This is a brief report on the CESNUR 2022 International Conference, Quebec City

CESNUR, the Center for Study of New Religions, held its first international conference in three years, the 2020 and 2021 conferences having been cancelled due to COVID-19. The theme of this year’s conference was “Religious Pluralism in an Era of Globalization.” The two-day conference included 19 sessions, 59 presentations and 2 panel sessions, a very full slate. There were about 100 attendees, half the number of their last international conference in 2019, due to continuing fallout from COVID…

Our session [was] on “A House Divided: A Conversation on the Unification Movement in 2022”…

Franco Famularo, Dan Fefferman and I presented from the Family Federation perspective. Jongsuk Kim, who bills himself an independent scholar but who is anti-FFWPU/True Mother, Moondo Field (who read Mike Marshall’s paper) and Nicholas Chiaia, a UCI attorney, represented Hyun Jin “Preston” Moon.

Franco and I took a tag-team approach. Our goal was to counter the narrative which has gained some currency among scholars — that there are three roughly equivalent factions seeking to inherit the mantle of Sun Myung Moon — Hak Ja Han Moon’s Family Federation, Preston Moon’s Family Peace Association and Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon’s Sanctuary Church.

Our position is that there is one main body and two small schismatic organizations. My presentation was mainly sociological and descriptive. I adopted a common definition of schism as “a group of people who leave a parent body and form a new organization” (James and Sarah Lewis. Sacred Schisms: How Religions Divide, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009). I then differentiated between “splinter groups” (schisms of relatively short duration and/or influence) and “schismatic organizations” (schisms that give more evidence of permanence and influence) and applied the categories to the Unification movement.

Franco took an empirical, data-driven approach in his presentation on “Membership, Money and Morale: The Impact of Schisms on the Unification Community.” Based on his investigation, there are 2,000 total

members of Family Peace Association and Sanctuary Church worldwide. According to his figures, there are between 200,000-250,000 FFWPU members worldwide.

Based on this, Family Peace and Sanctuary total less than 1 percent of FFWPU membership. He presented a chart which broke down the numbers. He did the same for online attendance at worship services. It breaks down to tens of viewers for Family Peace, hundreds of viewers (generally 200-300) for Sanctuary and thousands for FFWPU (1,300 for the last National Family Service USA, 5,000 daily for Morning Devotion).

He did the same sort of analysis for assets. In the last year for which USA public figures were available (2018 and 2019), Sanctuary had $2,739,899 in assets, Family Peace Association $643,000 and FFWPU $1-1.5 billion with 19 million additional in revenue (vs. $1,802,860 for Sanctuary and $850,000 in revenue for FPA). When you add UCI to the FPA equation, their assets jump to $3 billion. Franco estimates FFWPU assets worldwide at $7-15 billion. Empirical data is influential with social scientists and immediately afterwards, Eileen Barker texted Franco for a copy of his presentation. Preston Moon’s representatives did not dispute the data.

Dan Fefferman offered an interesting presentation on Unificationism and Pluralism, covering the dynamic between universalism and exclusivism in Unification tradition. Jongsuk Kim gave a decent overview of the UM up until True Father’s passing and then launched into a diatribe against True Mother for destroying True Father’s identity basically on the grounds of original sin. The moderator who heard his schtick in Antwerp, cut him off. Moondo Field did an uninspired reading of Mike Marshall’s historical paper which I found difficult to follow although Dan told me it was well done.

Nicholas Chiaia adopted a predictably prosecutorial tone, expressed outrage at the lives FFWPU has destroyed, termed the DC court deluded, and argued that if not reversed, the courts judgment against Preston Moon and the other defendants will adversely affect religious freedom in the USA. He didn’t offer substantive content but cited two amici briefs and listed 12 scholars who he claimed had come out in favor of the defendant’s position.

That sums up the proceedings.

