Sect

History

Etymology

From an etymological point of view, the word sect comes from the Latin secta , definite as a way which one follows, philosophical doctrines, a sect (nun). This term is derived from the verb sequi , which means “to follow”. However, certain etymologists make it derive from Latin " secare ", which means “to cross”, in opposition to Religion , which could come from Latin religare , “to connect”) either a subbranch of a recognized and well established religion indicated, or a group of people who gather around a Master of thought.

The word sect in Greek, are equivalent of the Latin secta is hairesis . A Hérésie is a school of thought. The garden of Épicure was a hairesis .

It is in the direction of subbranch of religion that one can speak about sect for the groupings resulting from the Bouddhisme, of the Hindouisme, the Shintoïsme or the Taoïsme. But as much these religions always were more or less opened with dissidence, as much the Christianisme, wanting to be by nature universal, fought it a long time: in the catholic countries , any dissidence, qualified heresy, thus always had a pejorative connotation.

In other cultures that the Frenchwoman, the connotations of the word “sect” are much less negative; the word “English sect”, for example, is rather neutral. Employment independent of two different words makes it possible to raise part of the ambiguity of the French term. sect tends to correspond to the etymological definition (as for the sects Protestant women which then has hardly negative range), whereas cult tends to correspond to the sociological definition of the French term sect (as for cargo liner cult or worships of the cargo liner which describes a sect pejoratively enlightened).

Apart from France and Belgium, the desire to categorize all that is out-common as “sect” is much less in obviousness.

Historical sects and heresies

Certain great current religions were at the origin of the sects of older religions and established already well. Thus, Christianity initially developed like a sect within the Judaïsme, of which it took again part of the lesson. Nevertheless, these religions acquired with the wire of time a great number of followers and an important official recognition.

The Antiquité does not give a negative value under the terms of sect or heresy, but on the other hand made a disctinction between licit religion, or not. It is as an illicit religion that the first Christians, at the time of persecutions of IIe century, will see themselves qualifying by Pline the Young person of “unreasonable superstition and without measurement” and that Celse their reproach of the drifts such as aiming “to undermine the social order and to form a State in the State” or harming “the public health by diverting the followers of the doctors appointed the profit of the illusory promises of cure”. Thereafter, by will to establish a religious monopoly, the association of these Doctrine S with the political power (after Constantin I {{er}}) will reveal the concept of Orthodoxie. According to certain authors, the religion would be only the sect of the King.

In the 19th century, the sociologists max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch define the sect as a grouping religious extremist, intransigent and in rupture with the company. The Église is then the social alternative of the religion which takes its place in the middle of the profane institutions.

Some consider that this definition, which will perdura until the end of the 20th century, is today unsuited to the modern changes of direction which the word sect took. The polemics on the subject do not facilitate the agreement on the direction of the word and thus its definition. Under these conditions, the sociological definition is still regarded by certain intellectuals as the best.

In this sociological definition, the rupture between the sect and the company are fundamental. This rupture is practically always regarded as a damage, which according to the points of view will be charged to the members of the sect or on the contrary at the company. Who says damage says remuneration, with there still variable interpretations: prevention and right punishment for the ones, persecution for the others. The business can degenerate into open conflict and civil war.

Thus the Protestantisme a long time was regarded as a Hérésie by the Catholic church and involved a great repression of its members to the Renaissance, which will lead to long wars in Europe (civil wars in France and Germany, war between country of different religions) and of the massacres, in particular at the time of the night which followed the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the August 24th 1572 or at the time of the catch of Magdeburg. A few centuries earlier, persecutions of the Inquisition Catholic church had been even stronger against what was called the heresy Cathare.

Sociologists of religion like Sabrina Pastorelli or Danièle Hervieu-Leger worked on this topic. In its book Approach of religious sociology , the latter, after a short presentation of the incapacity of justice to offer a suitable definition and a history of the government policies of fight against the sectarian “threats”, summarizes the vision French symbolic system of the sectarian phenomenon: this one would be in fact identified with a disease which would attack the social body. The role of the State would be to destroy this disease and to come to assistance of the victims. Hervieu-Leger note with the passage the role of associations antisectes in the development of this vision, in particular with the “offense of mental handling”.

It presents in the shape of a market of goods symbolic systems a portrait of the religion (which it defines as an inscription in a believing line) and of the Spiritualité (do-it-yourself symbolic system, within the meaning of Roger Bastide in an individual way).

Hervieu-Leger, because of neutrality Axiologique of the sociologist, cannot evaluate who is dangerous and who is not it. She thus proposes simply a framework of discussion which presupposes that the State must intervene “to control” the religious behaviors. However, this one must know the new contemporary religious context (plural, individual, etc) in order to “ensure the protection of the people and to protect the right to the religious radicality”. She thus points out the conceptual aberration of an individual choosing to enter a sect which would not exert in fact any autonomous will.

