List of groups referred to as cults in government documents
Encyclopedia
The application of the labels (cults or sects) to religious movements
in government documents signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. Government reports which have used these words include recent reports from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France (in 1995), Germany, and the United States. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups.
referred to Kenja Communication
as a cult on November 24, 1992.
's International Religious Freedom Report 2006, as released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
"the vast majority" of groups termed "sects" by the government of Austria comprise small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Larger groups include the Church of Scientology
and the Unification Church
.
The report states that other groups termed "sects" by the Austrian government include the Divine Light Mission
, Eckankar
, Hare Krishna, Holosophic community, Osho movement
, Sahaja Yoga
, Sai Baba
, Sri Chinmoy
, Transcendental Meditation
, Landmark Education
, Center for Experimental Society Formation, Fiat Lux
, Universal Life
, and The Family. The United States Department of State had similar sections in its International Religious Freedom Report on Austria, in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
set up a parliamentary inquiry commission to work out a policy against cults. On April 28, 1997, the parliamentary commission issued its 670-page report that contained a list of 189 movements, and stated that "[t]he fact that a movement is listed here, even if at the instigation of an official instance, does not signify that the Commission regards it as a cult". The parliament failed to adopt the report as such and only voted to accept the conclusions and recommendations (19 pages), and not the list. Despite the lack of adoption of the list, the commission published the whole report, including the list. According to Human Rights Without Frontiers International, a Brussels Appeals Court in 2005 condemned the Belgian House of Representatives on the grounds that it had damaged the image of an organization (the Universal Church of God's Kingdom) listed in the 1997 parliamentary inquiry commission on sects.
The Belgian list of groups (French-language naming or primary naming, with numbering as in the original document):
report of 1999 discussed "Doomsday Religious Movements espousing hostile beliefs and having the potential to be violent.." Groups classified as "Doomsday Religious Movements
" included:
The report referred to Aum Shinrikyo at one point as the "Aum cult".
(Renseignements généraux — a French police service) in association with cult-watching groups.
In May 2005 the then Prime Minister of France
, in a circulaire
(which stressed that the government must exercise vigilance in continuing the fight against the cult-phenomenon, said that the list of movements attached to the Parliamentary Report of 1995 had become less pertinent, based on the observation that many small groups had formed: scattered, more mobile, and less-easily identifiable, and that the government needed to balance its fight against cults with respect for public freedoms and laïcité
(secularism). The Prime Minister asked his civil servants to update a number of ministerial instructions issued by previous commissions, to apply criteria set in consultation with the Interministerial Commission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances (MIVILUDES
), and to avoid falling back solely on lists of groups for the identification of cultic deviances.
Subsequent French parliamentary commissions on cults reported on specific aspects of cult activity in 1999 and in 2006.
The groups examined included:
Committee of the city and state of Berlin in Germany listed and discussed cults , emphasizing with its sub-title their categorization as "entities espousing a world view
and new religions". The 1997 Berlin Senate report — entitled Cults: Risks and Side-effects: Information on selected new religious and world-view espousing Movements and Psycho-offerings — subdivided "selected suppliers" (ausgewählte Anbieter) of its objects of interest as:
The current (2002) Senate report (published as risiken_und_nebenwirkungen2.pdf), which bears the title-page Alles Sekte—oder was?, does not contain such a list: its structure and title differ thoroughly from the 1997 report. The list appeared in the Senate report of 1997, which bore the title-page: Sekten: Risiken und Nebenwirkungen.
A report to the United States House of Representatives
, Section VI is entitled "Montana Doomsday Religious Cult - "Church Universal and Triumphant".
analysis, with a report released on October 20, 1999. The report warned against: "the potential for extremist criminal activity in the United States by individuals or domestic groups who attach special significance to the year 2000." Its analysis focused on apocalyptic
religious groups, doomsday cults
and (New World Order)
conspiracy theories
.
The report discussed the potential for violence in groups that it called "biblically-driven cults"
The report then went on to warn that "less time spent on "Bible study" and more time spent on "physical training" - indicate that the cult may be preparing for some type of action." Groups singled out and analyzed in the report under the heading "Apocalyptic Cults" included the Branch Davidians and the Concerned Christians
. The International Asatru-Odinic Alliance accused the FBI of violating its First Amendment
rights to freedom of religion
, free speech, and peaceful assembly
. The reason given for this accusation was the propagation of "numerous false statements and innuendos" about Odinism
in the Project Megiddo report.
and to the United States Congress
. The report discusses the 1984 contamination of salad bars in Oregon
by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh group, and the Aum Shinrikyo
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
of 1995. Both groups are referred to as cults in the report.
The Advisory Panel was created through an Act of the United States Congress, Public Law 105-261 (H.R. 3616, 105th Congress, 2nd Section, October 17, 1998), and was directed to submit three annual reports to the President and the Congress, beginning in December 1999. The Act of Congress establishing the Advisory Panel is titled Section 1405 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 1999. The Advisory Panel was also referred to as the Gilmore Commission
, after its chair former Governor of Virginia
James S. Gilmore III.
was classified as a cult in the 1995 parliamentary reports which considered it one of the oldest healer groups. However, on 27 May 2005, the 1995 annex of the French report and cult classifications in which the Antoinist worship was listed, were officially cancelled and invalidated by Jean-Pierre Raffarin
's circulaire. Books published by Belgian and French anti-cult associations and activists sometimes included Antoinism in their lists of cults, such as Cults, State of Emergency — Better know them, better defend oneself in France and worldwide (Les Sectes, État d'urgence — Mieux les connaître, mieux s'en défendre en France et dans le monde), published by the Centre Roger Ikor
, and others. In the early 2000s, membership of an Antoinist mother in Valenciennes
was used by her former husband to remove from her the custody of their son; the decision received attention from media and was criticized by the French sociologist Régis Dericquebourg as being unjustified. When heard by the Belgian commission on cults, philosopher Luc Nefontaine said that "the establishment of a directory of cult movements (...) seems to him dangerous, because it would also give a bad image of quite honourable organizations such as (...) Antoinism".
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
in government documents signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. Government reports which have used these words include recent reports from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France (in 1995), Germany, and the United States. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups.
Australia
Within Australia, the Parliament of New South WalesParliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...
referred to Kenja Communication
Kenja Communication
Kenja Communication, or simply Kenja, is an Australian organisation. It was founded by the late Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton in 1982...
as a cult on November 24, 1992.
Federal Ministry of the Environment, Youth and the Family (1996)
According to the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
's International Religious Freedom Report 2006, as released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs at the United States Department of State is one of three bureaus and two offices that constitute the Office of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs...
"the vast majority" of groups termed "sects" by the government of Austria comprise small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Larger groups include the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
.
The report states that other groups termed "sects" by the Austrian government include the Divine Light Mission
Divine Light Mission
The Divine Light Mission was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Shri Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth and youngest son, Guru Maharaj Ji...
, Eckankar
Eckankar
Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
, Hare Krishna, Holosophic community, Osho movement
Osho-Rajneesh movement
The Rajneesh movement is a term used by Hugh B. Urban and other commentators to refer collectively to persons inspired by the Indian mystic Osho , particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins" or simply "sannyasins", also formerly known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People",...
, Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...
, Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba
Śri Sathya Sai Baba , born as Sathyanarayana Raju was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, mystic, philanthropist, and educator. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, a spiritual saint and miracle worker who died in 1918 and whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and...
, Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
, Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
, Landmark Education
Landmark Education
Landmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
, Center for Experimental Society Formation, Fiat Lux
Uriella
Uriella is the spiritual leader and founder of the neo-revelationist religious movement known as Fiat Lux .- Fiat Lux :...
, Universal Life
Universal Life
Universal Life is the name of a controversial new religious movement based in Würzburg, Germany, which is described by members as a part of the new revelation movement, and by critics as a cult...