The 2022 CESNUR Conference Home Page Co-organized by: About CESNUR Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) CESNUR Library Centre de Ressources et d’Observation de l’Innovation Religieuse (Faculté de théologie et de sciences religieuses, Texts and Documents Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) Book Reviews International Society for the Study of New Religions (ISSNR) Conferences Contacts

RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION LE PLURALISME RELIGIEUX À L’ÈRE DE LA MONDIALISATION

Quebec City (Quebec, Canada), 16-18 June 2022 Université Laval Pavillon La Laurentienne - 1030 Avenue du Séminaire

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

REGISTRATION FORM (before March 31, 2022)

Thursday June 16, 2022

8.30 a.m. - 9 a.m. / Registration

9 a.m. - 10.30 a.m. / Session 1 - Opening Plenary Session

Religions and Their Critics Between Globalization and Localization

Chair: Massimo INTROVIGNE

Greetings from Academic Authorities

Once Upon a Time, There Were Three New Religions: Global, Local and Glocal. But Wherein Lies the Difference? Eileen BARKER (London School of Economics / INFORM, London, UK)

Transformations of the Quebec Religious Field (1950-2020) Alain BOUCHARD (Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

Are There “Cults” in China? Branding Religions as “Xiejiao” in the Peoples’s Republic J. Gordon MELTON (Baylor University, Waco, Texas, U.S.A.)

Movie: Bitter Winter presents The Long Arm of the Dragon: Chinese Persecution of Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution

10.30 a.m. / 11 a.m. Coffee Break

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. / Session 2 - Plenary

Scientology Studies 2.0

Chair: George CHRYSSIDES

Game Maker: Reassessing L. Ron Hubbard’s Life and Legacy Beyond Biography/Hagiography Donald WESTBROOK (Claremont Graduate University, California, U.S.A.)

Scientology as a Modern Gnosis Eric ROUX (European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom, Brussels, Belgium)

Scientology’s Disconnection Policy in Comparative Perspective Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Turin, Italy)

Scientology’s Human Rights Campaigns and Their Enemies: Who Hates Scientology and Why Rosita ŠORYTĖ (European Federation for Freedom of Belief, Vilnius, Lithuania)

Hubbard College of Administration Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD (Bordeaux Montaigne University, France)

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. / Business Lunch

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. / Meeting of the members of the International Society for the Study of New Religions (ISSNR members only; box lunch provided)

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 3

Saints and Sinners: Old and New Stories and Controversies

Chair: Chris HARTNEY

New Developments in Native North American Catholicism: The Opening of Black Elk’s Canonization Cause Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD (Bordeaux Montaigne University, France)

Already Globalized; How Jehovah’s Witnesses Maintain a Unified Organization George D. CHRYSSIDES (University of Birmingham, UK)

The Wandjina of Lurline Street: A Successful Blasphemy Case in Australian Law? Zoe ALDERTON (University of Sydney, Australia)

The Satanic Temple and Religious Pluralism in the US Mathieu COLIN (Ph.D. candidate, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 4

Shincheonj and the Deprogramming Controversy in South Korea

Chair: Eileen BARKER

What Is Shincheonji? Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Turin, Italy)

An Introduction to the Theology of Shincheonji Holly FOLK (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.)

Deprogramming in South Korea and Its Political Context Rosita ŠORYTĖ (European Federation for Freedom of Belief, Vilnius, Lithuania)

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 5

A New, Emerging Italian Movement: Archeosophy - A Panel Discussing Issue 4:1 of The Journal of CESNUR

Presiding and introducing: A Presentation of the Issue 4:1 of The Journal of CESNUR PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI (Pontifical Salesian University, Turin, Italy)

Introduction to the Life of Tommaso Palamidessi Elisa BURGIO (Cólegio Bernardette Romeira, Quelfes, Portugal)

Introduction to the Archeosophical Works of Tommaso Palamidessi Daniele CORRADETTI (PhD candidate, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal)

Archeosophy, Scuola Archeosofica, Associazione Archeosofica: Religious Liberty and Unity of Religions Francesco CRESTI (Attorney at Law, Rome, Italy)

3.30 p.m. - 4 p.m. / Coffee Break

4 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. / Session 6

Religion et spiritualité, célébration et controverse [in French]

Chair: Alain BOUCHARD

Impératif du bien-être et sociologie des religions : étude des croyances et pratiques du développement personnel Virginie BEAULIEU (Quebec University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

La fête des Morts ressuscitée Denis BOIVIN (Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

La laïcité dans le pluralisme juridique religieux au Canada et la liberté de culte pour les musulmans dans un système glocalisé Rachida HASSANE (Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey, Niger)

Les croyants non-catholiques dans un sanctuaire catholique : Défis du vivre-ensemble Jonas ST-MARTIN (Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