Sects nowadays

In the Years 1980 and following Scandale S which alarmed the French company (Suicide S collectives, businesses politico - financial, infringements with the Labor regulation, illegal exercise of the Médecine, etc), the term sect took strong a pejorative connotation, becoming Synonyme with totalitarian and dangerous group, or in any case, of system alienating and forcing its followers to place itself in position of rupture with the company and its standards.

Attempts at definition

The only fact of being in rupture with the Norme S of the company is not enough to define a sect. For example, some political movements, without being inevitably dangeureux, have political visions quite different from that which is practiced.

In a time, the terms of “coercive movement” had been preferred at the end sect, but that would have made it possible to include in this definition, certain groups Politique S totalitarian.

In France, the National advisory commission of the human rights proposed fine 1993 this definition: " Grouping being presented or not in the form of a religion, whose noted practices are likely to fall under the blow from the protective legislation from the rights of the people or the operation of the Rule of law; sectarian behavior: refusal of the laws, by exerting ways in fact, by achieving diversions, breaches of trust, financial and tax infringements, ill treatments, non-assistance with anybody in danger, incentives with the racial hate, traffics of stupéfiants."

The report/ratio of 1999 of the MILLETS gave the shorter definition: " Totalitarian association of structure, declaring or not objectives religious, whose behavior undermines the human rights and to balance social."

Criteria

One studies today more the behavior of the group with respect to his members that the precepts of the group in itself, by various criteria such as the mental Manipulation of the followers, the pyramidal organization and the centralization of the capacity to the hands of a person with charismatic Autorité, like a Gourou, or of a restricted college of leaders, the extortion of money or the fact that the doctrines are presented in the form of exclusive.

Moreover, some add to it other criteria, perhaps less widespread:

control of the medium: attempt at control of the sources of Information and the external social interactions of the members, encouragements to stop the relations with any external person;
mutual control of the followers;
infallibility and Doctrines crowned: presentation of the ideas of the grouping like the single truth and the only access to the hello, dissuasion from any reflection criticizes on the Doctrine;
Mysticism canted: bringings together between events and causes Supernatural them;
Purity: reference to an unattainable ideal which regulates the acts of the members by bringing them to always more effort;
Authoritarianism: to be able extremely of the Gourou and Culte of the personality;
secret Doctrines (esotericism): secret lesson whose disclosure with the outside world is strictly prohibited;
elitism: development of the members like superiors;
brimades and/or Confession forced in the event of violation of the established rules;
banishment: prohibition of any contact with former followers;
dogmatic obligation for the followers, to maltreat their own children (sexual maltreatment, corporal punishments, etc), or to impose certain lesson and interdicts prejudicial to them on their social integration (diabolisation of the company; prohibition to take part to festivals, known as pagan, which constitute the normal social life of the other children, etc)
sexual abuses;
abusive Proselytism.

Dispute and critical of these criteria

These criteria do not achieve the unanimity and do not apply in their totality to all the movements sometimes considered as sectarian. Moreover, they are not the only criteria making it possible to qualify an organization of sect. So the actors of the fight anti-sects are sometimes not all of agreement to fight certain groups in particular, such as for example the cultural Office of Cluny, the Mormons or the Anthroposophie. It appears indeed that the relative innovation of a religious grouping, its small size and its shift compared to the established standards are not foreign with the denomination of sect of an organization.

Jean-François Mayer raises that there exist many similarities between the charges made at the beginning of the 20th century against new religious movements, like the Salvation Army, and criticisms current against the groups described as sectarian.

According to the professor of theology Harvey Cox, four myths are recurring in the setting with the index of these movements, the word Mythe not meaning here that these aspects cannot be present in a group, but rather than these topics return invariably, when well even they would not exist in this group:

the myth of subversion (the sect represents a threat for the company),
the sexual myth (the sect is devoted to perverted sexual practices: orgies or total abstinence),
the myth of the dissimulation (the sect is voluntarily misleading),
the myth of the evil eye (the sect recruited its followers by mental handling, because nobody would have adhered to it voluntarily).

