim, which was `to find out the public opinion on the problems of new religious movement{\crq}, was connected with the hypothesis `although the public is not sufficiently informed about the religious cults in the region, they are perceived as negative{\crq}. The other aim was to map the socially-pathological phenomena connected with the activity of the movements in these particular regions. Regarding that research, which was qualitative, the hypothesis was declared on the ground of the acquired data. Hypothesis No. 1 was verified. Based on an interview with local policemen, the other hypothesis was set: Although information about the socially-pathological phenomena connected with the activity of the movements reached the public, the Police of the Czech Republic do not have evidence of any crime of that character in the given regions. A booklet was put together, based upon the acquired information, giving the overall information about new religious movements, their characteristics and possible risks. In my opinion, the aim of my thesis was met. The research showed that the public awareness of new religious cults is rather low and the information is mostly distorted. The results of my work may serve as further insight into this problem and, threby it may become a stimulus to raise the state of awareness in this sphere.

This thesis provides a systematic comparison and analysis on violent and non-violent new religious movements. The purpose of using a meta-analysis as the methodological tool for this research project is that it offers a systematic presentation and synthesis of the characteristics and findings from academic studies that exist on each new religious movement. Of importance is that each study, from the fields of sociology, social psychology and religious studies offers differing truths about each of the NRMs as they each only examine certain characteristics. As these disciplines have a high level of theories, this project utilizes a “measure driven” approach, “in which iterative searches and new computerized search techniques are used to increase the range of publications found (and thus the range of possible analyses) and to traverse time and disciplinary boundaries” (Roelfs et al 2013: 75). This analysis pools together all existing facts to provide a larger estimate of the "unknown common truths" about each movement and provide a fuller picture of the movements and their leaders. By combining studies of new religious movements that are prone to violence with studies of new religious movements that remain peaceful, this meta-analysis will increase the sample size and the power to study effects that may lead to the answer: why do some new religious movements become violent. The general consensus among the research literature has distilled three salient aggregates associated with new religious groups that have become violent: a) each group possessed an apocalyptic worldview; b) each group maintained an organizational structure predicated on charismatic leadership and authority whereby a potent connection between the charismatic leader and devotee was forged; and c) each group established firm social boundaries demarcating the separation between the group and the wider social milieu resulting in social isolation. However, though these attributes were present in and common to all the groups that became violent, they continue to remain insufficient and fail to adequately illustrate why certain new religions become violent. The most notable cases of NRMs that have been mobilized to violence that are analyzed include: the Peoples' Temple, The Order of the Solar Temple, Aum Shinrikyo, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, the Branch Davidians, Rajneeshpuaram, The Church of the Lamb of God, Heaven's Gate and Scientology. These religious movements are compared and analyzed in relation to groups that have not become violent: the early Unification Church, Sikh Dharma/3HO, Chen Tao, Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT), and Concerned Christians. By analyzing fourteen individual movements that demonstrate the three central aggregates found specifically in violent movements, hopefully this meta-analysis has overcome the problem of small sample sizes, in order to better detect internal and external effects that can explain why some NRMs become violent.

The purpose with this study is to research how new religious movements are depicted, in textbooks used for upper secondary school in religious education, in contrast to how Christianity is depicted, and if there is a more negative depiction around new religious movements. The content analysis uses/investigates three chosen textbooks, all written for Swedish upper secondary education. The content analysis uses quantitatively research whereas the depiction of Christianity and new religious movements are investigated by counting as well as analyzing adjectives used to describe, furthermore what emotive value the adjectives carry. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis the syntheses of an adjective the study shows that more negatively charged adjectives are more common describing new religious movements in two of the textbooks and throughout all textbooks, Christianity is described positively.

