|
ISBN
3-930343-43-3
Final Report of the Enquete
Commission
on "So-called Sects and
Psychogroups"
New Religious and Ideological
Communities and Psychogroups
in the Federal Republic of Germany
Translated into English by:
Wolfgang Fehlberg and Monica Ulloa-Fehlberg
Editor: Deutscher Bundestag
Referat Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Bonn 1998
Overall production: Bonner Universitäts-Buchdruckerei Die Deutsche Bibliothek -
CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Final Report of the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and Psychogroups"
New
Religious and Ideological Communities and Psychogroups in the Federal Republic
of Germany
Transl. into English by: Wolfgang Fehlberg and Monica Ulloa-Fehlberg
[Ed.: Deutscher Bundestag, Referat Öffentlichkeitsarbeit]. -
Bonn: Dt. Bundestag, Referat Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, 1998
(Zur
Sache; 98, 5)
ISBN 3-930343-43-3
Foreword
Since the late 1960s, our society has experienced profound changes. Formerly
clear-cut standards in terms of life-styles, values and the meaning of life have
become less and less binding. New life-styles and new sources of meaning are
evolving and competing with each other. At the same time, the individual is
expected to be highly efficient,
as
well as highly flexible, mobile and willing to take decisions. This leads to a
great deal of uncertainty.
Both
as a response and as a reaction to this development, a plethora of new religious
and ideological communities and psychogroups has emerged in the past 20 years.
Some of them offer alternative life worlds in which individuals hope to find
caring, a sense of community and orientation, as well as "refuge" from the
demands of society, or opportunities for religious devotion, or meaning in their
lives. Other groups, however, promise "ideal adaptation" to the challenges of
the modern age by suggesting to individuals that they will able to increase and
strengthen their efficiency to an unrealistic extent. Many people in the Federal
Republic of Germany have observed this development with great concern.
This
situation led to the establishment of the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects
and Psychogroups". In order to find out what conflicts can be ascribed to the
new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups, and in order to
decide whether governmental action is required, and if so, in what areas, the
Enquete Commission analysed the phenomenon extensively and in its many facets
within a period of only two years. During this analysis, the Commission
found that there were substantial gaps in research available in German-language
countries. By awarding contracts for research projects and expert reports that
could be completed within the short period of time available, the Enquete
Commission helped considerably to improve the research findings available.
In
its final report, the Commission presents the findings obtained during its work,
which was limited to identifying problems and conflicts that arise in connection
with new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups. It
was
not part of the Commission's brief to scrutinize specific groups, let alone
their religious beliefs. Freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and freedom
of belief are cardinal and inalienable human rights to which the Commission is
firmly and wholeheartedly committed. In its work, the Commission has always been
guided by the principles of governmental neutrality and tolerance as laid down
in Article 4 of the German Constitution.
The
Enquete Commission was confronted not only with fears of citizens with regard to
the perils associated with "so-called sects" but also with the concern of many
communities that they might be labeled as "harmful sects" and treated
as
such.
The
Commission also dealt intensively with this side of the problem, and it is very
much against stigmatizing such groups "lock, stock, and barrel" and against
using the term "sect" because of its negative connotations. The rejection
of
the term "sect" is also supported by Enquete Commission's finding that only a
small number of the groups which have often been summed up with the term "sect"
in the past is problematic. It would therefore be irresponsible to continue to
use the term "sect" for all new religious and ideological communities.
A
research project for which the Commission had awarded a contract showed that
people who feel attracted to new religious or ideological communities are not
"passive victims". Instead, they have a number of needs, desires or problems in
life which they hope will be fulfilled, satisfied and solved in such
communities. Whether individuals join a community and stay there or drop out,
depends on the quality of the "fit" between their expectations and the answers
and
the milieu provided by the communities.
For
a realistic discussion of this societal phenomenon - i.e. a discussion in which
the issue is neither exaggerated nor played down - it is indispensable to have
reliable empirical findings and well-founded scientific studies of the various
aspects involved in this issue. In this context, it is necessary to remedy
considerable shortcomings in research.
Religious pluralism is a characteristic feature of our society. The communities
of the major world religions exist side by side with a host of smaller groups
representing a wide variety of religious beliefs. This fact alone should not be
a bone of contention that leads to governmental intervention. Instead,
government must respect each individual's choice of a given religious belief.
However, whenever laws are violated, whenever basic rights are infringed upon,
or worse,
whenever crimes are committed under the guise of religion, government cannot
remain passive.
The
Commission feels that, below this threshold of imperative governmental
interventions, government is called upon to provide support and assistance.
While government must not impose any rules that dictate how individuals should
live their lives, it can support its citizens in an increasingly complex and
rapidly changing world by providing information and education.
The
scope of governmental action in dealing with new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups ranges from education and information on the one
hand, to specific legislative measures, on the other. This spectrum is reflected
by the Enquete Commission's recommendations for action. They include both
possible and necessary governmental interventions. The Commission's
recommendations for legislative action draw attention to gaps in the current
legislation and suggest ways of filling these gaps. The establishment of a
foundation which is expected to bundle the various aspects involved when dealing
with new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups is one
forward-looking proposal. For any further work on this subject, it will be
indispensable to open a dialogue across national borders. International
co-operation will be necessary because the phenomenon will not remain limited to
the Federal Republic of Germany; in fact, it is a symptom of modern Western
societies.
Helping individuals to find orientation and to cope with life is a challenge
which government cannot master on its own. Instead, a government must both
respect and insist on the personal responsibility of its citizens. To make this
happen, politicians and all groups in society must interact closely. It is
necessary to impart knowledge, to teach tolerance and solidarity, and to
strengthen the individual's critical faculties as well as his or her ability to
cope with conflicts. This will not only protect the individual from being drawn
to problematic groups, but it will also give legitimate new religious and
ideological communities the room for maneuver in our society that they deserve.