, and The Family. The United States Department of State had similar sections in its International Religious Freedom Report on Austria, in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (1997)
The Justice Commission of the Belgian House of RepresentativesBelgian Chamber of People's Representatives
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate...
set up a parliamentary inquiry commission to work out a policy against cults. On April 28, 1997, the parliamentary commission issued its 670-page report that contained a list of 189 movements, and stated that "[t]he fact that a movement is listed here, even if at the instigation of an official instance, does not signify that the Commission regards it as a cult". The parliament failed to adopt the report as such and only voted to accept the conclusions and recommendations (19 pages), and not the list. Despite the lack of adoption of the list, the commission published the whole report, including the list. According to Human Rights Without Frontiers International, a Brussels Appeals Court in 2005 condemned the Belgian House of Representatives on the grounds that it had damaged the image of an organization (the Universal Church of God's Kingdom) listed in the 1997 parliamentary inquiry commission on sects.
The Belgian list of groups (French-language naming or primary naming, with numbering as in the original document):
- 1. Aba Vangh
- 2. Abrasax (Institut)
- 3. Action Évangelique de Pentecôte (AEP) [Evangelical Action of Pentecost]
- 4. Adventistes du 7e JourSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
[Seventh-day Adventists] - 5. AmishAmishThe Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
- 6. Ananda MargaAnanda MargaAnanda Marga, organizationally known as Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha , meaning the samgha for the propagation of the marga of ananda , is a social and spiritual movement founded in Jamalpur, Bihar, India in 1955 by Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar .Ánanda Márga followers describe Ánanda Márga as a...
- 7. Ange Albert (Glaube und Hoffnung) [Angel Albert (Belief and Hope)]
- 8. AnthroposophieAnthroposophyAnthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
(Société Anthroposophique en Belgique) [Anthroposophy (Anthroposophical Society in Belgium)] - 9. AntoinismAntoinismAntoinism is a healer and Christian-oriented new religious movement founded in 1910 by the Walloon Louis-Joseph Antoine in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Seraing. With a total of 64 temples, over forty reading rooms across the world and thousands of members, it remains the only religion established in Belgium...
e (culte antoiniste) - 10. AoumAum ShinrikyoAum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
[Aum Shinrikyo] - 11. Assemblée Viens et Vois [Come and See Assembly]
- 12. Assemblées de DieuAssemblies of GodThe Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
[Assemblies of God] - 13. Association Centre Saint-Michel A.S.B.L. [Saint Michael Centre Association (asbl)]
- 14. Association (du Saint-Esprit) pour l'Unification du Christianisme mondialUnification ChurchThe Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
(Moon) [The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (Sun Myung Moon)] - 15. Association Égoïque [Ego Association]
- 16. Association Internationale pour la Conscience de KrishnaInternational Society for Krishna ConsciousnessThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(AICK ou ISKCON) [International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON)] - 17. Association Maître Supreme Ching Hai [Association of the Supreme Master Ching Hai]
- 18. Atlantide ou Ambassade de la Paix [Atlantid or Embassy of Peace]
- 19. Au Cœur de la Communication (ACC) [At the Heart of Communication]
- 20. Auram
- 21. Axe Holistique [Holistic Axis]
- 22. Baha'ieBahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
(La Foi Mondiale) [Bahá'í (the World Faith)] - 23. Ban Thai Laos
- 24. Bhagwan (ou mouvement Neo Samyas) [Bhagwan (or Neo Samyas movement)]
- 25. Brahma Kumaris
- 26. Broeder Gregorius [Brother Gregory]
- 27. Caillou (La communauté du) ou les «Jeudis du Caillou» ou «La Communauté de la Cité»
- 28. Calvary Christian Center
- 29. Capital Worship Center
- 30. Église céleste du Christ ou Église du Christianisme céleste [Celestial Church of Christ]
- 31. Centre Paradigme [Paradigm Center]
- 32. Centrum «De Reiziger» ["De Reiziger" Center]
- 33. Chevaliers du Lotus d'Or (Mandarom) (Association du Vajra triomphant) [Knights of the Golden Lotus (Mandarom) (Triumphant VajraVajraVajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...
Association)] - 34. Christian Church
- 35. Church Universal and TriumphantChurch Universal and TriumphantChurch Universal and Triumphant is an international New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is an outgrowth of The Summit Lighthouse, founded in 1958 by Prophet's husband, Mark L. Prophet...
- 36. Clier A.S.B.L. [Clier asbl]
- 37. Compagnie Chevaleresque de Saint-Michel [Knightly Association of Saint Michael]
- 38. Contre-Reforme Catholique (ligue de)League for Catholic Counter-ReformationThe League for Catholic Counter-Reformation , is a nationalist and ultramontane organization founded in 1967 by Georges de Nantes, a former abbot who was suspended a divinis on 25 August 1966...
[The League for Catholic Counter-Reformation (CRC)] - 39. CORAEN (Centrum voor de Opsporing, Registratie en Analyse van Elfennesten)
- Cor Unum (see Ordre du Divin Sacré Coeur)
- 40. Coven Thot [Thot Coven]
- 41. Cristal A.S.B.L.[Crystal asbl]
- 42. De Ark [The Ark]
- 43. De Geestelijke Kracht [Spiritual Power]
- 44. De Groep (un psychologue) [The group (a psychologist)]
- 45. Deva-Light
- 46. Dynarsis Institute
- 47. EBS – De Werter Loge
- 48. ECK (Energo-Chromo-KineseEnergo-Chromo-KineseEnergo-Chromo-Kinese, also named ECK, is a pseudo-scientific and esoteric-oriented new religious movement founded in October 1987 in Villefranche-sur-Mer by Patrick Véret, a former acupuncturist and homeopath, and his wife, Danièle Drouant....
) ou Énergo 8 internationale [ECK (Energo-chromo-kinetics) or Energo 8 International] - 49. École de Philosophie [School of Philosophy]
- 50. Ecoovie
- 51. Église Catholique Apostolique Gallicane Traditionnelle [Traditional Gallican Apostolic Catholic Church]
- 52. Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours (Mormons)
[ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)] - 53. Église de la Pentecôte Bethel [Church of the Bethel Pentecost]
- 54. Église de Scientologie
[ Church of ScientologyChurch of ScientologyThe Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
] - 55. Église du Christ de Bruxelles (dépendant de l'Eglise du Christ de Boston) [Brussels Church of Christ (subsidiary of the Boston Church of Christ ]
- 56. Église Évangélique Libre [Free Evangelical Church]
- 57. Église Gnostique Lucifer Christ [Lucifer Christ Gnostic Church]
- 58. Église Internationale du Christ
[ International Churches of ChristInternational Churches of ChristThe International Churches of Christ is a body of co-operating non-denominational, religiously conservative, and racially integrated Christian congregations, an offshoot from the Mainline Churches of Christ. This group is known for and has a long history of showing charity to the poor...
] - 59. Église Jésus-Christ de Vérité [Jesus Christ Church of Truth]
- 60. Église Néoapostolique
[ New Apostolic ChurchNew Apostolic ChurchThe New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
] - 61. Église Universelle de Dieu (Eglise Mondiale du Christ) [Universal Church of God (Worldwide Church of Christ)]
- 62. Église Universelle du Royaume de Dieu [Universal Church of the Kingdom of God]
- 63. Élégance Continentale [Continental Elegance]
- 64. Elewout Centrum [Elewout Center]
- 65. Emin FoundationThe Template NetworkThe Template Foundation, once known as the Emin Society or the Emin Foundation, is a belief system that stems from the work of Raymond Armin, known to members as Leo...
(originally "Church of Eminent Way") - 66. Énergie Humaine et Universelle (HUE): Institut Européen de Recherche de l'Énergie Humaine et Universelle IEREHU) [Human and Universal Energy (HUE): European Research Institute for Human and Universal Energy IEREHU]
- 67. Evangelische Christenen [Evangelical Christians]
- 68. Éveil de la Conscience [Waking of the Conscience]
- 69. Ex Deo Nascimur [From God we are born]
- 70. Fédération et Union Spirites Belges [Belgian Spirits Federation and Union]
- 71. Fellowship Friends Renaissance
- 72. Filiation Solazaref
- 73. Fraternité Blanche Universelle (FBU) [ Universal White BrotherhoodUniversal White BrotherhoodThe Universal White Brotherhood is a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century by Peter Deunov and established in France in 1947 by Mihail Ivanov , one of his followers, then renamed Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov...
; compare Great White BrotherhoodGreat White BrotherhoodThe Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended Masters...