Just a few years after the end of WWII, the American author Lafayette Ronald Hubbard developed the new religious movement Scientology, which has evolved over the years into one of the largest new religious movements in the world. Two decades later, an American pastor’s son named David Berg, received a revelation from God, which led to the founding of the new religious movement The Family International, formerly known as God’s Children. Over the years there have been a number of defectors that wanted to change and turn their life around. But only a few managed to gather confidence to tell the rest of the world of the circumstances and living conditions in the new religious movement that have characterized major parts of their lives. The main purpose of this study was to elucidate how former members and defectors portrayed and experienced the explicit and implicit exercise of power in two, American founded, new religious movements. In addition, the study applied the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud’s theories in dynamic psychology and religion, in order to interpret the former members depictions, in relation to the attitudes expressed.  The didactic relevance of this study refers to the growth and the more frequent sight of new religious movements in our society. The society, primarily in the media, but also in scientific contexts, has associates these movements with the negative loaded word sect, which has led to appearance of difficulties in the education of religion. Therefore, contributes this study, based on a neutral and a non-evaluative perspective of new religious movements, to eliminate prejudices and create tolerance among all students. What emerged along the course of the study was that the explicit control and exercise of power was established in the charismatic attribute and, above all, the power holder’s ability to convince and persuade the members was one of the major parts in the power structure. The study also illustrates how the implicit exercise of power of the Scientology constantly revolved around money and The Family International around sex relations. In conclusion, the leaders explicit and implicit exercise of power integrates with each other and has its foundation in the charismatic leadership and the ability to convince and persuade its members. The conclusion also illustrates how the members adaption and submission to its leader was an unconscious act according to Freud’s theory, concerning defense mechanism.  As a result, the leaders achieved to manage the movements without resistance and questioning, and also got expression for their own manners.

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Many scholars have examined the religious phenomenon known as the New Age Movement, resulting in a large body of literature on the subject. Despite this abundance of prior research, only a small number of studies conducted in the United States investigate what it means to be a "New Ager" from the perspective of the members. In order to contribute to the academic understanding of New Age identities and communities, I conducted an ethnographic study of an alternative spiritual center in the Tampa Bay area, here called the Spirit Grove. My research includes over fifty hours of participant observations, ten in-depth interviews, and an analysis of documents collected at the center. My findings indicate that Spirit Grove members typically follow a career trajectory consisting of five stages. After they become members of the community, practitioners tend to interpret their journey as a spiritual discovery. Next, I identify and describe five community practices that are performed at the center, including discovering the self, healing the self, embracing diversity, creating order, and finding proof. In the conclusion, I discuss the larger implications of this study, including its limitations and possibilities for future research.

This creative thesis is a braided narrative in which I explore the promised lands of Utah through my travels in the summer of 2008, the Cold War defense industry, and the early career of writer Edward Abbey. America's domestic and foreign policy shifts in the first decade of the Cold War contributed to the rise of modern environmentalism and to the creation of countless new religious movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. To illustrate the cataclysmic upheavals of this era, each chapter of this thesis has been organized according to anthropologist Anthony F. C. Wallace's schema of revitalization movements. In both an historical and personal context, I investigate the tensions between freedom and preservation, between defense and vulnerability, and, ultimately, between solitude and community.

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This essay is a qualitative study meant to highlight new religious movements and cults are portrayed in textbooks used to teach the subject of religion in upper secondary school, as well as how they correlate to the syllabi and course objectives set by Skolverket. The object for my analysis contains three textbooks by different authors, all from different publishers, in order to enable an accurate and representative interpretation of said portraying. Three questions lead the study as they demand the answer to which parts of new religious movements that are most frequently presented, whether the portraying of these movements contain tendencies of stereotyping and consequently identify efforts to reduce the issue. Furthermore, light is cast on the depiction of belief and life view within new religious movements and cults. My study reveals that these textbooks are dealing with new religious movements and cults with some lack of nuance and a deficiency of developed arguments. The sum of my results lead to the conclusion that none of the textbooks fully qualify for the control document set by Skolverket, regarding both syllabi and course objectives. By not doing so they give rise to potential negative didactic consequences in the education which can not be disregarded.