I
would like to thank all those who have constructively supported our efforts in a
variety of ways and who have thus contributed to the successful completion of
our work.
(SIGNATURE)
Ortrun Schätzle, MP
Chairperson of the Enquete Commission on
"So-called Sects and Psychogroups"
Composition of the Enquete Commission on
"So-called Sects and Psychogroups"
Members
Chairperson: Ortrun Schätzle, MP
Deputy chairperson: Gisela Schröter, M P
The members of the
German Bundestag
Ordinary members
Substitute members
CDU/CSU
Helmut Jawurek, MP
Hermann Gröhe, MP
Eckart von Klaeden, MP
Sigrun Löwisch, MP
Ronald Pofalla, MP (spokesman) Marlies
Pretzlaff, MP
Ortrun Schätzle, MP
Johannes Singhammer, MP
Birgit Schnieber-Jastram, MP
Kersten Wetzel, MP
SPD
Alfred Hartenbach, MP
Angelika Graf, MP
Angelika Mertens, MP
Klaus Hagemann, MP
Renate Rennebach, MP (spokeswoman) Prof. Dr.
Jürgen Meyer, MP
Gisela Schröter, MP
Regina
Schmidt-Zadel, MP
F.D.P.
Roland Kohn, MP (spokesman) Birgit
Homburger, MP
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Dr
Angelika Köster-Loûack, MP Volker Beck
(Cologne), MP (spokeswoman)
PDS
Ulla
Jelpke, MP (spokeswoman) Rosel
Neuhäuser, MP
The experts
Professor Dr Ralf Bernd Abel
Department of Business Law at the Fachhochschule Schmalkalden
Ingolf Christiansen
Commissioner for Ideology Issues of the Lutheran Protestant Church District of
Göttingen
Ursula Caberta y Diaz
Head
of the Scientology Task Force, Ministry of the Interior, Hamburg
Dr
Jürgen Eiben
Social scientist, Bonn
Hans
Gasper
Theologian, Commissioner for Sects, Pastoral Centre of the German Conference of
Bishops, Bonn
Werner Gross
Psychologist, Association of German Psychologists, Bonn
Professor Dr Werner Helsper
Department of Philosophy/Education, Teachers' Training College of the Johannes
Gutenberg University in Mainz
Dr
habil Hansjörg Hemminger
Centre for Ideology Issues, Protestant Parish Service for Württemberg, Stuttgart
Dr
Jürgen Keltsch
Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, Munich
Professor Dr Hubert Seiwert
Institute of Religious Studies at the University of Leipzig
Dr
Bernd Steinmetz
Richter am Landgericht Hamburg
Professor Dr Hartmut Zinser
Institute of Religious Studies at the Free University of Berlin
Commission secretariat
The
German Bundestag made a secretariat available to the Enquete Commission in order
to provide organisational and scientific support to the Commission in its work.
Director of the secretariat: Dr Jutta Wettengel
Deputy director of the secretariat: Katja Meyer zu Heringdorf, lawyer
Academic staff: Andreas Klump, political scientist
Hardo Müggenburg, social
scientist
Wolfgang Wittmann, social
scientist
Office manager: Beate Hess, administrative science graduate
First Commission secretary: Sabine Reeb
Second Commission secretary: Petra Becker
Academic staff employed by, and working for, the various parliamentary groups
CDU/CSU: Dr Christoph
Golsong
Ulrike Heuberger
SPD:
Frank Sassenscheidt-Grote
BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN: Wolfgang Bayer
Ralf Klemm
F.D.P.: Sabine Scholz
PDS:
Gudrun Hentges
Table of Contents
Page
1
Mandate and Implementation of the Work of the Enquete Commission on
"So-called Sects and
Psychogroups" . . . . .
19
1.1
Description of the Problem, as well as the Commission's Establishment
and Mandate . . .. 19
1.2
The Commission's Methodological Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
2
Phenomenological, Terminological and Conceptual Clarification of the
Subject under Review . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
2.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 27
2.2
The Term "Sect" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 27
2.2.1 Historical Meanings of the Term "Sect" . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 28
2.2.2 The Term "Sect" as Used in Scientific History . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 29
2.2.3 The Term "Sect" as Used in Colloquial Language . . . . . . . . . .
. 29
2.2.4 Understanding of the Phenomenon in Social Sciences . . . . . . .
30
2.2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 31
2.3
The Term "Psychogroup". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 32
2.4
Types of Conflict with "Sects" and "Psychogroups" . . . . . . . . .
33
2.5
The Term "Sect" and Religious Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 34
2.6
The Term "Sect" as Used by Governmental Bodies. . . . . . . . . .
35
2.7
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 36
3
Macrosocial and Microsocial Dimensions of the Phenomenon.
38
3.1
Societal Causes of, and Conditions for, the Emergence and Growth of
New Religious and
Ideological Communities and Psychogroups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
3.1.1 Preliminary Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 38
3.1.2 From the Traditional Community to the Elective Community . . .
39
3.1.3 Modern Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 42
3.1.4 Societal Secularity and Religious Indifference. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 42
3.1.5 Supply of, and Demand for, Meaning, Life-Counselling, and
Personality Development. .. 45
3.1.6 Globalisation and Localisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 47
3.1.7 Media and Public
Awareness . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.1.8 Experience Orientation as a Selection Criterion . . . . . . . . . .