Réactions de la communauté de Bountiful aux allégations d’entorses aux lois. De 1990 à 2018 : de l’ouverture à l’autre à la réclusion ? Dianne CASONI (University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Marie- Andrée PELLAND (University of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)

Maurice Chabas (1862-1947) et les mondes de l’au-delà Myriam DE PALMA (Art Historian, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

4 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. / Session 7

Polygamy and the Police: The Case of the Ambash Family

Chair: Constance JONES

Daniel Ambash and Israel’s Anticult Narrative Susan PALMER (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Na Nachs and Neo-Kabbalism: Ambash Family Theology and the Message of Israel Dov Odesser Holly FOLK (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.)

Respondents: Aderet Dorit AMBASH and Shiran Aslan AMBASH

F o l l o w e d b y t h e p r o j e c t i o n o f t h e m o v i e T h e A m b a s h L a d i e s, introduced by its director, Jessica VATURI-DEMBO

4 p.m. - 6.45 p.m. / Session 8

Popular Minorities, Contested Minorities, and Religious Experience

Chair: Fiona CHANG

Spiritual Tourism in Glastonbury, UK Eriko KAWANISHI (Professional Institute of International Fashion, Osaka, Japan)

Challenges to Religious Pluralism in Contemporary Lithuania: the Case of the Ancient Baltic Faith Community Romuva Milda ALISAUŠKIENĖ (Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania)

A Legitimate Component of the Nepalese Religious Polytropy? Toward Christian Politics of Recognition Guillaume BOUCHER (University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Mainstreaming Scientology Phil LORD (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

50 Shades of Pinks and Grays: L. Ron Hubbard, Drugs, and OT III Ian CAMACHO (Independent scholar, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.)

Notes on a Survey Among Religious Studies Scholars PierLuigi ZOCCATELLI (Pontifical Salesian University, Turin, Italy)

William James and Seon Master Daehaeng on Religious Experience KIM Chae Young (Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea)

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. / Session 9

A Rumor of Spirits

Chair: Massimo INTROVIGNE

“More Knowledge and Less Faith”: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Quest to Restore True Religion Michael W. HOMER (Attorney and Independent Scholar, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.)

Dutch Mediumistic Art of the Interwar Period: Artistic, Religious and Social Aspects Wim KRAMER (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Séance: Contemporary Spiritualism and the Iconography of Ectoplasm Shannon TAGGART (Author and photographer, New York, U.S.A.)

Spiritualism and Science on the Canadian Prairies Between the Wars Serena KESHAVJEE (University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)

Friday June 17, 2022

9.30 a.m. - 11 a.m. / Session 10

The Alternative Altars of Quebec

Chair: Mike KROPVELD

The Mystical Geography of Quebec Since the Quiet Revolution Susan PALMER (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Roch Thériault’s Ant Hill Kids/Holy Moses Mountain Community: An Exploration of Violence in a Quebec Commune Andrew AMES (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Contesting Traditional Parenthood: The Upbringing of Children in Ecoovie Marie-Eve MELANSON (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Secularism and Jewish Schools in Quebec: The Right to Education and the Threat of Assimilation Shane DUSSAULT (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

9.30 a.m. - 11 a.m. / Session 11

Canada’s Strange Neighbor, the United States

Chair: Michael W. HOMER

Black History in Christian Science Cindy Peyser SAFRONOFF (Independent Scholar, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.)

“Insane over Christian Science”? Contests over Madness and Faith at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Alexandra PRINCE (University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.)

Evangelical Schism: Mark Galli, Christianity Today, and Donald Trump James A. BEVERLEY (Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

What it Means to Kneel: Religion, Civil Religion, and Controversies Surrounding the #Takeaknee Movement in American Football Mathilde VANASSE-PELLETIER (University of Ottawa, Canada)

9.30 a.m. - 11 a.m. / Session 12

East Asian New Religions: Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea

Chair: Rosita ŠORYTĖ

Cosmology, Soteriology, Chronology: Outlining Caodaism’s Complex Millenarianism Christopher HARTNEY (University of Sydney, Australia)

The Re-invention of Chinese Culture Orthodoxy: The I Ching, Fengshui, and Religious Practice of Taiwan’s Weixin Shengjiao Fiona Hsin-Fang CHANG (National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan)