] - 74. Friends Of Edo (F of E)
- 75. Gemeente van Christus [Parish of Christ]
- 76. God's River Ministries
- 77. Groep ter Verering van de Wenende Madonna van Bohan [Group for Honoring the Weeping Madonna of Bohan]
- 78. Groupe de Recherche et de Fondation en Analyse Existentielle [Research and Training Group in Existential Analysis]
- 79. Het Gereformeerde Evangelisatie Centrum Essen [The Essen Reformed Evangelization Center]
- 80. Het Werk (L'Oeuvre) [The Work]
- 81. Het Zwarte Licht [The Black Light]
- 82. Horus
- 83. Humana
- 84. I Am
- 85. Iatrosophie [Iatrosophy]
- 86. INDIP (Institut de développement et d'intégration de la personne) (centre primal) [INDIP (Institute for the Development and Integration of the personality) (primary centre)]
- 87. Insight Benelux (intermédiaire de Insight Educational Institute, en Californie) [Insight Benelux (associated with Insight Educational Institute, in California)]
- 88. Institut Gnostique d'Anthropologie (IGA) [Gnostic Institute of Anthropology (IGA)]
- 89. Institut Gurdjieff [The Gurdjieff Foundation]
- 90. Institut Yeuntenling A.S.B.L./Tibetaans Instituut V.Z.W. (Karma Sonam Gyamtso Ling)
- 91. Ishtar
- 92. IVI (Invitation à la vie intense) [IVI (Invitation to Intense Life)]
- 93. JainJainismJainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
Association - 94. Jiddu Krisna MurtiJiddu KrishnamurtiJiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti or , was a renowned writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society...
- 95. Kapel van het Allerheiligste Sacrament [Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament]
- 96. Katalys A.S.B.L. [Katalys asbl]
- 97. Kreative Energie [Creative Energy]
- 98. Kripalu Yoga
- 99. La Famille ou Association des communautés missionnaires chrétiennes indépendantes [ The Family or Association of Independent Christian Missionary Communities]
- 100. La Licorne de Jade [The Jade Unicorn]
- 101. La Lunaire [The Lunary]
- 102. La Paideutique
- 103. La Parole de Jésus [The Word of Jesus]
- 104. La Ramonette
- 105. La Voie de la Lumière [The Way of Light]
- 106. Landmark EducationLandmark EducationLandmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
- 107. Le Hêtre
- 108. Le Mantra d'Hasom [The Mantra of Hasom]
- 109. Le Patriarche [The Patriarch]
- 110. Le Rassemblement Europeen Ouvriers du Christ [The Workers of Christ European Rally]
- 111. Les Adorateurs du Nombril du Soleil [Worshippers of the Navel of the Sun]
- 112. Les Alchimistes [The Alchemists]
- 113. Les Amis de l'Homme (à l'origine «L'Ange de l'Eternel») [The Friends of ManFriends of ManThe Friends of Man are a Christian denomination founded in 1916 by Alexander F.L. Freytag, the former Branch manager of the Swiss Watch Tower Society since 1898...
(originally "The Angel of the Eternal")] - 114. Les Assemblées des Frères DarbystesPlymouth BrethrenThe Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
- 115. Les Croix de la Nouvelle Babylone [The Crosses of the New Babylon]
- 116. Les Matsya A.S.B.L.
- 117. Loge Noire [Black Lodge]
- 118. Longo-Mai
- 119. Maitreya (BAHA)
- 120. Meditation Transcendentale
[ Transcendental MeditationTranscendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
] - 121. Messias Concern [Messiah Concern]
- 122. Miroir Solaire [Mirror of the Sun]
- 123. Mission d'Arès [Ares Mission]
- 124. Mouvement du Graal
[ Grail MovementGrail MovementThe Grail Movement is an organization which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of Oskar Ernst Bernhardt , principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message...
] - 125. Mouvement Humaniste (Le Mouvement)
[ Humanist MovementHumanist MovementThe Humanist Movement is an international volunteer organisation that promotes nonviolence and non-discrimination. It is not an institution...
(The Movement)] - 126. Mouvement Raëlien Belge [Belgian RaelianRaëlismRaëlism is a UFO religion that was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël.The Raëlian Movement teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call the Elohim...
Movement] - 127. Nació dos Muchachos [Nation of Guys]
- 128. Noire Eau [Black Water]
- 129. Nouvelle Acropole [New Acropolis]
- 130. Oasis of Mellie Uyldertstichting [Oasis of Mellie UyldertMellie UyldertMellie Uyldert was a Dutch woman writer, alternative healer, occultist and astrologer. Uyldert made success with her about 30 esoteric books becoming a national reference in the Netherlands and a popular worldly author from New Age...
Foundation] - 131. Ogyen Kunzang Chöling (OKC)Buddhism in FranceBuddhism is widely reported to be the third largest religion in France, after Christianity, and Islam.France has over two hundred Buddhist meditation centers, including about twenty sizable retreat centers in rural areas...
- 132. Opstal
- 133. Opus DeiOpus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
- 134. Ordre de la Pleine Lune [Order of the Full Moon]
- 135. Ordre de la Rose-Croix [ Order of the Rose Cross ]
- 136. Ordre des Chevaliers du Temple, du Christ et de Notre-Dame (OCTCND) ou Fraternité Johannite pour la résurgence templière [Order of Knights of the Temple, of Christ and of Our Lady (OCTCND) or Johannite Fraternity for TemplarKnights TemplarThe Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
Renewal] - 137. Ordre du Divin Sacré Cœur (Cor Unum) [Order of the Divine Sacred Heart (Cor Unum)]
- 138. Ordre du Temple Solaire
[ Order of the Solar TempleOrder of the Solar TempleThe Order of the Solar Temple also known as Ordre du Temple Solaire in French, and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition or simply as The Solar Temple was a secret society based upon the modern myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar...
] - 139. Ordre Vert Druidique et de la Fraternité du Soleil Celtique [Druidic Green Order and Order of the Fraternity of the Celtic Sun]
- 140. OSMTH/OSMTJ (Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem) [OSMTH/SMOTJ: Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of JerusalemSovereign Military Order of the Temple of JerusalemThe Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani , also known as Knights Templar International, is a self-styled order founded in 1945 by Antonio Campello Pinto de Sousa Fontes , claiming to be a continuation of the self-styled l'Ordre du Temple founded in 1804 by Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat...
] - 141. Paramahansa YoganandaParamahansa YoganandaParamahansa Yogananda , born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a...
- 142. Payot Marie Blanche
- 143. Pere Samuel
[ Father SamuelFather SamuelFather Samuel is a Belgian Roman Catholic Priest of Turkish origin. His passport gives his name as Charles-Clément Boniface. However, he was born in 1942 in Midyat, Turkey, as Samuel Ozdemir. The latter is a surname the priest dislikes because he feels it was imposed on his family by the Turks...
] - 144. Pluk De Dag (Centrum der Duizend Zonnen) [Seize the Day (Centre of the Twelve Suns)]
- 145. Power
- 146. Quadratoquintillia
- 147. Religieus Genootschap der Vrienden Quakers
[ Religious Society of FriendsReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers)] - 148. Renouveau Charismatique
[ Charismatic Renewal] - 149. Sahaja YogaSahaja YogaSahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...
- 150. Satansekte [Satan cults]
- 151. Sathya Sai BabaSathya Sai BabaŚri Sathya Sai Baba , born as Sathyanarayana Raju was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, mystic, philanthropist, and educator. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, a spiritual saint and miracle worker who died in 1918 and whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and...
- 152. Savoir pour Être [Know in order to Be]
- 153. Selfrealisation Fellowship [ Self-Realization FellowshipSelf-Realization FellowshipSelf-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and based in Mount Washington in Los Angeles, California....
] - 154. Servanta
- 155. Shin Boedhisme (Jodo Shinso) [Shin Buddhism Jodo ShinshuJodo Shinshu, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
)] - 156. Shri Ram Chandra MissionShri Ram Chandra MissionThe Shri Ram Chandra Mission is a non-profit organization, a new religious movement. It was registered in 1945 in Lucknow, India, by Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur in memory of his spiritual teacher, Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh , whom he met a few times before Lalaji's death in 1931, and...