. . 49
3.1.9 Modern Society: A Communication Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 51
3.2
New Religious and Ideological Communities and Psychogroups as
Perceived in Society . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
3.2.1 Historical Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 53
3.2.2 Objectives and Instruments of Governmental Intervention. . . . .
55
3.2.3
New Religious and Ideological Communities and Psychogroups:
A Challenge for Society .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
3.2.4 Survey among Various Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 59
3.2.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3
Group Structures, Activities and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 63
3.3.1 Opportunities for, and Limits to, a Typology . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 63
3.3.2
Overview of Structural Elements of New Religious and Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
3.3.3 Description of Typologically Generalised Groups . . . . . . . . . .
. 67
3.3.4 Mixed Forms, Business and Pyramid Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 70
3.3.5 Potential Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 72
3.3.6 Digression: Enlistment and Recruitment Strategies. . . . . . . . .
. 74
3.4
Occultism/Satanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 78
3.4.1 The Scope of Occult and Satanic Phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 79
3.4.2 Modern Occultism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 80
3.4.3 Modern Satanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 81
3.4.4 Typologies of Satanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 82
3.4.5 Examples of Problematic Practices and Rituals in Satanism . . .
83
3.4.6 Areas of Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 85
3.5
The Psycho-market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 87
3.5.1 Issues and Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 89
3.5.2 Study on the Alternative Life-Counselling Market . . . . . . . . .
. . 90
3.5.2.1 Consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 91
3.5.2.2 Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.5.3 Problems, Risks, Negative Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 101
3.5.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 103
3.5.5 Suggestions for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 104
3.6
Entry Pathways and Membership Histories in New Religious and Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups; Results of the Research Projects on "Drop-outs,
Converts, and Believers:
Contrasting Biographical Analyses of Why Individuals Join,
Have a Career, and Stay
in, or Drop out of, Religious/Ideological Contexts or Groups" . 105
3.7
Social and Psychological Effects of Membership in New Religious and
Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups . . . . . .
112
4
Information and Counselling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 116
4.1
Information Provided by Governmental Bodies. . . . . . . . . . . . .
116
4.2
Counselling and Information Provided by Non-governmental Bodies . .. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.2.1 Need for Information and Counselling from Non-governmental Centres.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.2.2 Current Basic Elements of Conflict Perception . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 120
4.2.3
Need for Counselling and the Underlying Conflicts: Findings of the Expert
Report
Prepared by the
Department for Sects and Ideological Issues in the Diocese of Aachen . 122
4.2.4 General Conditions of Counselling Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 126
4.2.5 Lay Helpers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.2.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 132
4.3
Education and Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 133
4.3.1 Information and Education Provided to Individuals and Associations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.3.2 Information and Education Provided to Public Officials . . . . . .
. 137
4.4
Research and Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 138
5
Analysis of Specific Priority Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 140
5.1
Forms of Social Control and Psychological Destabilisation . . . .
140
5.1.1 Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
5.1.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 140
5.1.3 Levels of Psychological Dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 142
5.1.4 Religious Dependency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 147
5.1.5 Levels of Social Control and Manipulative Elements . . . . . . . .
. 149
5.1.6 Potential Dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 151
5.1.7 Interim Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 153
5.1.8 Opportunities and Need for Governmental Interventions . . . . . .
154
5.1.9 Ethical Standards, Voluntary Commitments, (Moral) Appeals . .
155
5.1.10 Institutional Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 156
5.1.11
Recommendation to Fund Research Aimed at Shedding More Light on the
Issues at Stake . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
156
5.2
Children and Adolescents in New Religious and Ideological Communities and
Psychogroups . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
157
5.2.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 157
5.2.2
Conflicts and Approaches to Coping with Conflicts in New Religious and
Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups, as Compared with the Principles of Modern Life-styles. 159
5.2.3
Assessing the Education of Children in the Belief Systems of New
Religious and
Ideological Communities
and Psychogroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 162
5.2.4
The Situation of Children and Adolescents in New Religious and
Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups . . . . . . . . . . .
163
5.2.4.1 The Unification Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 164
5.2.4.2 Fundamentalist Currents in Groups and Movements of Christian Origin
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.2.4.3 Hindu and Meditative Currents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 167
5.2.4.4 Scientology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 170
5.2.4.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 173
5.2.5 Educational Conflict Areas and Potential Hazards. . . . . . . . . .
. 174
5.2.5.1 Problem Clusters within the Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 174
5.2.5.2
Problems and Conflicts in Relation to Schools, Peers, Youth Culture, and
Other
Fields of Experience of
Children and Adolescents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 176
5.2.5.3
Problems and Conflicts Affecting the Social Integration and
Individualisation of
Children and Adolescents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
179
5.2.6 Digression: Ritual Abuse of Children: An Occult-Satanic
Phenomenon?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
5.2.6.1 Ritual Abuse, Dissociation, Multiple Personalities . . . . . . . . .
. . 181
5.2.6.2 Qualifications and Question-marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 183
5.2.6.3 How Widespread Are these Practices?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 185
5.2.6.4 Ritual Abuse: Summing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 186
5.2.7 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 186
5.3
Economic Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 187
5.3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 187
5.3.2 Examples of Commercial Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 189
5.3.3 Pyramid Selling and Multi-level Marketing Systems . . . . . . . . .
194
5.3.4 Pyramid Selling as a So-called "Commercial Cult" . . . . . . . . .
. 196
5.3.5 Profit Expectation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 197
5.3
International Aspects of New Religious and Ideological Communities and
Psychogroups. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
200
5.4.1 Comparable Problems in Other Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 200
5.4.1.1 Problem Description and the Enquete Commission's Mandate .
200
5.4.1.2 Scope and Scale of New Religious and Ideological Communities and
Psychogroups . .. . . 203
5.4.1.3 Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 205
5.4.1.4 Legal Disputes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 209
5.4.1.5 International Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 211
5.4.1.6 Perceptions in the Public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 211
5.4.1.7 Counselling and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 214
5.4.1.8 Parliamentary Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 215
5.4.1.9 European Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 219
5.4.1.10 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. . . . . . . . . . .