Process of adhesion

Seduction of the neophyte: the group, which accommodates it with open arms, claims to bring satisfactory answers to complex existential questions, and uses attractive topics (personal blooming, ecology, peace in the world…) ;
Survalorisation of the future member: this one has a great mission to achieve, and has a good still unexploited potential, but it is necessary to adhere quickly;
gradual Implication of the follower: one proposes a weak engagement at the beginning, but which does not cease increasing, at the point to monopolize all the time and the resources of the novel member;
Rupture of the social links and family: the group disadvises the frequentation of those which do not share its point of view, and reduces external knowledge to the sect by prohibiting the reading of profane works; the company as a whole (medicine, policy, religion…) is rejected because considered to be irreformable;
Conditioning involving the loss of the critical spirit and the doubt: the follower is always occupied on behalf of the group (proselytism, reading of the crowned books, prayers, participation in the worship…), constantly supervised in its least action (confession, impossibility of being only…) ;
Reinforcement with the adhesion of the group: one modifies the dietary habits (fast, vegetarianism…), love life (choices of united by the guru), family (separation children/parents, divorce in the event of not-conversion of the spouse…), sexual (abstinence or vice), the language (jargon specific to the sect), the medical care, even the name; a Community life is often imposed; the group, paranoiac, tighten the cohesion of his members by maintaining a feeling persecution;
Return to the impossible normal life: the follower is often stripped of his money and of its goods, any more social coverage does not have, and, generally, does not have any more bonds out of the sect; moreover, it fears a rejection of the group which would mean the loss of all the efforts to which it agreed, its " damnation" and also of possible reprisals… What it constrained to remain, even if he suffers.

Sects and religions

Most of the polemics around the term sect have their source in the fact that this term recovers several definitions and opinions. One can observe, according to the people who use it:

the etymological direction: the new branch of a religion installed,
the direction of New religious movement (Or simply group of free individuals carrying on together an activity in the fields of the spirituality as of others work in the fields artistic), with its system of Croyance S or its original Philosophie, more or less improved and of the followers apparently not mentally handled,
the negative direction extremely: any organization, including the secret societies, having been condemned for damage on its followers handled mentally,
the wide negative direction: any organization suspected of exerting a mental handling on its followers in order to exploit them.

On the basis of the principle that they are mainly the two directions with negative connotation which was adopted by the media offensive and thus then by the population, the enemies of the Religion S tend to minimize any difference between the term sect and the term religion or spirituality , by adopting the direction new movement religious . On the other hand, the defenders of the great religions rather tend to adopt the wide direction negative , to indicate by sect all the movements which they consider dangerous.

As for them, the defenders of spiritual freedoms prefer to extremely limit it to the negative direction starting from objective criteria, in order to prevent that the denomination sect does not involve an unjustified mistrust with respect to religious or philosophical groups where obviously there is no mental Manipulation in the operation (Not more, moreover, which in any human group).

These various positions come primarily from the concept of handling mental , difficult to identify and, more particularly, to distinguish from the endoctrination " religieux".

Certain people think that:

To try to make a difference between sect and religion is a Utopia
the role of the State is to make sure that all the individuals can profit as well as possible from the rights of the person
if an unspecified organization (known as monk or other) persecutes them, the State must intervene
the religion are initially a personal business and must remain apart from the State
the State has however to make sure that the religious practices or others leave each person completely able to exert her free-referee in any time, if it is not contrary with the good walk of the civil society.

According to certain authors, the great religions show characteristics which can let think that they do not differ primarily from the sectarian movements. To support their dires, they raise the pedophilia cases around catholic priests and the cases of judaïque Fanatisme Islam ic and . The presence of sects within the “great religions” can also authorize the doubt; that however does not make it possible to declare the “great religions” like sects.

Other authors bring a different point of view, by considering that the “great religions” cannot be comparable with the sects, in all or partly, because they are recognized, allowed and integrated into the company. In short, it is the appreciation of the government of the country which lodges them which would or not give to the religious groups the qualification of sect and, in the last case, would consequently prohibit any investigation into the intrigues which could be considered to be sectarian . According to some their detractors, these religions (the Catholic church being often aimed more, according to the catholic ) would benefit from the climate of mistrust which exists against them sects to try to marginalize the considered groupings not orthodoxe and to point finger the “drifts” of the faith.

In addition, of the communities belonging to Churches " institutionnelles" are also regarded as " sectes" (with the pejorative direction of the term) by the movements antisectes, like the media (for example the Opus Dei and the the Community Saint Jean among catholics).