The Visual Arts in Daesoon Jinrihoe LEE Gyungwon (Daejin University, Pocheon City, South Korea) and LEE Jeeyoung (Daejin University, Pocheon City, South Korea)

Religious Pluralism in Korean New Religions: Focused on the Harmonization of Three East Asian Religions in Daesoon Jinrihoe LEE Suhyun (National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan)

11 a.m. - 11.30 a.m. / Coffee Break

11.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. / Session 13

Providence: A Church in the News Between South Korea and Taiwan

Presiding and introducing: A Pastor Goes to Jail but His Church Grows Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Turin, Italy)

The Pursuit of Subjectivity and the Evangelization of Intellectual Elites by an Emerging Religion: Providence Church in Taiwan as an Example TSAI Chih-Che (National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan)

The Creation of Feminism in the Religious Field: Providence Church in Taiwan as an Example Haisul PALALAVI (National Cheng-Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan)

Respondent: CHOU Hsueh-Hua (National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan)

11.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. / Session 14

The Victory Altar: “Immortal Faith,” Religious Revolution and Veganism

Chair: LEE Gyungwon

Religious Revolution by the Victor Christ & a Vision of the Victory Altar HAN Gang-Hyen (International Academy of Neo-Humans Culture, Bucheon City, South Korea)

The Immortal Science as a Religious Innovation by the Victor Christ: Centering on the Theo-Science of the Victory Altar and Veganism AN Byung-Chun (World Immortality Association, South Korea)

The Secret of Nirvana from Birth to Aging, Sickness and Death by the Principle of Mind and Blood KANG Yun-Min (International Academy of Neo-Humans Culture, Bucheon City, South Korea)

The Faith of the Flesh: Eternal Life in the Case of Victory Altar and Pluralism KIM Jongsuk (The Institute of the History of Korean Messianic Movement, Chunan City, South Korea)

11.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. / Session 15

Viewing Doctrine and Tradition: How Popular Television and Film (Mis)Represent the Doctrines, Beliefs, and Traditions of New Religious Movements

Chair: Zoe ALDERTON

Shining a Light on Sabrina’s ‘Church of Night’ – How Religious Communities Interact with Their Depiction Onscreen Chris MILLER (University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)

Virtuous Vampires and Sinful Shape-Shifters: Racial Implications of Mormonism in the Twilight Series Brooke Kathleen BRASSARD (University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)

Respondent: Susan PALMER

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. / Business Lunch

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 16

The Luz del Mundo Church in Scholarly Perspective: A Panel Discussing Issue 4:2 of The Journal of CESNUR

Presiding and introducing: Holly FOLK

Panel: A Fast-Growing Religious Movement, a Global Charitable Work, and an Apostle in Jail

Massimo INTROVIGNE (CESNUR, Turin, Italy)

Sara POZOS BRAVO (Sâmann University of Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico)

J. Gordon MELTON (Baylor University, Waco, Texas, U.S.A.)

Rosita ŠORYTĖ (European Federation for Freedom of Belief, Vilnius, Lithuania)

Donald WESTBROOK (Claremont Graduate University, California, U.S.A.)

Respondent: Bigvai ESTRADA

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 17

Pluralism, Globalization, and the Future of Religion

Chair: Eriko KAWANISHI

“Glocalization” and the Paradox of Religious Pluralism: A Challenge to Globalization John R. POTTENGER (University of Alabama, Huntsville, U.S.A.)

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and the Future of Religion Roland SHAINIDZE (York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Religious Pluralism between Acceptance and Rejection: Dilemmas of a Believer Robert T. PTASZEK (The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland)

The Delicate Equilibrium Between Religious Freedom, Pluralism and Preservation of Traditional Worldviews in North-Western Amazonia Bair PUIG ZHAMAGANOV (Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia)

2 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. / Session 18

Meanwhile in India

Chair: Alessandro AMICARELLI

Secularism as a Foundation Stone of Religious Pluralism: Glimpses from India Vedpal DESWAL (Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India)

Responses to Current Hindu Nationalism: The Case of “Hindus for Human Rights” Constance A. JONES (California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, U.S.A.)