220
5.4.1.11 Conclusions of Parliamentary Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 220
5.4.1.12 Implementation of Parliamentary Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 222
5.4.1.13 Conclusions for the Debate in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 223
5.4.1.14 International Co-operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 224
5.4.2 International Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 225
5.4.3 Visit by a Delegation to the United States . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 228
5.5
Legal Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 233
5.5.1 Overview of Relevant Case Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 233
5.5.2 General Problems Involved in Legal Disputes . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 242
5.5.2.1
Behaviour of New Religious and Ideological Communities and Psychogroups
in
Terms of Legal
Proceedings. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
242
5.5.2.2 Typical Difficulties for Individuals in Legal Disputes . . . . . . .
. . . 243
5.5.3 Constitutional Appraisal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 246
5.5.3.1 Article 4 of the German Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 246
5.5.3.2 Rights of Corporations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 249
5.5.4 Application and/or Extension of the Scope of Existing Law . . . .
251
5.5.4.1 Association and Tax Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 251
5.5.4.2 Act on Non-Medical Practitioners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 252
5.5.4.3 Provisions of the Law on Parents and Children . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 259
5.5.4.4 Usury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 261
5.5.4.5 The Act on Psychotherapists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 266
5.5.4.6 Aspects of Labour and Social Security Law . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 266
5.5.5 Legal Provisions to be Adopted in Future . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 272
5.5.5.1
Establishment of a Foundation in the Field of "New Religious and
Ideological
Communities and
Psychogroups" . . . . . . . . . .
272
5.5.5.2
Introduction of a Legal Regime on the Provision of Public Funds for
Private
Counselling and
Information Centres . . . . . . .
273
5.5.5.3 Act on Commercial Life-Counselling Services. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 277
5.5.5.4 Introduction of Criminal Liability of Legal Entities and
Associations of Persons . . . . . . . 278
5.5.5.5 Making the Organisation of So-called Pyramid Games a Separate
Criminal Offence. . 280
6
Opinion and Recommendations for Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
281
6.1
Opinion of the Enquete Commission on the General Societal Phenomenon of
New
Religious and Ideological
Communities and Psychogroups . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
281
6.2
Recommendations for Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 285
6.2.1 Constitutional Appraisal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 285
6.2.1.1 Article 4 of the German Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 285
6.2.1.2 Rights of Corporate Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 285
6.2.2 New Legal Provisions to be Adopted in Future . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 285
6.2.2.1 Act Establishing a Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 285
6.2.2.2
Introduction of a Legal Regime for the Provision of Public Funds for
Private
Counselling and
Information Centres . . . . . . .
286
6.2.2.3 Act Governing Commercial Life-Counselling Services. . . . . . . .
286
6.2.2.3
Introduction of Responsibility under Criminal Law for Legal Entities and
Associations of Persons .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
286
6.2.2.5 Making the Organisation of So-called Pyramid Games a Separate
Criminal Offence.. . . . . 287
6.2.2.6
Including Pyramid Selling in the Scope of Application of Legislation on
Financial
and Insurance Services
Intermediaries . . . . .
287
6.2.3 Applying, and/or Extending the Scope of, Legislation Currently in
Force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
6.2.3.1
Activities of the Federal Administrative Office in the Field of "New
Religious
and Ideological
Communities and Psychogroups". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 287
6.2.3.2 Association and Tax Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 288
6.2.3.3 Act on Non-Medical Practitioners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 288
6.2.3.4 Legal provisions on the Relationship between Parents and Children .
. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
6.2.3.5 Usury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 290
6.2.3.6 Act on Psychotherapists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 290
6.2.4
Observation of the Scientology Organisation by Germany's Offices for the
Protection of the
Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
291
6.2.5 International Co-operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 291
6.2.5
A Common Approach towards New Religious and Ideological Communities and
Psychogroups in the
European Union . . . . . .
291
6.2.7 Occultism/Satanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 291
6.2.8 Education and Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 292
6.2.9 Funding of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 292
6.2.10 Transparency of the Psycho-market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 294
6.2.11 Conflict Reduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 295
6.2.12 Avoiding the Use of the Term "Sect". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 295
6.2.13 Duty of the German Federal Government to Submit Reports . . .
295
Minority Opinions
Minority Opinion Submitted by Commission Members Dr Jürgen Eiben, Professor Dr
Werner
Helsper, Dr Angelika Köster-Loûack, MP, Professor Dr Hubert Seiwert with Regard
to
Chapter 4.2.1 "Need for Information and Counselling from Non-governmental
Centres". . . . . . 296
Minority Opinion Submitted by the Working Group of the SPD's Parliamentary Group
in
the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and Psychogroups" with Regard to
Chapter 5.5.3.2 (Rights of Corporations) and the Relevant Recommendation for
Action in Chapter 6.2.1.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
298
Minority Opinion Submitted by Ursula Caberta y Diaz, Alfred Hartenbach, MP,
Dr
habil Hansjörg Hemminger, Renate Rennebach, MP, Gisela Schröter, MP, Dr
Bernd Steinmetz and Professor Dr Hartmut Zinser, Members of the Working Group of
the
SPD's Parliamentary Group in the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects
and
Psychogroups" with regard to Chapter 6.1 "Opinion of the Enquete Commission
on
the General Societal Phenomenon of New Religious and Ideological Communities
and
Psychogroups" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Minority Opinion Submitted by Commission Members Professor Dr Ralf-Bernd Abel,
Ursula Caberta y Diaz, Dr Jürgen Keltsch, Professor Dr Hartmut Zinser with
Regard to
the
Commission's Final Report . . . . . . . . . . . . .