- 157. Siddha Shiva Yoga
[ Siddha YogaSiddha YogaSiddha Yoga is a spiritual path based on the Hindu spiritual traditions of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. The Siddha Yoga path was founded by Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa . The present spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path is Gurumayi Chidvilasananda...
] - 158. Sierra 21
- 159. Sint Egidiusgemeenschap [Community of Sant'Egidio | The Community of Saint Giles]
- 160. Soefi Beweging [ Sufi movementSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
] - 161. Soka Gakkai
- 162. Ster van David (Huis Maria van Bethlehem) [Star of David (Mary of Bethlehem House)]
- 163. Stromen van Kracht [Streams of Power]
- 164. Sûkyô MahikariSukyo MahikariSukyo Mahikari is a nonprofit spiritual and community service organization with centers in more than 75 countries. Originally founded by Kotama Okada in 1959 under the name L.H. Yokoshi Tomo no Kai, Sukyo Mahikari was registered on 23 June 1978 by Keishu Okada as part of an amicable settlement...
- 165. Summit Light HouseThe Summit LighthouseThe Summit Lighthouse is an international New Age spiritual organization founded in 1958 by Mark L. Prophet. Today it is the outreach arm of Church Universal and Triumphant, founded in 1975 by Prophet's wife, Elizabeth Clare Prophet...
- 166. Sunnatarem Belgium Natural Dubdist Meditation Center
- 167. Szatmar
- 168. T'ai chi
- 169. Tao YogaTaoist yogaTaoist Yoga is the title of a 1999 book about Tao Yin, meditation techniques in Taoism.Traditionally and historically speaking, Daoyin practices are stretching exercises, and static postures, usually combined with breath-work...
- 170. Teblig
- 171. Témoins de Jehovah [ Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
] - 172. Terre d'Enneille
- 173. The Elijah Mohammed Foundation
- 174. Theosofie V.Z.W. (Geüniëerde loge van Theosofen) [ TheosophyTheosophyTheosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
non-profit organization (United Lodge of Theosophists)] - 175. TheravadaTheravadaTheravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
- 176. Trans-Mutations
- 177. Trois Saints Cœurs [The Three Holy Hearts]
- 178. Vahali (I Am)
- 179. Thérapeute Yvo Van Orshoven (A.S.B.L. Esse) [The therapist Yvo Van Orshoven (Esse non-profit organisation)]
- 180. Verbond van Vlaamse Pinkstergemeenten [Union of Flemish PentecostalPentecostalismPentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
Churhes] - 181. Vibration Cœur [Vibrating Heart]
- 182. Vrij Evangelische Kerkgemeente [Free Evangelical Church Community]
- 183. Wat Asokaran [Wat Asokaram]
- 184. World Federation For Spiritual Healing
- 185. Young Women's Christian AssociationYoung Women's Christian AssociationYoung Women's Christian Association or YWCA or YWCA Building or Old YWCA Building or variations may refer to:*World YWCA, the organization formerly known as Young Women's Christian Associationor it may refer to:...
(YWCA) - 186. YSS [ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India ]
- 187. ZenZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
- 188. Zida Yoga
- 189. Zwarte Madonna - Satanskerk [Black Madonna - Church of Satan]
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (1999)
A Canadian Security Intelligence ServiceCanadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
report of 1999 discussed "Doomsday Religious Movements espousing hostile beliefs and having the potential to be violent.." Groups classified as "Doomsday Religious Movements
Destructive cult
A destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
" included:
- the Branch Davidians
- Canada's Order of the Solar TempleOrder of the Solar TempleThe Order of the Solar Temple also known as Ordre du Temple Solaire in French, and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition or simply as The Solar Temple was a secret society based upon the modern myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar...
- Aum ShinrikyoAum ShinrikyoAum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
The report referred to Aum Shinrikyo at one point as the "Aum cult".
France
In 1995, a parliamentary commission of the National Assembly of France on cults produced its report (in French: compare an unofficial English translation). The report included a list of purported cults compiled by the general information division of the French National PoliceFrench National Police
The National Police , formerly the Sûreté Nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural...
(Renseignements généraux — a French police service) in association with cult-watching groups.
In May 2005 the then Prime Minister of France
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
, in a circulaire
Circulaire
In France, Italy, Belgium, and some other civil law countries, a circulaire , circolare or omzendbrief consists of a text intended for the members of a service, of an enterprise, or of an administration....
(which stressed that the government must exercise vigilance in continuing the fight against the cult-phenomenon, said that the list of movements attached to the Parliamentary Report of 1995 had become less pertinent, based on the observation that many small groups had formed: scattered, more mobile, and less-easily identifiable, and that the government needed to balance its fight against cults with respect for public freedoms and laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
(secularism). The Prime Minister asked his civil servants to update a number of ministerial instructions issued by previous commissions, to apply criteria set in consultation with the Interministerial Commission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances (MIVILUDES
MIVILUDES
MIVILUDES , a French government agency, has the task of:* observing and analyzing movements perceived as constituting a threat to public order or that violate French law*...
), and to avoid falling back solely on lists of groups for the identification of cultic deviances.
Subsequent French parliamentary commissions on cults reported on specific aspects of cult activity in 1999 and in 2006.
French parliamentary commission report (1995)
Opinion in France varies as to the applicability of the 1995 Parliamentary report. A provincial court case noted that all such Parliamentary reports have no juridicial impact. And as stated above, a Prime Ministerial circulaire warned that name-changes had reduced the usefulness of this particular Parliamentary report.- ALPHA Cultural Association (Association Culturelle ALPHA) 1977
- AMPARAAmparaAmpara is a remote city on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, about 360 km from the capital city of Colombo. It belongs to the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It was a part of the domain of Kavantissa and was then known as "Ambaragama", which over the years changed to Ambara to Ampara...
- ANTHROPOS – Association for Research on the Holistic Development of Man (ANTHROPOS - Association pour la recherche sur le développement holistique de l'homme)
- Antoinist WorshipAntoinismAntoinism is a healer and Christian-oriented new religious movement founded in 1910 by the Walloon Louis-Joseph Antoine in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Seraing. With a total of 64 temples, over forty reading rooms across the world and thousands of members, it remains the only religion established in Belgium...
(Culte Antoiniste) - Apostolic Order – Therapeutic Healing EnvironmentThe Twelve Tribes (New religious movement)The Twelve Tribes , formerly known as The Vine Christian Community Church, Northeast Kingdom Community Church, The Messianic Communities, and the Community Apostolic Order is an international confederation of religious communities founded by Gene Spriggs that sprang out of the Jesus Movement in...
(Ordre apostolique - Therapeutic healing environment) - ASPIRAL
- Association for Defence of Freedom of Expression in the French Institution (ADLEIF) (Association de défense des libertés d'expression dans l'institution française (ADLEIF))
- Association for Promotion of the Industrial Arts (APPAI) (Association pour la promotion des arts industrieux (APPAI))
- Association for the Research and Study of Survival (APRES) (Association pour la recherche et l'étude de la survivance (APRES))
- Association for Unification of Christianity WorldwideUnification ChurchThe Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
(Association pour l'unification du christianisme mondial) - Association of Meditation in France (Association de méditation en France)
- ATHANORAthanorIn alchemy, an athanor is a furnace used to provide heat for alchemical digestion. An athanor is a self-feeding furnace, designed to maintain a uniform temperature....
- Azazel Institute Inc. (AZAZEL INSTITUTE INC)
- Be-Exist-Energetics (Etre-Exister-Energètique)
- Butcheries Community (Communauté Les boucheries)
- Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual UniversityBrahma Kumaris World Spiritual UniversityBrahma Kumaris World Spiritual University or Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya is a monastic, renunciate Millenarian new religious movement of Indian origin...
(Université spirituelle internationale des Brahma Kumaris) - CEDIPAC SA (formerly GEPM) (CEDIPAC SAS.A. (corporation)S.A. designates a particular type of corporation in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. It originated in Spain during the 16th century. Depending on language, the abbreviation stands for various phrases meaning anonymous society, anonymous company, anonymous partnership, or...