Scandals around the sects

Certain sects defrayed the chronicle since 1978. Massive death sectarian members of groups deeply shocked the public opinion, more especially as some of the victims were children. Striking facts:

November 18th 1978: 914 followers of the Temple of the People ( People' S Temple ), including 260 children, die by absorption of cyanide at the time of a Collective suicide or are killed in their temple of Jonestown to the Guyana;
September 19th 1985: 60 followers of Datu Mangayanon commit suicide in Mindanao with the Filipino ;
September 1st 1986: 7 followers of the Church of the friends of the truth commit suicide in Wokayama with the Japan;
August 28th 1987: 32 followers of Park Soon Ja commit suicide with Seoul in South Korea;
1993 : 72 followers davidiens die in the fire of their farm at the time of the Siège of Waco to the Texas whereas the police force had besieged them for several weeks. ;
October 4th 1994: 53 followers of the Order of the solar Temple (of which 16 children) are found died, committed suicide or assassinated, in two villages of Suisse, Cheiry and Salvan;
1995 : the spiritual leader of the Knights of the gold Lotus, Gilbert Bourdin, is put in examination following charges of “rapes and sexual assaults” on a ex-follower;
March 20th 1995: the attack with the gas Sarin perpetrated by members of Aum Shinrikyo in the subway of Tokyo makes 12 dead and more: 5 000 wounded;
December 23rd 1995: 16 followers of the Order of the solar temple, among which 3 children, are found carbonized in the Vercors in France;
March 24th 1997: 5 followers of the Ordre of the solar temple are found died with the Quebec;
March 26th 1997: 39 followers of the sect Heaven' S spoils (Door of the Paradise) commit suicide by phenobarbital ingestion, in a villa of Rancho Santa Fe, in California;
March 18th 2000: In Uganda, close to: 1000 followers of the apocalyptic sect the Re-establishment of the Ten Commands of God organize a collective Suicide, while immolant themselves by fire, in a church;
December 26th 2002: the company Clonaid claimed to have led to the birth of the first baby clone, a named girl Eve, created by the Mouvement raëlien always with the Quebec. Information since was never confirmed by serious evidence;

Mediatization of the sectarian phenomenon

The multiplication of the scandal linkeds with certain sects, in particular of the businesses of collective suicides or sexual assaults, involved important a mediatization phenomenon, interpreted by the defenders of the sects like a search for Sensationnalisme in order to better impregnate a public opinion.

The strong mediatization of the “sectarian phenomenon” could result in amalgamating between them organizations with the aspirations however very different. Thus, by the same generic term of “sect”, one indicated as many the groups criminal, dangerous, paedophiles, totalitarian that new religious groupings, esoteric or simply eccentrics (in shift with the company) which were never guilty of such crimes.
That is explained according to the detractors of the sects, by the contents of the modern definition. If this mediatization caused to clarify of the abuses within certain groupings, they were sometimes very prejudicial with people or organizations. Thus, the freedom of worship and the freedom of conscience, however guaranteed by the Universal declaration of the human rights, were sometimes bafouées.
According to the defenders of the movements known as sectarian, certain people, following the discovery of their membership of groupings considered as sectarian, were laid off, saw themselves refusing the guard of a child or underwent the rupture of their commercial contracts. The example of the French singer Sylvie Mestre, known as Nayah, is rather representative of the weight of the media and the climate of mistrust with respect to the sects which reigned at the time. Whereas this singer knew a rise which made it indicate in 1999 like representing France with the contest of the Eurovision, its bonds with the organization raëlienne reflect a premature term with its career. The pressures on its producers, exerted by fight associations against the sects primarily, were such as after the cancellation of televised passages and in concerts, its contracts were finally broken.

Fight against the sects

What is commonly called " sectes" pose a thorn-bush problem of law and order at the same time as that poses the problem of freedoms. Indeed, to evaluate the influence and the sectarian dangerosity is difficult. A debate for a long time opposes those which think that, vis-a-vis the movements considered as sectarian and dangerous, the authority must intervene to protect the citizens and, other side, those which estimate that the State does not have the right of enfreindre freedoms of religion and association of the citizens. It is the opinion that the Canadian sociologist Daniel G. Hill expresses:

“the company which appreciates its freedoms must agree not to always be able to protect those which voluntarily give up their independence, devotes their goods to vain causes or engages in practices which are harmful for them. Where the questions of faith and association are in question, the individual who is really free is not only free to enjoy his choices but also to suffer from it. ”.

According to Mrs. Hervieu-Light, it is necessary to know the new contemporary religious context (plural, individual, etc) in order to “ensure the protection of the people and to protect the right to the religious radicality”. She points out the conceptual aberration which makes believe that an individual choosing to enter a sect would not exert in fact any will autonome.

The states are thus constrained to oscillate between the tolerance applicable to all forms of religion and adhesion to a dogma, and the protection of the individuals and company. According to their own definition of the sect term and organizations classified like sects in their country, certain governments set up processes of fight against some practical and certain organizations.

In Europe

In Europe, the mobilization of the governments of the principal countries has permi to improve the prevention of the sects. The France, the Belgium and the Germany joined together commissions whose work made it possible to draw up nonexhaustive lists of sectarian movements.