303
Minority Opinion Submitted by Dr Angelika Köster-Loûack, MP, and Professor Dr
Hubert
Seiwert, Members of the Working Group of the Parliamentary Group of BÜNDNIS
90/DIE GRÜNEN in the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and Psychogroups"
with
Regard to the Commission's Final Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Annex
The
Research Project on "Drop-outs, Converts, and Believers: Contrasting
Biographical
Analyses of Why Individuals Join, Have a Career and Stay in, or Leave,
Religious/Ideological
Contexts or Groups" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
371
1 Mandate and
Implementation of the Work of the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and
Psychogroups"
1.1 Description of the problem as well
as the Commission's establishment and mandate
With
the votes of the CDU/CSU, F.D.P. and SPD, the German Bundestag adopted a
recommendation for a decision on 9 May 1996 - submitted by the Committee for
Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity, and Rules of Procedure in
response to a motion tabled by the SPD's parliamentary group (Bundestag Doc.
13/3867) - establishing the Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and
Psychogroups" (Bundestag Doc. 13/4477).
With
this decision, the German Bundestag followed a recommendation made by the
Petitions Committee on 25 October 1995 to establish an Enquete commission in
order to clarify a host of legal questions brought to the attention of the
Petitions Committee by concerned citizens.
These questions and concerns were not new; along with personally affected
individuals, information and counselling centres had been increasingly
preoccupied with these issues since the 1960s. In every-day usage, the term
"sect" has long since stopped referring exclusively to religious movements;
instead, it also covers ideological, philosophical, psychological, educational,
and political communities. A group's history of ideas is no longer the only
factor that determines the use of the term "sect" but also - and primarily -
the presence of a certain potential for conflict. The groupings which are
referred to under the generic term "sects" are accused of, among other things,
isolating and psychologically manipulating individuals by means of totalitarian
internal structures and the use of problematic methods of taking influence, as
well as fraud, exploitation and the infliction of severe mental damage on
members and their families; however, they are also accused of devising
antidemocratic societal systems.
Because of the widespread use of the term "sect" in every-day language, the
German Bundestag decided to give the Enquete Commission the working title
"So-called Sects and Psychogroups". This title is evidence of the fact that the
German Bundestag rejects any sweeping statements flatly condemning all
communities believed to belong to the spectrum of groups that might spark
conflicts.
In
its work, the Enquete Commission did not start off by focusing on specific
groups; instead, the Commission began by examining and analysing the potential
conflicts ascribed to the phenomenon of new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups. This was the mandate assigned to the Enquete
Commission by the German Bundestag in its decision to establish the Commission.
Hence, the Enquete Commission has not endeavoured to appraise religions
19
or
ideologies; nor has it drawn up a list of all the groups which are active in the
Federal Republic of Germany because such a list would involve a considerable
risk that the groups mentioned therein might be stigmatized.
The
Commission's remit was to analyse conflict and problem areas in the field of new
religious and ideological communities and psychogroups and to find solutions
without scrutinizing religious beliefs. On the one hand, this brief was fully in
keeping with the freedom of religion and the freedom of religious belief
guaranteed by the German Constitution, as well as the associated religious and
ideological neutrality of government; with its remit, the Enquete Commission
also fulfilled a duty incumbent upon the State, which is to protect individuals
against any encroachment upon their rights, and to protect society as a whole.
Under the
German Bundestag's decision to establish the Commission, the latter had the
mandate to deal with four priority areas in its work:
"1.
To analyse the objectives, activities and practices of so-called sects
and psychogroups that are active in the Federal Republic of Germany
This
analysis is expected to
·
identify
dangers emanating from these organisations for the individual, the State, and
society;
·
appraise
open and concealed societal objectives pursued by these organisations;
·
identify
national and international interconnections of these organisations, and
·
identify
the limits to recourse to the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion
for more recently established religious and ideological movements,
so-called sects and psychogroups.
"2.
To find out why individuals join so-called sects or psychogroups and
why such organisations are growing in membership
To this
end, the Enquete Commission is requested to
·
study
typical case histories, i.e. how individuals become members and what happens
after they join such organisations;
·
identify
the social and political conditions which lead to an increased willingness to
join so-called sects and psychogroups;
·
identify
enlistment and recruitment strategies pursued by these organisations, and
·
develop
proposals designed to prevent citizens, as well as companies, associations,
pressure groups and other institutions from inadvertently being drawn into such
organisations or being abused by such organisations.
20
"
3.
To identify problems encountered by individuals during membership
and when trying to leave
membership
in sects can lead to problems not only for the members themselves but also for
their families and friends, and it can create problems in companies,
associations, pressure groups, and other institutions. Socialisation problems
and legal disputes due to family conflicts are of particular importance in this
context. Even if the extent to which individuals are affected varies, it is
often not possible to cope with the problems or their solutions without outside
support. For this reason, the Commission was requested to study not only the
problems associated with sect membership and the consequences for all the
parties affected but also the question as to what offers for help are or should
be available. When examining the help that can and must be given to individuals
who want to leave an organisation, the Commission should take into consideration
reports by former members about their experience regarding the pressure exerted
by some organisations, as well as the psychological state of members, and their
prospects and opportunities "after" leaving the organisation.
"
4.
To draw up recommendations for action bearing in mind the debate
carried on in society to date
the
Commission is expected to submit fundamental recommendations for how to deal
with the phenomenon of the so-called sects and psychogroups in future, involving
the institutions in society affected by this phenomenon; it should be possible
to implement these recommendations within a short period of time. In its work,
the Commission should also answer the question as to whether the way this
phenomenon has been dealt with in society in the past, and whether the fact that
all these organisations are generally referred to as sects or youth sects, is in
keeping with the actual development and the need for an appropriate debate in
society."