Pahela Baisakh Festival in Bengali Diasporas: How Performances and Material Culture Work in creating Space and Collective Identity Jannatul MAOA (University of Kansas, Lawrence, U.S.A.)

Sacred on Stage: Pluralism, Controversy and Need. Clashes of Ritual, Enactment and Performance in India Svetlana RYZHAKOVA (Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia)

3.30 p.m. - 4 p.m. / Coffee break

4 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. / Session 19

A House Divided? A Conversation on the Unification Movement in 2020

Chair: Eileen BARKER

The Future of the Unification Community in Montreal Franco FAMULARO (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Unificationism and Pluralism: A Paradox of Triumphalist Universalism Dan FEFFERMAN (Unification Theological Seminary, Barrytown, New York, U.S.A.)

“One Family Under God” as a Transformative Vision for Interreligious Dialogue in an Era of Globalization YOO Yunkwon (Claremont Graduate University, California, U.S.A.)

The Word on the Substantial Word Research Group: Latest Unification Schism Alexa BLONNER (Independent scholar, Gold Coast, Australia)

The Unification Church’s Movement for Unification, Pluralism, and its Degeneration KIM Jongsuk (The Institute of the History of Korean Messianic Movement, Chunan City, South Korea)

Recent Developments in Litigation Involving the Family Federation/Unification Church Michael MICKLER (Sunhak Institute of History, U.S.A.)

The Mainstream Religious Tradition of Sun Myung Moon versus the “Only Begotten Daughter” Movement of Mrs. Moon Mark BRAMWELL (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany)

4 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. / Session 20

Nouvelles spiritualités et ésotérismes [in French]

Chair: Mathilde VANASSE-PELLETIER

Transmariophanies contestataires, un cas québécois : l’Ordre du Cœur Immaculée et de saint Louis-Marie de Montfort Alain BOUCHARD (Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

Stratégies d’adaptation d’une communauté de la Mission de l’Esprit- Saint à la suite de conflits au sein de l’église et à l’égard de l’exo-groupe Dianne CASONI (University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Marie- Andrée PELLAND (University of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)

Pluralisme religieux et interpretation du bahaïsme par la Première Nation Innue (Quebec) Marine CHAVANNE (Bordeaux Montaigne University, France)

La Commission de l’immigration et du statut de réfugié du Canada devant l’épreuve du Falun Gong Pierre-Simon CLEARY (Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada)

Le sacré féminin au Nouvel Âge: le retour de la Déesse et ses significations culturelles dans la pratique ésotérique du nouveau millénaire Alex KIEFER DA SILVA (Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

Universalisme contre mondialisation. De l’usage de René Guénon Jean Pierre LAURANT (University of Paris - Sorbonne, France)

4 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. / Session 21

Studying, Watching, Living in, and Defending in Court New Religious Movements

Chair: J. Gordon MELTON

Reflection and Analysis on Info-Cult’s 40 Years of Existence Mike KROPVELD (Info-Secte, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Marie-Andrée PELLAND (University of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)

Guwonpa-Good News Mission: A Dynamic Grassroots Group in Contemporary Korean Christian NRM History David W. KIM (Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)

Non-Religion a Gateway to Global New Religions and Religious Creativity: A Case of Messianic Jews and Messianic Muslims Richard CROFT (University of Eastern Finland, Helsinki, Finland)

Tantra, Yoga & Sacred Sexuality: Spirituality, Enlightenment, and Controversies Alessandro AMICARELLI (European Federation for Freedom of Belief, London, UK)

Forms of Practice and Psychological Aspects of Tantra According to Guru Jára Pavel HLAVINKA (Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic) and Kristyna TOMANOVÁ (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)

Legal Status and Human Rights Perspective in the Case of a New Religious Movement, the Guru Jára Path Martin KRAJCA (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)

Saturday June 18, 2022

9.30 a.m. / Field Trip: The Wendat (Huron) Nation

Buses leave from the Pavillon La Laurentienne (1030 Avenue du Séminaire) at 9.30 a.m, to visit a Wendat (Huron) settlement. The Wendat representatives will guide us to visit a reconstructed traditional village and to discover their culture and religion. After a traditional Wendat meal, based on bison meat (vegetarian option available), and a show of Wendat dances (to which we will be invited to participate), we will return to Quebec

City in the late afternoon.

REGISTRATION FORM (before March 31, 2022)

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