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International Cultic Studies Association |
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Madrid, Spain July 14-16, 2005
À Madrid en Espagne du 14 au 16 juillet 2005
Madrid, España 14-16 de Julio, 2005 The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is an interdisciplinary network of academicians, professionals, former group members, and families who study and educate the public about social-psychological influence and control, authoritarianism, and zealotry in cultic groups, alternative movements, and other environments. Founded in 1979 as AFF (American Family Foundation), ICSA took on its current name in late 2004 to better reflect the organization's focus and increasingly international and scholarly dimensions. |
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| English Ω 1-Home Conference Ω 2-Program Ω 3-presenters/speakers Ω 4-Fees Ω 5-Ways to Register Ω 6-Facility and Lodging Ω 7-Travel Information Ω 8-Registration Fax/Mail Form Español Français Panel: Becoming a member of a new religious movement: Benefits and conflicts The costs and benefits of joining a new religious movement (nrm) are vehemently discussed in public as well as scientific discourse for some decades now. Research findings seem highly contradictory as some studies find a “destructive” impact of membership in nrms, while other authors report beneficial, some even “therapeutic” effects. A closer look, however, reveals that many of the seeming contradictions can be traced back to differences in viewpoint, methodology and other factors. One short-coming which many of the studies bear in common and which makes it difficult to come to a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon is that they are focused on only one side of the medal: the costs or the benefits of membership. In this panel results from a longitudinal research project (around 16 months) on self-chosen adult membership in nrms in Germany are presented. The research project studies individuals (N = 71) who decided to join one of the three groups local Pentecostal Church, New Apostolic Church or Jehova’s Witnesses a relatively short time ago (max. 2 years baptized respectively sealed at the first point of measurement). The subjects are intensively investigated with a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, considering both potential costs and benefits to get a balanced picture of the membership process. Organization of the panel: Dr. Sebastian Murken, Psychology of Religion Research Group at the Center for , Psychobiological and Psychosomatic Research, University of Trier, Franziska-Puricelli-Str. 3, D-55543 Bad Kreuznach (Germany). Phone: ++49 / (0)671 / 79606008, Fax: ++49 / (0)671 / 7967120 - e-mail: smurken@mainz-online.de
Presentation 1: Psycho-social motives for becoming a member of a nrm In German society in which people traditionally belong to one of the two major Christian churches (Protestant and Catholic) self-chosen membership in a religious group, especially in a new religious movement, is still very uncommon. People who decide to join one of the nrms risk being stereotyped by a social environment which in general fears nrms and is not very open towards them. So the question arises, why people nevertheless decide to join nrms. How do they come into contact with them and why do they stay? What do they find in these groups, what are the benefits they get? As prior research shows the individual’s motives are diverse and can be of religious and/or non religious nature. This presentation will focus on the latter group of psycho-social motives. In line with other empirical findings which stress the importance of social ties and indicate that many people who join a nrm seem to be searching for a solution for the conscious or unconscious, persistent or current inner psychic and interpersonal conflicts they experience, our own reasearchresearch on early and recent antecedents indicates that joining a nrm can be understood as an attempt to cope with life’s demands. Data will be presented which show that most people come into contact with the group through family members, friends or acquaintances, although group-specific differences exist. Early parental attachments respectively losses and a reduced well-being in the year before contact seem to be general or group-specific predispositions to a closer contact to one of the groups. Differential effects will be discussed in terms of cult-need fit, i.e. the assumption that individuals are attracted by a religious group which seems to promise a fulfilment of important needs or a solution for personal problems. Our data show that the attempt to cope with life’s demands seems indeed at least temporarily successful. Well-being increases through the contact with the group and people report several ways in which the contact to the group is helpful for them, e.g. through loving and supportive relationships to group members or clear directions for their lives. Audio/visual requirements: Laptop and beamer. Presenter: Dr. Sebastian Murken Psychology of Religion Research Group Phone: ++49 / (0)671 / 79606008 e-mail: smurken@mainz-online.de
Presentation 2: Psycho-social consequences of becoming a member of a nrm Data from our own research confirms the findings of other studies that people can benefit in several ways from membership in a new religious movement – so this seems to be a well-proven fact. A question which, however, is little discussed so far is the question, how profound life changes and consequently how stable the beneficial effects of joining a nrm are. We assume that the process of joining a nrm can be compared to the process of falling in love: In the beginning the benefits prevail, the world looks different and problems seem to be solved – a general observation which fits well with our data: we observe an increase in well-being after contact with the group. Also other life changes we observe, i.e. changes in personal social networks and a considerable amount of time spent on religious activities, resemble those people undergo when falling in love. Frequency and intensity of conflicts in general seem to be very low, but do especially threaten when the new tie comes in conflict with other life spheres. From our everyday observations we know that love is nothing static. It changes over time and can increase as well as decrease. Sometimes it even vanishes as people realize that they simply don’t fit or that the price they have to pay for the relationship is too high. In some cases the once closely connected couple of lovers even become worst enemies. We analogously assume that the way people experience their contact to or membership in a nrm changes over time: that their perception becomes more differentiated, that they become more aware of the costs of membership and that potential mis-fits become more straining. According to the model of cult-need fit conflicts between the individual and the religious group develop especially in those cases, when there is a mis-fit between the individual’s predisposition and the group’s teachings and structure. It is assumed that this mis-fit and the resulting conflicts lead to a decrease in well-being (and in the long run to apostasy). Longitudinal data from our research project will be presented to see whether the theoretical assumptions can be confirmed. The findings will be related to previous findings on costs and benefits of membership to see how the seemingly contradictory results in this area can be balanced and understood. Audio/visual requirements: Laptop and beamer. Presenter: Sussan Namini Psychology of Religion Research Group Phone: ++49 / (0)671 / 79626853 e-mail: sussan.namini@relpsych.de
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Last revised: July 09, 2005