This Final
Report, which follows up on the Enquete Commission's Interim Report (Bundestag
Doc. 13/8170), is the result of a busy and packed work schedule. Because of the
short time available, the Commission was not able to
investigate
all the ramifications of the subject. In its analysis, the Enquete Commission
therefore deliberately focused its attention on priority issues in keeping with
the mandate assigned by the German Bundestag in its decision to set up
the Enquete
Commission:
A key
challenge for the Enquete Commission was to appraise membership in new religious
and ideological communities and psychogroups from the perspective of the
individual in order to find out what conflicts actually emanate from new
religious and ideological communities and psychogroups. To this end, the
Commission looked intensively into the question of an individual's background
and the connection between the individual's life history and his or her joining,
21
leaving, or staying in new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups. The Commission examined the question as to whether dependencies of
the individual are created within the group, and if so, in what ways, and what
effects membership has.
Another priority of the Enquete Commission's work was to identify the causes in
society which lead to the development and spread of new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups because the phenomenon can only be
assessed adequately if it is seen from the perspective of society as a whole. On
the one hand, the causes of the growth of new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups as a characteristic of the modern world are not
limited to Germany alone; and on the other hand, many of the groups operate
internationally. For this reason, the Enquete Commission chose the international
dimension of the phenomenon as another priority issue in its work. For this
purpose, the Commission not only invited scientists from other countries to
participate in an exchange of ideas, but it also had numerous talks to exchange
experience with foreign politicians and explained the German position vis-à-vis
the Scientology Organisation during a trip to the United States of America.
Furthermore, the Enquete Commission examined the activities and assessed the
importance of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups in
business enterprises. Particular attention was paid by the Commission to the
problem area of "children in new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups" because the State has a particular duty to protect these weakest
members of society; and there is by all means a dichotomy between this duty
and
the constitutionally guaranteed right of parents to educate their children.
Arriving at a balanced assessment of the phenomenon in this context was a
particularly difficult challenge for the Enquete Commission.
In
its recommendations for action developed on the basis of its analysis of the
phenomenon of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups, the
Enquete Commission takes into account current discussions on legislation in
Germany, draws attention to the need for closing loopholes in current
legislation, presents proposals for improving the efficiency of counselling and
information services, and makes suggestions for improvements in the sector of
research, education and continuing education, which has so far been grossly
neglected in the Federal Republic of Germany.
However, the recommendations for action developed and deemed necessary by the
Enquete Commission do not release the various societal groups from their own
obligation to deal with the phenomenon of the new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups in a responsible manner. The Enquete Commission
itself considered that it was one of its important tasks to try and have a
dialogue with groups in an effort to ease the tensions in society. Many
communities gladly accepted the proffered dialogue and used this opportunity to
submit statements. The Enquete Commission is hoping that the dialogue between
the groups, government and society will continue after the completion of its
22
work. However, this will require a certain measure of "even-handedness", not
only on the part of the media, academia, and each individual, but also by the
groups and communities themselves. A dialogue can only be successful if both
sides make an effort.
1.2 The Enquete Commission's
Methodological Approach
Composition of the Enquete
Commission
The
Enquete Commission was composed of twelve members of the parliamentary groups
represented in the German Bundestag, as well as twelve experts. The PDS group
was represented by one non-voting member in an advisory
capacity; in addition, the PDS appointed one non-voting expert. A secretariat
provided organisational and scientific support to the Commission in its work.
Deliberations
In
the period between its constituent meeting on 9 May 1996 and the adoption of its
final report at the meeting on 28 May 1998, the Commission held a total of 49
meetings.
For
reasons of confidentiality, most of the hearings of external experts were not
open to the public:
Non-public hearings and talks with
experts
·
Talk with
experts from Germany's Offices for the Protection of the Constitution, 14
November 1996
·
Hearing of
counselling and information centres as well as initiatives of parents and
affected individuals, 2 December 1996
·
Hearings of
various groups, 13 January 1997 and 17 February 1997
·
First part
of a series of three hearings on the "Situation of Children and Adolescents in
so-called Sects and Psychogroups", 20 February 1997
·
Hearing on
"So-called Sects and Psychogroups and Business Enterprises", 12 May 1997
·
Hearing on
"So-called Sects and Psychogroups: A Challenge for Society?", 2 June 1997
·
Hearing on
"International Interconnections", 5 June 1997
·
Hearings on
"Drop-outs from so-called Sects and Psychogroups", 25 September 1997, 2 October
1997, 9 October 1997, 5 February 1998
·
Talk with
experts on the topic of "Pyramid Selling", 13 November 1997
23
·
Talk on the
topic of "International Aspects in the Field of so-called Sects and
Psychogroups" with an expert from the European Parliament, 11 December 1997
·
Talk with
experts on the topic of "Ritual Abuse", 16 January 1998
·
Talk with
an expert from the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on
labour law and social security issues, 12 February 1998
·
Talk with
medical experts on the topic of "Disease Risks due to the Improper Use of
Hypnosis, Trance, and Conditioning in Lay Therapy and Group Dynamics Events", 14
May 1998
The
Enquete Commission invited the following groups to attend non-public hearings:
Alter Mystischer Orden Rosae Crucis (Rosenkreuzer), Bruno Gröning-Freundeskreis,
Gemeinde auf dem Weg, Gesellschaft für Transzendentale Meditation (TM),
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Landmark Education, Neue Akropolis, Osho,
Scientology, Soka Gakkai, Universelles Leben e. V. (UL), Verein zur Förderung
der psychologischen Menschenkenntnis (VPM), Vereinigungskirche (Unification
Church) Jehovah's Witnesses. Representatives of the Europäische Arbeiterpartei
(European Labour Party; today: Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität - Solidarity
Civil Rights Movement) were invited but did not accept this invitation. While
the representatives of the Scientology Organisation and of VPM appeared at the
hearing, they refused to give any information.