In France

Context

In France, where the relations between the State, the civil society and the worships are historically very different from those which prevail in the United States, of many associations wanted to regard the sects or comparable as such not like worships, but like a new danger, both for the people the company. They intend to be opposed to it by the constant information of the general public on the methods of recruitment of certain groupings, by the reinforcement or the creation of specific legislative devices (introduction of the concept of " subjection psychologique" in the substantive law) and while acting, if necessary, in Justice (constitution of part-civil - Article 2-17 of the criminal procedure code). According to these associations, the protection of the individuals passes before the absolute freedom of worship such as she is heard by American jurisprudence, in accordance with the European Convention of the Human rights, which stipulates that the freedom of worship devoted by article 9 is not total in Europe, articles 8 and 9 specify in fine that the " rights and freedoms of autrui" must be protected (prohibition from the abuse right: Article 17). Their point of view is that “a sect is a totalitarian group which separates from the company and is opposed to it”. They fear that the need or the obligation to adhere without reserve to certain rites, certain doctrines or certain lifestyles is summarized in simple mental handling, with goal very prosaically lucrative, with sometimes frightening effects on psychic health, even physical of the followers. It is in the sense that the French legislator wanted to protect the individuals against themselves and those which would use a state of weakness to obtain liberalities, donations, work not even remunerated favors of sexual nature. A new category of attack to the people is defined by the Law of June 12th, 2000 modifying Article 223-15 2 of the Penal code.

These associations also worry about the propagation, by the sects, of some new form of Totalitarisme, with the reason that those which believe or claim to hold the truth will not give up any means to impose it. It is undeniable in this respect certain religious groupings or para-monks obtained powerful financial means. One can thus legitimately worry about what these funds could be partly obtained by making pressure on the followers, and equip these organization with considerable means. Certain groupings would not be deprived to infiltrate the centers of the economic, political and legal capacity. Some, like the sociologist Florence Lacroix, are even further estimating than, nowadays, world safety is affected as at the time of the wars of religion, and than the combat between sects and religions including/understanding of the sectarian groups, reached a planetary level. They plead that the US government allowed itself several times to intervene in the businesses of European countries who defend themselves juridically against the influence of the sects, whereas those profit in the United States from a legislative framework much more favorable.

Lastly, associations anti-sects make the point that certain scientists and sociologists sometimes knowingly minimized the dangerosity of sects such as the Église of Scientology, the Famille (ex-Children of God), the Église of the unification (Moon), supreme Aum truth by means of obliging studies of which it was shown for some of them that they had been financed by the movements that they claimed to study. Also they denounce misses they objectivity and introduce these sociologists as as many apologists of the sectarian cause.

The point of view known as " anglo-saxon" adoptee also by certain sociologists of the religions… Contrary to the repressive and preventive option which guided the feather of French legislators, holding them of a vision that one could call North-American or Anglo-Saxon freedom of conscience, do not recognize the aspects considered as dangereous because of their opponents, and denounce the skids having made certain sects and certain people the victims of persecutions. They describe the campaigns carried out by their adversaries like “witch hunts”, a Inquisition " laïcarde" against spirituality, against freedom to even think. According to them, the activism anti-sects of which proof certain dispensaries make would be only the rationalization of a very traditional antireligieuse intolerance, which seeks to strike the public opinion, for example by using testimonys of repented ex-members.

According to them, the attacks of the anti-sects rest on the setting with the index of the movements taken for targets. They estimate that defamatory campaigns are often undertaken without much concern of the truth.

According to certain defenders of the sects, the Catholic church even largely supported the rise of the movement anti-sects by transmitting to ADFI its ideology, its knowledge and its techniques. According to Joel Labruyère (president of the OMNIUM of Freedoms) in State inquisiteur , “it is thanks to their knowledge of heresy under all its forms and because they profit from an international information network that catholic priests could launch the business and put the foot at the clamp with the laic ones, in their delivering, turn-key, a small machine of war against the new heretics. It was simply enough to recycle the mechanism of persecutions in an assimilable form by the modern culture. The CCMM then laicized these concepts, enabling them to integrate very naturally the fields policy and media. It does not remain, of the unimaginable cruelty of the Holy Enquiry, that the “soft” techniques which consist in pointing finger the “heretics” in order to marginalize them, what is called well still commonly “hunting for the witches” [[diabolisation]]. The demons were replaced by the “Gourou S” which are supposed to wash the brain of their “followers”, beforehand lobotomized. ”

Some of the criteria selected to define a sectarian movement (mental handling, centralization of the capacity, etc) are extremely vague, that they apply to the quasi totality of the organized groups, including the religions best established or with groups other than religious: sporting companies, clubs, associations, etc the company Cedipac SA, in the past named European Grouping of the professionals of marketing (GEPM), is thus included in the list of the French parliamentary report, whereas its activity, certainly reprehensible, consists primarily of pyramidal Vente; the Alcoholics anonymouses also saw shown mental Manipulation. In France, they are the representatives of the great religions themselves which stressed that the offense of mental handling envisaged by the Loi Butt-Picardy could also aim “the life in noviciate, the final fence, the practices of asceticism,… the wishes of obedience and poverty, the spiritual direction…”. Consequently the denomination of sect is arbitrary and source of dispute.