(ex-GEPM) - Centre for Mahatayana Meditation (Centre de méditation Mahatayana)
- Centre for the Blossoming and Aid of Francis de Sales (Centre d'épanouissement et aide François de Sales)
- Centre of Dalmatie Therapy (Centre de thérapie Dalmatie)
- Centre of Gnostic Studies (Centre d'Etudes Gnostiques)
- Centre of Human Development (Centre de développement humain)
- Centre of the Djivana Prana Swan – Source of Life (Centre du cygne Djivana Prana - Source de vie)
- Christian Life in France – Centre of Christian Life (Vie chrétienne en France - Centre de vie chrétienne)
- Church of Paris (L'Église à Paris)
- Church of Scientology of ParisScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
(Église de Scientologie de Paris) - Communion of Satonnay (Communion de Satonnay)
- Community for the propagation of the universal lifeUniversal LifeUniversal Life is the name of a controversial new religious movement based in Würzburg, Germany, which is described by members as a part of the new revelation movement, and by critics as a cult...
(Communauté pour la propagation de la vie universelle) - Community of the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Sacred HeartLeague for Catholic Counter-ReformationThe League for Catholic Counter-Reformation , is a nationalist and ultramontane organization founded in 1967 by Georges de Nantes, a former abbot who was suspended a divinis on 25 August 1966...
(Communauté des petits frères et des petites sœurs du Sacré-coeur) - Contact, Information and Resource Centre for the Prevention of Cancer (Centre de documentation et d'information et de contact pour la prévention du cancer)
- Cosmicia
- Cosmos - Intuition – Wings (Cosmos - Intuition – Ailes)
- Cross Ones of the New Babylon (Les croisés de la nouvelle Babylone)
- Cultural office of Cluny – National Federation of Total Animation (Office culturel de Cluny - Fédération nationale d'animation globale)
- Cultural Space Being Now (ECEM) (Espace culturel Etre maintenant (ECEM))
- Dakpo Shampa Kadgyu
- Domain of Ephesus (Domaine d'Ephèse)
- Eckankar FranceEckankarEckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
(Eckankar France) - Eija
- El – Be Its Body (El - Etre son corps)
- Emissaries of the Divine Light
- Energy and Creation – Energy and Creativity (Energie et création - Energie et créativité)
- Energy worldEnergy WorldEnergy World was a demonstration project of 51 low-energy houses constructed in the Shenley Lodge area of Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. The project was promoted by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation and culminated in a public exhibition in August and October 1986 that attracted...
(Energy world) - Evangelical Pentecostal Church of BesançonEvangelical Pentecostal Church of BesançonThe Evangelical Missionary Church of Besançon , formerly known as the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon and The Mission, is a Christian movement established in Besançon, France, in December 1963...
(Eglise évangélique de Pentecôte de Besançon) - Faculty of Parapsychology (Faculté de parapsychologie)
- Family of Nazareth (Famille de Nazareth)
- Foundation Elan vitalElan Vital (organization)Elan Vital is the name of several organizations that support the work of Prem Rawat, also known by the honorary title "Maharaji". Prem Rawat speaks of the possibility of knowing inner peace through four techniques of Knowledge. Elan Vital organizations exist in several countries with the purpose of...
(Fondation Elan vital) - French Federation for Krishna Consciousness (Fédération française pour la conscience de Krishna)
- French Raëlian Movement (Mouvement Raëlien français)
- Friends of Mary – Poor Ones of Mary (Les amis de Marie - Les pauvres de Marie)
- Friends of the Glorious Cross of DozuleFriends of the Glorious Cross of DozuléThe Friends of the Glorious Cross of Dozulé is a Christian movement founded in the 1980s in the Calvados département, France. It is based on a series of miraculous revelations received in Dozulé in the 1970s...
(Amis de la croix glorieuse de Dozule) - Friends of the St. Andréas Brotherhood (Les amis de la confrérie Saint-Andréas)
- Gardens of LifeGardens of LifeThe Gardens of Life are a fictional location in the epic fantasy Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Being the home of the Ellcrys, the magical tree that keeps the Demons of old locked away in an alternate universe , it was one of the central locations in The Elfstones of Shannara.- Description :The...
(Les jardins de la vie) - Gilded Light (Lumière dorée)
- Grail Movement in FranceGrail MovementThe Grail Movement is an organization which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of Oskar Ernst Bernhardt , principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message...
(Mouvement du Graal en France) - Grand Lodge Sovereign International Magic and Theurgic, Egyptian Rite – Cagliostro (Grande loge souveraine internationale magique et theurgique de rite égyptien - Cagliostro)
- Haidyakhan Spiritual Association (Association spirituelle d'Haiyakhan)
- Hermitage of Christ of Peace (Ermitage du Christ de la paix)
- Holistic Harmony (Harmonie holistique)
- Holosophic Society of France (Société holosophique de France)
- House of John (La maison de Jean)
- Human and Universal Energy France – HUE France (Energie humaine et universelle France - HUE France)
- Humana France – TVINDTvindTvind is an international school centre in the small town of Ulfborg in Denmark, founded in 1970. The schools in Denmark are a progressive part of the Danish educational landscape and have educated more than 40,000 students over the years...
(Humana France - TVIND) - Humanist MovementHumanist MovementThe Humanist Movement is an international volunteer organisation that promotes nonviolence and non-discrimination. It is not an institution...
(Mouvement humaniste) - Iesu no mitama kyokai (Church of the Holy Spirit of Jesus) (Iesu no mitama kyokai (Eglise du Saint Esprit de Jésus))
- Imagine
- Initiatory Circle of the Western Wicca Unicorn (Cercle initiatique de la licorne Wicca occidentale)
- Insight seminars – InnergyInsight SeminarsInsight Seminars is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The first seminar was led in 1978 by founders John-Roger and Russell Bishop under the name Insight Training Seminars. Insight has held seminars in 34 countries for adults, teens, and children, in...
- Institute of Holistic Sciences of the West (Institut des sciences holistiques de l'Ouest)
- Institute of Physical and Conscious Research (Institut de recherche physique et conscience)
- Institute of Psychoanalytic Research (Institut de recherches psychanalytiques)
- Institute of the Vedic Maharashi Science in Paris – C.P.M. – Club for Meditators ("Transcendental Meditation")Transcendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
(Institut de science vedique maharishi Paris - C.P.M. - Club pour méditants ( " Méditation transcendentale " )) - International Center of Parapsychology and the Scientific Research of the New Age (Centre international de parapsychologie et de recherche scientifique du Nouvel Age)
- International Churches of Christ in France (Eglises du Christ international en France)
- International Division Communication (Partage international communication)
- International Federation for the Development of the Instinctive Feeding (FIDALI)AnopsologyAnopsology a nutritional theory outlined in 1964 by Guy-Claude Burger. It led to a raw food diet based on the evolution theory and the assumption of the existence of a nutritional instinct, capable of adjusting food intake to nutritional needs via sensory pleasure...
(Fédération internationale pour le développement de l'alimentation instinctive (FIDALI)) - International Society of the Analytical Trilogy (Société internationale de trilogie analytique -sarl-)
- International WayThe Way InternationalThe Way International is a non denominational Christian ministry based in New Knoxville, Ohio, with home fellowships located in the United States and in over 30 other countries. It was founded by Victor Paul Wierwille in 1942 as a radio program, and became The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan in 1947, and...
(La voie internationale) - Invitation to the Intense Life (Invitation à la vie intense)
- Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
(Témoins de Jéhovah) - Key of the Universe (Clé de l'univers)
- Khristic Church of the New Jerusalem Order of Raolf, Arnold and Osmond (Eglise Khristique de la Jérusalem Nouvelle ordre de Raolf, d'Arnold et d'Osmond)
- Knights of the Gold Lotus (Chevaliers du Lotus d'or)
- Knowing how to Change Now (Savoir changer maintenant)
- Kofuku no kagaku (Institute for Research of Happiness of Man)Kofuku no Kagakuis a new religious and spiritual movement founded in Japan on 6 October 1986 by Ryuho Okawa with over 12 million followers in 85 countries. Happy Science became an official religious organization in Japan, March 7, 1991....