The
Commission heard drop-outs from the following groups or course participants:
Ananda Marga, Europäische Arbeiterpartei (European Labour Party; today:
Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität - Solidarity Civil Rights Movement),
Gemeinde auf dem Weg, Gesellschaft für Transzendentale Meditation, Kaizen,
Landmark Education, Sant Thakar Singh, Scientology, Soka Gakkai, Universelles
Leben e.V., Verein zur Förderung der Psychologischen Menschenkenntnis,
Vereinigungskirche (Unification Church), Jehovah's Witnesses.
Public hearings
·
Hearing on
the topic of the "Constitutional Background in Dealing with New Religious and
Ideological Movements (German Constitution, Art. 4)", 12 December 1996
·
Second part
of the series of hearings on the "Situation of Children and Adolescents in
so-called Sects and Psychogroups"; hearing of educational and psychological
experts, 13 March 1997
·
Third part
of the series of hearings on the "Situation of Children and Adolescents in
so-called Sects and Psychogroups"; hearing of legal experts, 20 March 1997
·
Conference
on the topic of "Psychotechniques", 14 April 1997
24
·
International forum on the topic of: "So-called Sects and Psychogroups and Their
International Interconnections", under the Patronage of the Speaker of the
German Bundestag, Professor Dr Rita Süssmuth, MP, 22 September 1997
Trips
·
Trip of
some Commission members to meet representatives of Universelles Leben (Universal
Life) and Jehovah's Witnesses, 19 and 20 August 1997
·
Trip of a
Commission delegation to the United States of America, 23 to 27 February 1998
Research projects/Studies
·
In order to
determine the spread of new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups in the German population, the Enquete Commission awarded a contract
to INFRATEST Burke GmbH, Berlin, to conduct a survey based on a representative
sample. For the results, see the Commission's Interim Report (Bundestag Doc.
13/8170, p. 33 ff.).
·
In order to
analyse the background and connections with the life history of individuals,
i.e. careers in new religious and ideological movements, the Enquete Commission
awarded a contract for a research project entitled "Drop-outs, Converts, and
Believers: Contrasting Biographical Analyses of Why Individuals Join, Have a
Career and Stay in, or Leave, Religious/Ideological Contexts or Groups".
The
implementation of this project was entrusted to:
Professor Dr Heinz Streib, University of Bielefeld,
Professor Dr Werner Fuchs-Heinritz, Open Polytechnic University of Hagen,
Dr
Albrecht Schöll, Comenius-Institut Münster,
Wilfried Veeser, theologian, pastor of the Protestant Church in Württemberg.
(For
the results, see Chapter 3.6. as well as the Annex).
·
In order to
identify the motives and the patterns of perception of psycho-market clients,
and to shed some light on the providers and consumers as regards the
psycho-market, psycho-techniques and the esoteric scene, the Enquete Commission
joined an ongoing project headed by Professor Dr Straube and Professor Dr
Mischo. In this context, the Commission awarded a contract to Gerhard
Hellemeister (psychologist, University of Jena) who, in co-operation with
Wolfgang Fach (psychologist, Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie,
Freiburg), carried out a research project on the topic of "Providers and
Consumers in the Psycho-market: An Empirical Analysis" (see Chapter 3.5 for the
findings).
25
·
In order to
obtain reliable findings with regard to the question as to whether there is a
specific form of religious dependence, and if so, what processes lead to such
dependence, and how it can be defined, the Enquete Commission awarded a contract
for a research project on the topic of "What Are the Characteristics that Can Be
Used to Identify Religious Dependence?". This contract was awarded to Professor
Dr Burkhard Gladigow, Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut im Wissenschaftszentrum
Nordrhein-Westfalen (see Chapter 5.1.4 for the findings).
·
In order to
study socially desirable and undesirable effects associated with new religious
movements, the Enquete Commission awarded a contract for a study on the topic of
"Social and Psychological Effects of Membership in New Religious Movements, with
Special Consideration Given to the Social Integration and Mental Health". Dr
Sebastian Murken, psychologist, University of Trier, was entrusted with the
execution of this project (see Chapter 3.7 for the findings).
·
In order to
make cause-effect relations of conflictual events fully comprehensible in the
social environment of individuals primarily affected by new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups, the Enquete Commission awarded a
contract for an expert report on the topic of "Need for Counseling, and
Triggering Conflicts in the Case Histories in a So-called Sect Counseling
Centre, Based on Case Categories and Process Patterns". The execution of the
project was entrusted to the Beratungsdienst für Sektenund Weltanschauungsfragen
beim Bischöflichen Generalvikariat Aachen (see Chapter 4.2 for the findings).
·
In order to
identify the skills which the staff of counselling centres for new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups need in order to meet counselling
needs, the Enquete Commission awarded a contract for an expert report on the
topic of "Skills Required for Counselling Staff Working in the Conflict Area of
So-called Sects and Psychogroups: Criteria and Strategies". This study was
entrusted to Beate Roderigo, psychologist, Informations-und
Dokumentationszentrum Sekten/Psychokulte of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kinder- und
Jugendschutz, Landesstelle Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V. (see Chapter 4.2 for the
findings).
26
2.
Phenomenological,
Terminological and Conceptual Clarification of the Subject under Review
2.1
Introduction
Since the term "sect" is used in a variety of ways in science and in colloquial
language, primarily in internal religious disputes, and since the term
"psychogroup" is new, the Commission had to clarify whether these two terms
sufficiently and adequately described the subject under review by the Enquete
Commission; the word "so-called" used by the German Bundestag in its decision to
set up the Commission already indicates that the use of these terms is of a
tentative nature only. In the first part of what follows, the Commission
digresses from the topic under review to discuss the terms
"sect" and "psychogroup" by means of some selected examples; and in the second
part, the Enquete Commission then defines its own field of work on this basis.