One thus comes from there to speak about sect for groups which do not claim a religion (e.g.: the Instinctothérapie, Landmark…), which brings Jeanine Tavernier, ex-president of UNADFI to be declared: " More and more, people see sects everywhere. If yoga is made, if one looks after oneself with homeopathy or acupuncture, one belongs to a sect. I find that extremely serious because one must have a large opening and accept parallel medicines without judging nor cataloguer."

Because of the extremely pejorative character which sticks from now on to the word sect , the defenders of the aforesaid sects as well as the organizations concerned (federate for some), prefer to him name, according to them more neutral and respectful, of “Nouveau religious movement”.

Devices

Since the beginning of the years 1980, several boards of inquiry were initiated with the National Assembly in order to inquire thoroughly into the sectarian phenomenon.

Four reports were thus published: the two first (going back respectively from 1983 and December 1995) draw a general picture of the situation of the sects in France; the third (of June 1999) details the tax, patrimonial and economic situation of the sects; finally, the fourth (in 2006) tackles the question of the minors under sectarian influence.

See also: parliamentary Boards of inquiry into the sects in France

According to the furnished informations by the General informations (RG), the commission established, in his ratio of 1995, a list of 173 movements considered to be sectarian, to which other groups in the ratio of 1999 were added thereafter (AMORC, Anthroposophie, Fédération of approval of the networks). Only the movements were retained filling at least one of the ten criteria of sectarian behavior defined by the commission.

The commission established three categories of sects: " sects absolues" , which wishes to change the company and with which the dialog is impossible (e.g.: the Church of Scientology, the Order of the solar temple); the movements whose religious or philosophical character is undeniable, but whose certain behaviors are likely to attack the human rights (e.g.: pilot of Jéhovah); and presumedly sectarian movements but not having really been the subject of thorough study (e.g.: the anthroposophic galaxy).

The number of followers is evaluated in the ratio of 1995 to approximately 160.000, while the figure would reach 500.000 with the sympathizers and the close relations of the followers.

The two parliamentary reports caused since their publication of important controversies: their detractors plead that the commissions of deputies counted in their center many members of the Grand the East of France and question the objectivity of the latter. The action of the movements anti-sects opened the way with a mobilization of a laic clan qualified by some of “secularist” and who gathers in particular the Grand the East of France and the Communist revolutionary league. according to Governed Dericquebourg, researcher in sociology and author of several works on the minority religions “it would be interesting to know the operation of the network anti-sect” .

The choice to draw up a list of sects the ratio of 1995 was not without causing many criticisms sometimes virulent. It is with prudence that certain specialists accommodated it. Thus Mgr Vernette declared it about the list drawn up by this Report/ratio of the French Parliamentary commission which it “comprised of similar abusive qualifications for certain groups pinned wrongfully like sects with all the disastrous consequences for their members and their activities, the list being largely published in the media. However none had been heard. None could obtain rehabilitation or new judgment, because no authority is recognized qualified to take again the file. The thing is serious in a rule of law and one worries that it is likely to be renewed by another skew”. M {{gr.}} Vernette is also the author of a “ Dictionnaire of the religious groups today ” which comprises 400 entries where the report/ratio of the National Assembly mentions only 173 of them. The concern of certain catholic persons in charge and prudence of their reaction on the subject are mainly explained by fear to see classifying among the sects of the generally charismatic movements which however present obvious sectarian drifts in their center. Thus Mgr Vernette worried that certain organizations in addition recognized by the Church, the such Opus Dei, can be classified like sects by the members of Parliament.

In its book published in 2007, Yves Bertrand, the director of the RG of the time, estimates that “certain groups saw a little quickly affubler term of sect. ”.

The interdepartmental Mission of fight against the sects (MILLETS) publishes his first report on February 7th, 2000 and concludes that it is necessary “to reinforce the prevention and the repression of the sectarian movements attacking the human rights and with fundamental freedoms”.

Following this report/ratio drawing up a list of sects, the Loi Butt-Picardy which relates to the sectarian movements is adopted in 2001.

However the French government seems to have started changes on the manner of describing as sect of the spiritual movements. The Millets dissolved and was initially replaced by the Miviludes.