(Kofuku no kagaku (institut pour la recherche du bonheur de l'homme)) - Landmark Education InternationalLandmark EducationLandmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
/The ForumWerner Erhard and AssociatesWerner Erhard and Associates, also known as WE&A or as WEA, operated as a commercial entity from February 1981 until early 1991. It replaced Erhard Seminars Training, Inc. as the vehicle for marketing, selling and imparting the content of the est training, and offered what some people refer to as...
(Landmark education international - Le forum) - Lectorium RosicrucianumLectorium RosicrucianumThe Lectorium Rosicrucianum is a worldwide school of Esoteric Christianity founded in 1935 by Dutch mystics Jan van Rijckenborgh, his brother Zwier Willem Leene and Catharose de Petri...
(Gold Rosicrucian Brotherhood) (Lectorium rosicrucianum (Rose-Croix d'or)) - Leisure and Health - The Body Mirror (Loisirs et santé - Le corps miroir)
- Light of Maat (Lumière du Maat)
- Lucien J. Engelmajet Association (Association Lucien J. Engelmajet)
- MAEV
- Maha Shakti Mandir
- Mandala 33
- Mary's Arch (Arche de Marie)
- Methodical Ontology Culture and Tradition (Ontologie méthodique culture et tradition)
- Mission Swmi Atmananda Atma Bodha Satsanga (Mission Swmi Atmananda Atma Bodha Satsanga)
- Monastic Order of Avalon (Ordre monastique d'Avallon)
- Natale Institute (Institut Frank Natale)
- Neo-Apostolic Church of FranceNew Apostolic ChurchThe New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
(Eglise néo-apostolique de France) - New Acropolis Association of France (ANAF)New AcropolisNew Acropolis , New Acropolis (NA), New Acropolis (NA), (official name - Asociación Cultural Nueva Acrópolis. is a worldwide non-profit organisation founded in 1957 by Jorge Angel Livraga Rizzi (died 1991)...
(Association Nouvelle Acropole France (ANAF)) - New Era (La nouvelle ère)
- Notre Dame Fraternity (Fraternité Notre Dame)
- Ogyen Kunzang Choling
- Order of Scientific Scribes and Initiatory Mysteries (Ordonnance des scribes scientifiques et des mystères initiatiques)
- Order of the Burning Grail (Ordre du Graal ardent)
- Order of the Knights of France and of the Holy Trinity (Ordre des chevaliers de France et de la Trinité Sainte)
- Order of the Lily and the Eagle (Ordre du lys et de l'aigle)
- Order of the Universal Temple (Ordre du temple universel)
- Ordo Templi OrientisOrdo Templi OrientisOrdo Templi Orientis is an international fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century...
- OSHO Information CentreRajneeshOsho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(Centre d'information OSHO) - Oxygen Comets – The Mill of the Sun (Comètes oxygènes - Le moulin du soleil)
- Oxyon 777 (ex-Harmonia) (Oxyon 777 (ex-Harmonia))
- Paris Dharma Sah – Lotus Sangha of European Social Buddhism (Paris Dharma Sah - Lotus Sangha of European social buddhism)
- Philosopher of Nature (Philosophe de la nature)
- Philosophic Church of Lucifer (Eglise philosophique Luciférienne)
- Prelude to the Golden Age Club (Club prélude à l'Age d'or)
- Psychanimie Institute (Institut de psychanimie)
- Queen of Peace – Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and of Saint Louis de Montfort (Reine de la paix - Ordre du coeur immaculé de Marie et de Saint Louis de MontfortLouis de MontfortSt. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
) - Raphaël Centre of Psychic Applications (Centre d'applications psychiques "Raphaël")
- Red Concept Limited (Red concept limited)
- ReiyukaiReiyukaiis an organization founded in 1920 by Kakutarō Kubo and Kimi Kotani. It is a lay organization—meaning that there are no priests—associated with Nichiren Buddhism...
- Renovated Order of the Temple (ORT) (Ordre rénové du Temple (ORT))
- Revelation of the 7th Hour (Révélation de la 7ème heure)
- Right of Survival Association (Association Le Droit de survie)
- Rosicrucians
- Saint Bani (Saint Bani)
- Saman
- Sanctuary
- School for Preparation for Extraterrestrial Evacuation (Ecole de la préparation de l'évacuation extra terrestre)
- School of Essentialism Association (Association de soutien à l'oeuvre de Sundari - L'Ecole de l'essentialisme)
- Science of Mind (La science du mental)
- Seimeikyo Europe (Seimeikyo Europe)
- Shinji Shumeikai France (Shinji Shumeikai France)
- Shri Ram Chandra Mission FranceShri Ram Chandra MissionThe Shri Ram Chandra Mission is a non-profit organization, a new religious movement. It was registered in 1945 in Lucknow, India, by Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur in memory of his spiritual teacher, Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh , whom he met a few times before Lalaji's death in 1931, and...
(Shri Ram Chandra Mission France) - Siderella
- Silva Method Mind ControlSilva MethodThe Silva Method is the name given to a self help program developed by José Silva, which claims to increase an individual's IQ and sense of personal well-being through relaxation and by developing their higher brain functions...
(Méthode Sylva de contrôle mental) - Sister Rasta MovementRastafari movementThe Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
(Sister mouvement rasta) - Soka Gakkai International FranceSoka Gakkai Internationalis a lay religious movement within Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin....
(Soka Gakkai internationale France) - Spiritual Emergence Network France – Holotropic Breathing (Spiritual Emergence Network France - Respiration holotropique)
- Sri Chinmoy Association of ParisSri ChinmoyChinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
(Association Sri Chinmoy de Paris) - St. Germain Foundation (Fondation Saint-germain)
- St. Preux Institute (Institut de Saint-Preux)
- Star's Edge International – Avatar MethodHarry Palmer (Avatar)The Avatar Course, often simply called Avatar, is a series of LGAT self-development courses founded in 1986 by Harry Palmer and run by his privately held company, Star's Edge, Inc., which trains and licenses Avatar Masters to deliver the Avatar Course worldwide.- Structure :The first version of...
(Star's edge international - Méthode Avatar) - Study, Tradition and Research in Energetics (E.T.R.E.) (Etude tradition et recherche en énergétique (E.T.R.E.))
- Subud Association of France – Susila Dharma FranceSubudSubud is an international spiritual movement that began in Indonesia in the 1920s as a movement founded by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. The basis of Subud is a spiritual exercise commonly referred to as the latihan kejiwaan, which was said by Muhammad Subuh to represent guidance from...
(Association Subud de France - Susila Dharma France) - Suicide of the River Banks (Le suicide des rives)
- Sukyo Mahikari – Light of TruthSukyo MahikariSukyo Mahikari is a nonprofit spiritual and community service organization with centers in more than 75 countries. Originally founded by Kotama Okada in 1959 under the name L.H. Yokoshi Tomo no Kai, Sukyo Mahikari was registered on 23 June 1978 by Keishu Okada as part of an amicable settlement...
(Sukyo Mahikari - Lumière de vérité) - Supermen Club (Le club des surhommes)
- Supreme Paravidya Wisdom (Paravidya sagesse suprême)
- Teaching and Therapy of Evolutionary Search (Enseignement et thérapie de recherches évolutives)
- The Eye OpensPilgrims of ArèsThe Pilgrims of Arès is the name of a new religious movement founded in 1974 and whose founder was Michel Potay. It was named after the town of Arès, Gironde, where Michel Potay would have received revelations. Beliefs and practices are based on the Revelation of Arès, written by Potay.-Members and...
(L'oeil s'ouvre) - The Family (formerly "Children of God") (La Famille (ex-Enfants de Dieu))
- The Grand Lodge (Le grand logis)
- The Paraclete Centre (Centre du Paraclet)
- Thébaide Community (Communauté de la Thébaide)
- Theological Institute of NîmesTheological Institute of NîmesThe Theological Institute of Nîmes is a Baptist-oriented college and seminary created in Uchaud, Gard, in 1989 by Louis DeMeo, a Baptist pastor of the American Greater Grace World Outreach Church. Thereafter, the institute moved to Montpellier...
(Institut théologique de Nîmes) - Timothy Mission (Mission Timothée)
- Tradition Family PropertyAmerican Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and PropertyThe American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property is a civic organization of traditional Roman Catholic inspiration...
