Korea Inter-Religious Council Meets Dr. Massimo Introvigne of Bitter Winter Mag

The Korea Inter-Religious Council (KIRC) invited founder and Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), and held a meeting at the KIRC office in Cheongpa-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on July 23.

The meeting included Hong Yunjong, President of KIRC; the President of FFWPU Korea; Christian pastors An Jeong-su and Choi Gil-chun; Yang Jong-eun, International Chairman of the Korea Christian Clergy Coalition (KCLC); and Lee Changgu, Chairman of Daejonggyo. They engaged in inter-religious dialogue through a question-and-answer format with Director Massimo on various religious issues.

The President of FFWPU Korea explained to Dr. Massimo Introvigne the current situation facing Japan’s Family Federation, which is confronting an upcoming appeal hearing regarding the corporate dissolution order request, and engaged in dialogue on the theme of state religious persecution.

Dr. Massimo emphasized, “It could be beneficial to hold conferences or forums that research the legislation supporting religious persecution and identify legally documented negative cases. There are even discussions about applying laws that infringe on religious freedom, such as France’s Anti-Cult Law, in Massimo Introvigne Japan and other countries. There is a need to continuously inform the international community, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, about these issues.”

Dr. Massimo stated that the Japanese government’s decision to dissolve the Family Federation violates international law on religious freedom, saying, “After the Prime Minister Abe incident, the Kishida Japanese government, being conscious of public opinion, changed its position within 24 hours from allowing corporate dissolution only through criminal law to permitting dissolution through civil law as well. This is a very extreme case that does not generally occur.”

Dr. Massimo Introvigne is an Italian leading sociologist of religion and Managing Director of Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars studying new religious movements. He is an inter-religious leader who has served as a representative in activities combating racism, xenophobia, and discrimination for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and as Chairman of the Observatory on Religious Freedom under Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.