- " The action taken by the Government is dictated by the concern of reconciling the fight against the intrigues of certain groups, which exploit subjection, physics or psychological, in which are placed their members, with the respect of public freedoms and the principle of secularity. The experiment showed that a step consisting, for the public authorities, to describe as “sect” such or such grouping and to base their action on this only qualification would not make it possible to ensure this conciliation effectively and to firmly found in right the initiatives prises."

A governmental circular of May 27th, 2005 called into question the conclusions of the parliamentary reports by affirming that the fact of drawing up lists of sects was not relevant, and who more is contrary with the respect of freedoms and the principle of secularity. The monitoring of the groups potentially at the risk is naturally maintained, even reinforced, but the hasty amalgams between basically independent groups are not encouraged any more.

The government action was centred on the concept of " sectaire" derives; who allows to take into account aspects much broader of the phenomenon. Based on the same criteria of dangerosity emitted by the parliamentary reports, the government action can from now on exert a monitoring and prevention on fields which relate in germ of the sectarian drifts and either only to such or such grouping. Thus, the coaching or the personal development is fields which count very many forms of sectarian drift but which all are not inevitably subjected at organizations identified like sect. The new concept makes it possible as a whole to take into account its aspects as well as the evolution of the sectarian phenomenon. Same manner certain sectarian drifts are made up of networks of people, lecturers, seminars, training courses, mobility, Internet sites without being structured and identifiable organizations. It is the case for mobility " New âge" that the new concept of sectarian drift makes it possible to better apprehend.

On the other hand, the Council of State recognized in June 2005, at the time of a lawsuit brought by the scientology - lawsuit lost definitively by this one -, that this same " List of Sectes" a " had; value informative" and he added: " Moreover, have regard to the risks which of certain commonly called organizations “sects can present to the practices”, while at the same time these movements also claim to work towards a religious end, the circulars do not ignore the principle of the religious liberty…/… " - thus recognizing name " sectes" and the danger that some represented.

Legal actions

In 1997, the April 4th, within the community Tabitha' S places (with Sus, in the Yrénées-Atlantiques), the parents of a 19 month old baby reached of rickets and died by fault of adequate care are condemned to a custodial sentence weighed down in call; the June 4th, Robert Spatz, founder of Ogyen Kunzang Chöling, is imprisoned, with 5 close relations, for sequestration, swindle and non-assistance with anybody in danger; the June 20th, Maïté Castano, founder of the group Horus (located with Coucourde in Drome), is put in examination for non-assistance at people in danger, following two deaths within its community;

The September 6th 2001, the giant statue of the spiritual leader of the Association of Vajra triumphing (Mandarom), Gilbert Bourdin, is cut down on order of justice following a lawsuit relating to the permit building.

The Mouvement raëlien decides its own dissolution then, speaking about “discrimination”. Before disappearing, it encourages the French to vote for Jean-Marie Le Pen so that France has “a mode harmonizes some with its policy liberticide”, but also “because, in the event of success of Le Pen, a revolution is possible which could bring to Géniocratie”.

French Justice also attacked the Église of Scientology which lost a lawsuit following the abusive use of names of ex-members in an electronic file. The Église of Scientology was also put in examination as a moral person for “swindle in organized band”. In fact, this sect would have lost hundreds of lawsuit in the world (nonverifiable information), of which several lawsuit in connection with suspect deaths. It would have also gained hundreds of them.

In 2004, the first application of the law Butt-Picardy allowed the judgment of Arnaud Mussy, leader of the Néophare group, for psychological subjection, after the suicide of one of its followers. The Court of appeal confirmed the stop of the Court of Appeal of Versailles by ordering to taxation to a total value of 60% on the made offerings to the Association the Witnesses of Jéhovah , association with nonlucrative goal (law of July 1st, 1901).

Among the current reasons for lawsuit and judgments of religious movements of sectarian type, let us enumerate: infringements with the labor regulation, the swindle, non-assistance with anybody in danger, the illegal exercise of medicine and ill-treatment of the children. The French law does not know the offense of “handling mental” (proposed in 2000 by the National advisory commission of the human rights but not selected) and does not lean on the forced social loss of life major people and apparently agreeing.

The governmental fight against the sects also passes by the information and the publication of reports/ratios describing the practices of unquestionable sects.

International reactions to the French policy

France is, since the publication of the parliamentary report of 1995, the European country more engaged in the fight antisectes.

The European Parliament is more reserved and estimates in a report/ratio in 1997 that the legal arsenal of the various states is sufficient and that nothing requires a common European policy on the question.