(Tradition Famille Propriété) - Trans-Mutations (Trans-mutations)
- Tree in the Environment (L'arbre au milieu)
- Union of Sri Sathya Sai Associations, Centres and GroupsSathya Sai BabaŚri Sathya Sai Baba , born as Sathyanarayana Raju was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, mystic, philanthropist, and educator. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, a spiritual saint and miracle worker who died in 1918 and whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and...
(Union des associations centres et groupes Sri Sathya Sai) - Universal AllianceUniversal AllianceThe Universal Alliance , formerly known as Universal Christian Church and followers as Christ's Witnesses , is a Christian-oriented new religious movement founded in France in 1952 by Georges Roux, a former postman in the Vaucluse department...
(Alliance universelle) - Universal Church of GodWorldwide Church of GodGrace Communion International , formerly the Worldwide Church of God , is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Glendora, California, United States. Since April 3, 2009, it has used the new name Grace Communion International in the US...
(Eglise universelle de Dieu) - Universal Church of God's KingdomUniversal Church of the Kingdom of GodUniversal Church of the Kingdom of God is a Pentecostal Christian organisation established in Brazil on July 9, 1977, with a presence in many countries...
(Eglise universelle du royaume de Dieu) - Universal White BrotherhoodUniversal White BrotherhoodThe Universal White Brotherhood is a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century by Peter Deunov and established in France in 1947 by Mihail Ivanov , one of his followers, then renamed Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov...
(Fraternité blanche universelle) - Venture
- Village of Aquarius (Le village du verseau)
- Vishwa Nirmala Dharma – Sahaja YogaSahaja YogaSahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...
(Viswa Nirmala Dharma - Sahaja Yoga) - Vital Harmony SA (Vital Harmony SAS.A. (corporation)S.A. designates a particular type of corporation in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. It originated in Spain during the 16th century. Depending on language, the abbreviation stands for various phrases meaning anonymous society, anonymous company, anonymous partnership, or...
) - Viveka
- Vo Vi Association of France – Friends of the Science of Non-being of France (Association Vo Vi de France - Amis de la Science du non être de France)
- Way of Light (Unity of Research Projects for the Evolution of Light) (La voie de la lumière (unité de recherches pour l'évolution de la lumière))
- Word of Faith – World Evangelisation (La parole de foi - Evangélisation mondiale)
French parliamentary commission report (1999)
The French Parliamentary report of 1999 on cults and money concentrated its attention on some 30 groups which it judged as major players in respect of their financial influence. It underlined the non-exhaustive character of its investigations, seeing them as a snapshot at a point in time and based on informatiion available.The groups examined included:
- Anthroposophie (AnthroposophyAnthroposophyAnthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
) - Au Cœur de la Communication (At the Heart of Communication)
- Contre-réforme catholique (League for Catholic Counter-ReformationLeague for Catholic Counter-ReformationThe League for Catholic Counter-Reformation , is a nationalist and ultramontane organization founded in 1967 by Georges de Nantes, a former abbot who was suspended a divinis on 25 August 1966...
) - Dianova (Ex-Le Patriarche) (Dianova (formerly: the Patriarch))
- Église du Christ (Boston Church of Christ)
- Église Néo-apostolique (New Apostolic ChurchNew Apostolic ChurchThe New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
) - Énergo-Chromo-KinèseEnergo-Chromo-KineseEnergo-Chromo-Kinese, also named ECK, is a pseudo-scientific and esoteric-oriented new religious movement founded in October 1987 in Villefranche-sur-Mer by Patrick Véret, a former acupuncturist and homeopath, and his wife, Danièle Drouant....
(ECK) - Fédération d'agrément des réseaux (ex-Groupement européen des professionnels du marketing) (Federation of the networks of agreement (formerly: European Grouping of Marketing Professionals (GEPM))
- Fraternité blanche universelle (Universal White BrotherhoodUniversal White BrotherhoodThe Universal White Brotherhood is a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century by Peter Deunov and established in France in 1947 by Mihail Ivanov , one of his followers, then renamed Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov...
) - Invitation à la Vie (Invitation to LifeInvitation to LifeInvitation to Life is a new religious movement with Catholic background, founded in Paris in 1983 by Yvonne Trubert. It defines itself as a "christic" movement and focuses on miraculous recoveries performed by Christ, but it is not recognized by the Catholic Church...
) - Innergy (Insight SeminarsInsight SeminarsInsight Seminars is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The first seminar was led in 1978 by founders John-Roger and Russell Bishop under the name Insight Training Seminars. Insight has held seminars in 34 countries for adults, teens, and children, in...
) - Krishna (Hare Krishna movement)
- Landmark (Landmark EducationLandmark EducationLandmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
) - Mahikari (Sûkyô MahikariSukyo MahikariSukyo Mahikari is a nonprofit spiritual and community service organization with centers in more than 75 countries. Originally founded by Kotama Okada in 1959 under the name L.H. Yokoshi Tomo no Kai, Sukyo Mahikari was registered on 23 June 1978 by Keishu Okada as part of an amicable settlement...
) - Mandarom
- Méthode Avatar (Avatar Method)Harry Palmer (Avatar)The Avatar Course, often simply called Avatar, is a series of LGAT self-development courses founded in 1986 by Harry Palmer and run by his privately held company, Star's Edge, Inc., which trains and licenses Avatar Masters to deliver the Avatar Course worldwide.- Structure :The first version of...
- Moon (Unification ChurchUnification ChurchThe Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
) - Mouvement du Graal (Grail MovementGrail MovementThe Grail Movement is an organization which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of Oskar Ernst Bernhardt , principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message...
) - Mouvement Raëlien (RaelianRaëlismRaëlism is a UFO religion that was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël.The Raëlian Movement teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call the Elohim...
Movement) - Nouvelle Acropole (New AcropolisNew AcropolisNew Acropolis , New Acropolis (NA), New Acropolis (NA), (official name - Asociación Cultural Nueva Acrópolis. is a worldwide non-profit organisation founded in 1957 by Jorge Angel Livraga Rizzi (died 1991)...
) - Office culturel de Cluny (Cultural office of Cluny – National Federation of Total Animation)
- Ogyen Kunzang Chöling
- Orkos (AnopsologyAnopsologyAnopsology a nutritional theory outlined in 1964 by Guy-Claude Burger. It led to a raw food diet based on the evolution theory and the assumption of the existence of a nutritional instinct, capable of adjusting food intake to nutritional needs via sensory pleasure...
) - Pentecôte de Besançon (Evangelical Pentecostal Church of BesançonEvangelical Pentecostal Church of BesançonThe Evangelical Missionary Church of Besançon , formerly known as the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon and The Mission, is a Christian movement established in Besançon, France, in December 1963...
) - Prima Verba
- Rose-Croix - AMORC (Rosicrucian OrderAncient Mystical Order Rosae CrucisThe Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis , also called Rosicrucian Order, is a philosophical and humanist worldwide fraternal organization. Members are known as students...
) - Rose-Croix d'Or (Gold Rosicrucian BrotherhoodLectorium RosicrucianumThe Lectorium Rosicrucianum is a worldwide school of Esoteric Christianity founded in 1935 by Dutch mystics Jan van Rijckenborgh, his brother Zwier Willem Leene and Catharose de Petri...
) - Scientologie (ScientologyScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
) - Soka Gakkaï (Sōka Gakkai)
- La méthode Silva (The Silva MethodSilva MethodThe Silva Method is the name given to a self help program developed by José Silva, which claims to increase an individual's IQ and sense of personal well-being through relaxation and by developing their higher brain functions...
) - Témoins de Jéhovah (Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
) - Tradition Famille Propriété (Tradition Family PropertyAmerican Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and PropertyThe American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property is a civic organization of traditional Roman Catholic inspiration...
)
Berlin Senate report (1997)
An official report of a SenateSenate of Berlin
The Senate of Berlin is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to eight Senators appointed by the Governing Mayor, two of whom are appointed ...