In a report/ratio on the Religious liberty in France, the the United States criticize the list of the sects of the parliamentary report because of the contradictory absence of procedure, and in 2002 worry about what this policy could be a model for other countries :

“What occurs to France followed east by attentive manner, and sometimes imitated, by many country such as Lithuania, Russia, Kampuchea, China, Haiti and Chile. The French public authorities and especially the persons in charge of the MILLETS - went in several of these countries to promote their initiatives against the sectarian movements. However, these countries, which have already heavy passed of religious repression, do not have the protection mechanisms of the human rights such as those which exist in France. ”

Indeed, if the position of fight associations against the sects remains careful towards the statute of the Falun Gong, certain personalities took initiatives, disputed by the defenders of the movements known as sectarian, and who were interpreted like giving a form of guarantee to the policy of repression of the Chinese government against the Falun Gong. It is in particular the case of the visit of Alain Vivien in China - on official invitation of the Chinese government and whereas he was president of the MILLETS - brought back in these terms by the Bulletin of the CCMM of December 2000:

“the France is often quoted in example because of the extent and the coherence of measurements taken to answer the sectarian threat. The French representatives, among whom Alain Vivien, invited to the symposium received warm welcome and is the subject of a particularly attentive listening. ”.

The Iranian government also showed a franc sympathizing of the actions of the MILLETS.

Others critical will be formulated against the French policy after the vote in 2001 of the law Butt-Picardy, considered to be contrary with the freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention of the human rights; the European parliamentary Parliament asks in 2002 the French government to re-examine this law.

In Belgium

In Belgium, a similar attempt caused a violent controversy at the Parliament, which had to give up defining a list of sects but published a detailed report.

In Switzerland

In Suisse, the Federal council keeps itself of any amalgam between groups “without bond between them” and prevails itself that “the freedom of conscience and belief as well as the right of association are rights anchored in the federal Constitution”. Thus put aside the criminal proceedings the Swiss State does not intervene directly against the sects. However at least four Swiss courts confirmed that the scientology was not a religion but a commercial business.

In China

The government Chinese says being entered in conflict with the practitioners of Falun Gong. This one was perceived by the Chinese authorities like a threat against the political supremacy of the Chinese Communist party. The authorities prohibited this practice by denouncing it like a " sect hérétique" ( xiejiao ). The Chinese authorities affirm that the Shelly sand Gong retorted under the impulse of its founder, Li Hongzhi, taken refuge today in the United States, by massive and peaceful demonstrations of opposition of civil disobedience. The Chinese authorities explain why the Shelly sand Gong would make run of the serious risks to the health of its followers and that it would encourage even its members to commit suicide by immolation by fire.

The practitioners of Shelly sand Gong affirm not to have any political will. According to them, the repression which followed led to the arrest of practitioners of the Shelly sand Gong, with summary lawsuits with the arbitrary judgments which showed the internment in camps of work, even with death sentences for some of them. The Special protractor on the torture of the Nations Linked, international Amnesty and To defer without Borders denounce the repression of the movement speak about illegal arrest and tortures. The Shelly sand Gong always denied to have, in some form that it is, thorough its followers with the suicide and states to condemn such actions. Defense organizations of the Human rights observed that the “suicides” in question were in fact of the settings in fatal scenes assembled by the Chinese security services with an aim of discrediting the Shelly sand Gong with the eyes of the world public opinion. They underline finally that many cases of tortures inflicted to the followers during their imprisonment were brought to their attention. The film untrue Feu produces by the chain New Tang Dynasty Television and which supports their cause, made the round the world tour and was preceded with the Festival of the International film of Columbus.

Parliamentary commissions

France

See also: parliamentary Boards of inquiry into the sects in France

In France, certain movements are mentioned in the parliamentary report of the National Assembly without however belonging to the list of the sects (report/ratio of investigation n° 2468 of the National Assembly). In connection with movements mentioned in the report/ratio but not appearing in the list of the sects, the text of the report/ratio known as: “But before, it is necessary to dissipate a possible misunderstanding: all movements spiritual others that the traditional religions and commonly called sects are not dangerous, like, for example, the Baptists, the Mormon Quakers or . Their role can even be, sometimes, regarded as very positive. … The commission thus took guard well to make an amalgam between all the existing spiritual groups. She considered that she was to confine herself to examine the harmful effects caused by only the sects dangerous. And this, for better trying to release the means of fighting them. ” (Source: report/ratio of investigation n° 2468 of the National Assembly).

Belgium

In Belgium, the parliamentary report presents a synoptic table which is not a list of qualified movements sects, but the list of all the movements studied for parliamentary report, that is to say 189 on the whole (see Chambre of the Representatives of Belgium, Ordinary session of April 28th, 1997, parliamentary Inquiry, Rapport by Misters Duquesne and Willems, p. 227).

Examined movements

Historical sects

the Nizârites, so known under the name of Assassins
the Church positivist of Auguste Count
the Saint-Simonism of Barthelemy Childish Prosper

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