Committee of the city and state of Berlin in Germany listed and discussed cults , emphasizing with its sub-title their categorization as "entities espousing a world view
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
and new religions". The 1997 Berlin Senate report — entitled Cults: Risks and Side-effects: Information on selected new religious and world-view espousing Movements and Psycho-offerings — subdivided "selected suppliers" (ausgewählte Anbieter) of its objects of interest as:
- 7.1: Groups with a Christian background (Gruppen mit christlichem Hintergrund)
- 7.1.1 Fiat Lux
- 7.1.2 Parish on the Road Evangelical Free Church (registered association) (Gemeinde auf dem Weg Evangelische Freikirche e.V)
- 7.1.3 Parish of Jesus Christ (registered association) Boston Church of Christ (Gemeinde Jesu Christi e.V. (Boston Church of Christ))
- 7.1.4 Universal LifeUniversal LifeUniversal Life is the name of a controversial new religious movement based in Würzburg, Germany, which is described by members as a part of the new revelation movement, and by critics as a cult...
(Re-gathering of Jesus Christ) (Universelles Leben (Heimholungswerk Jesu Christi/HHW)) - 7.1.5 Unification ChurchUnification ChurchThe Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
(MoonSun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
movement) (Vereinigungskirche (Mun-Bewegung))
- 7.2 Groups with a paganPaganismPaganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
background (Gruppen mit heidnischem Hintergrund)- 7.2.1 Teutonic Belief Association (registered association) (Germanische Glaubengemeinschaft e.V. (GGG))
- 7.2.2 Pagan Association (registered association) (Heidnische Gemeinschaft e.V. (HG))
- 7.3 Groups with a HinduisticHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
background (Gruppen mit hinduistischem Hintergrund)- 7.3.1 International Society for Krishna ConsciousnessInternational Society for Krishna ConsciousnessThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(ISKCON) (International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)) - 7.3.2 OSHO-Movement (OshoOsho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
) (OSHO-Bewegung (Bhagwan)) - 7.3.3 Ruhani Satsang of Thakar SinghSant Thakar SinghSant Thakar Singh was a spiritual teacher in the Sant Mat lineage of contemporary saints.Initiated by Sant Kirpal Singh in 1965, he began work as a Satguru himself in 1976, following the passing of his beloved Master...
(Ruhani Satsang des Thakar Singh) - 7.3.4 Transcendental MeditationTranscendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
(TM) (Transzendentale Meditation (TM))
- 7.3.1 International Society for Krishna Consciousness
- 7.4 Suppliers of Life-Help (Anbieter von Lebenshilfe)
- commercial: (kommerziell:)
- 7.4.1 The Circle of Friends of Bruno GröningBruno GröningBruno Gröning was from Germany. He came to prominence in Germany in the 1940s and 1950s after World War II.- Attitudes :...
(Bruno Gröning-Freundeskreise) - 7.4.2 Context Seminar Company Limited (Kontext Seminar GmbH)
- 7.4.3 Landmark EducationLandmark EducationLandmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
(LE) (Landmark Education (LE)) - 7.4.4 Art Reade
- 7.4.5 ScientologyScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
- 7.4.6 The Natale Institute (TNI)
- non-commercial: (nicht kommerziell:)
- 7.4.7 Union for the Enhancement of the psychological Knowledge of Mankind (Verein zur Förderung der psychologischen Menschenkenntnis (VPM))
- 7.5 Occultism/SatanismSatanismSatanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
(Okkultismus/Satanismus) - 7.6 So-called Multi-level MarketersMulti-level marketingMulti-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...
(Sogenannte Strukturvertriebe)
The current (2002) Senate report (published as risiken_und_nebenwirkungen2.pdf), which bears the title-page Alles Sekte—oder was?, does not contain such a list: its structure and title differ thoroughly from the 1997 report. The list appeared in the Senate report of 1997, which bore the title-page: Sekten: Risiken und Nebenwirkungen.
Committee on Government Reform (August 1999)
Suspect Organizations and Individuals Possessing Long-Range Fifty Caliber Sniper WeaponsA report to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Section VI is entitled "Montana Doomsday Religious Cult - "Church Universal and Triumphant".
- Church Universal and TriumphantChurch Universal and TriumphantChurch Universal and Triumphant is an international New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is an outgrowth of The Summit Lighthouse, founded in 1958 by Prophet's husband, Mark L. Prophet...
Project Megiddo (October 1999)
Project Megiddo consisted of an FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
analysis, with a report released on October 20, 1999. The report warned against: "the potential for extremist criminal activity in the United States by individuals or domestic groups who attach special significance to the year 2000." Its analysis focused on apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
religious groups, doomsday cults
Destructive cult
A destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
and (New World Order)
New World Order (conspiracy)
In conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a totalitarian one-world government.The common theme in conspiracy theories about a New World Order is that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an...
conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
The report discussed the potential for violence in groups that it called "biblically-driven cults"
The report then went on to warn that "less time spent on "Bible study" and more time spent on "physical training" - indicate that the cult may be preparing for some type of action." Groups singled out and analyzed in the report under the heading "Apocalyptic Cults" included the Branch Davidians and the Concerned Christians
Concerned Christians
Monte Kim Miller formed a group known as the Concerned Christians in Colorado, during the 1980s. Created as an element of the Christian countercult movement to combat New Age religious movements and anti-Christian sentiment, it has shifted to more of a apocalyptic Christian movement as the group...
. The International Asatru-Odinic Alliance accused the FBI of violating its First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
rights to freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, free speech, and peaceful assembly
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
. The reason given for this accusation was the propagation of "numerous false statements and innuendos" about Odinism
Odinism
Odinism is a type of Germanic Neopaganism.Odinism may also refer to:*Norse paganism** the cult of Odin- See also :*Odinist Fellowship*Odinic Rite*The Odin Brotherhood*Wotanism, a Völkisch / White Nationalist movement*Wodenism...
in the Project Megiddo report.
Assessing the Threat (December 1999)
On December 15, 1999 the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction presented a report called Assessing the Threat to the President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. The report discusses the 1984 contamination of salad bars in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh group, and the Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
The Sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, usually referred to in the Japanese media as the , was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by members of Aum Shinrikyo on March 20, 1995....
of 1995. Both groups are referred to as cults in the report.
The Advisory Panel was created through an Act of the United States Congress, Public Law 105-261 (H.R. 3616, 105th Congress, 2nd Section, October 17, 1998), and was directed to submit three annual reports to the President and the Congress, beginning in December 1999. The Act of Congress establishing the Advisory Panel is titled Section 1405 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 1999. The Advisory Panel was also referred to as the Gilmore Commission
Gilmore Commission
Gilmore Commission is the informal and commonly used name for the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction....
, after its chair former Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
James S. Gilmore III.
Controversy over Antoinism
In France, AntoinismAntoinism
Antoinism is a healer and Christian-oriented new religious movement founded in 1910 by the Walloon Louis-Joseph Antoine in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Seraing. With a total of 64 temples, over forty reading rooms across the world and thousands of members, it remains the only religion established in Belgium...
was classified as a cult in the 1995 parliamentary reports which considered it one of the oldest healer groups. However, on 27 May 2005, the 1995 annex of the French report and cult classifications in which the Antoinist worship was listed, were officially cancelled and invalidated by Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is a French conservative politician and senator for Vienne.Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. However, after Raffarin...
's circulaire. Books published by Belgian and French anti-cult associations and activists sometimes included Antoinism in their lists of cults, such as Cults, State of Emergency — Better know them, better defend oneself in France and worldwide (Les Sectes, État d'urgence — Mieux les connaître, mieux s'en défendre en France et dans le monde), published by the Centre Roger Ikor
Centre contre les manipulations mentales
The Centre contre les manipulations mentales , widely named CCMM or Center Ikor Roger, is a French anti-cult association....
, and others. In the early 2000s, membership of an Antoinist mother in Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
was used by her former husband to remove from her the custody of their son; the decision received attention from media and was criticized by the French sociologist Régis Dericquebourg as being unjustified. When heard by the Belgian commission on cults, philosopher Luc Nefontaine said that "the establishment of a directory of cult movements (...) seems to him dangerous, because it would also give a bad image of quite honourable organizations such as (...) Antoinism".
Further reading
- Whittier, Charles H., The Cultic Phenomena: New and Emerging Religious Movements in America, "Addendum II: Religious Cults in U.S. and Abroad.", Page CRS-45., Congressional Research ServiceCongressional Research ServiceThe Congressional Research Service , known as "Congress's think tank", is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a...
, Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Report No. 79-24 GOV., January 24, 1979.