In
the course of its work, the Commission found out first of all that different
terms cover different (partial) aspects of the overall phenomenon. This point is
discussed in greater detail below. Secondly, the Commission found out that not
all
the attributes ascribed to groupings that are referred to under the heading of
"so-called sects and psychogroups" actually apply across the entire spectrum.
Many
conflicts which will be described in this Report are conflicts with a relatively
small percentage of groups from the overall spectrum; some of these conflicts
are also of a temporary nature because they are typical of a certain stage
of a
group's development.
2.2 The term "sect"
According to the German Bundestag's decision to set up the Enquete Commission,
the latter has the duty to answer the question as to whether the way this
phenomenon has been dealt with in society in the past, and whether the fact that
certain organisations are generally referred to as "sects" or "youth sects", is
in keeping with reality and the need for an appropriate debate in society. For
this reason, it was necessary for the Commission to deal with the terms "sect"
and
"youth sect". In some sources in literature, the meaning of the term "sect" is
also considered to be a given fact.
1
) In addition,
there are other terms, some of which emphasise other conceptual aspects: Fr. W.
Haack has introduced the
term
"youth religion".
2
) Furthermore, the terms
"cult" and "destructive cult", which originated in the United States, have been
adopted in the German language
-------------------------------------
1 )
Cf. Schmidtchen, G.: Sekten und Psychokultur, Freiburg/Basel 1987, p. 22.
2 )
Cf. Haack, Fr. W.: Jugendreligionen. Zwischen Scheinwelt und Kommerz, Munich
1994 (first
edition 1974); ibid.: Jugendsekten - Vorbeugen-Hilfe-Auswege, Basle 1991.
27
There are also other terms such as "new religion", "new religious movements", as
well as the more neutral term "communities of special religious groups".
Psychotherapeutically oriented enterprises, which are assumed to manipulate
individuals psychologically, are also referred to as "psychocults" or
"psychogroups". Groups with political objectives have also been termed
"politico-religious youth sects". Information published by governmental agencies
often use the terms "new religious and ideological movements" or put "so-called"
before the words "sects" and "psychogroups", or put these words into quotation
marks.
Hence - although it may appear to be self-evident - the term "sect" itself is
ambiguous and thus problematic.
3
)
2.2.1 Historical meanings of the term
"sect"
Etymologically, the word "sect" is derived from the Latin word "sequi" (follow),
which is the translation of the Greek word "hairesis" (following). In antiquity,
the word "sect" was initially used to describe those who followed the school of
opinion of a given philosopher. In the history of Christianity, the word "sect"
was used to refer to groups who followed a certain religious leader outside the
Church or who followed dogmas or practices which had been declared a deviation
from doctrine. During the Middle Ages and during the early Modern Age (see, for
instance, the Ad Deus constitution of Emperor Frederick II of 1220), individuals
who were "unruly followers" of a "sect" were outlawed and sentenced to death
(see, for instance, Art. 30 of the Bamberg Rules of Court Proceedings for
Capital Crimes of 1507). Sect membership was made a criminal offence in the
Middle Ages because any form of deviating belief was considered
to
be a tort which was not acceptable for society and for the State. Thus,
religious deviation became a criminal offence, as the Protestant theologian P.
Tillich wrote: "Anyone who violates canonised dogma, (is) not only a heretic who
goes
against the fundamental doctrines of the Church but also commits a crime against
the State" 4
). In addition,
the word "sects" of course also had a neutral meaning, as illustrated by Roger
Bacon (in the 13th
century) and
Nikolaus von
Kues
(in the 15th
century), who
spoke about the "secta Christiana". The negative meaning of the term "sect"
seems to have clearly culminated during the 16th century, especially
when it was used to describe those Christian communities
which established themselves - next to the recognised religious parties - with
------------------------------------------------------
3 )
Cf.: Hemminger, H. J.: Was ist eine Sekte?, Mainz-Stuttgart 1995; Keltsch, J.:
Neue religiöse Bewegungen und das Recht, in: Einheit und Vielfalt der
Rechtsordnung. Commemorative publication to celebrate the 30th anniversary of
the Munich Law Society, Munich 1996; Gasper, H.: Ein problematisches Etikett,
in: Herder Korrespondenz, Vol. 50, No. 11, Nov. 1996, p. 576ff.; and Zinser, H.:
Der Markt der Religionen, Munich 1997, Chapter VIII; for a legal definition, see
Abel R. B.: NJW 1996, p. 91.
4 )
Cf. Tillich, P.: Vorlesungen über die Geschichte des christlichen Denkens, Part
I, Supplements and unpublished works, Vol. 1, Stuttgart 1971, p. 20f.
28
out
being legally legitimated by the Empire.
5
) Such views and
institutions were abandoned when freedom of religion was declared in the
countries of Europe. In Germany's Constitution, reference is made only to three
types of religious
groups: religiöse Vereine (religious associations - German Constitution, Art.
140 in connection with Art. 138 of the Imperial Constitution of the Weimar
Republic); Religionsgesellschaften (religious societies - German Constitution,
Art. 140); and Religionsgemeinschaften (religious communities - German
Constitution, Art. 7); there is no substantive difference between religious
communities and religious societies; an established state church does not exist
(German Constitution, Art. 140 in connection with Art. 137, Imperial
Constitution of the Weimar Republic). In terms of Constitutional law, there is
no difference therefore between Churches and other forms of religious
organisation. Consequently, the term "Church" is no longer "protected", so that
any organisation can call itself a "Church" and use
this
term in a misleading manner.
2.2.2 The term "sect" as used in
scientific history
The
historical meaning of the term "sect" is closely connected with its theological
interpretation. This interpretation of the term "sect" is based on certain
criteria, e.g. the recognition of books of revelation other than the canonised
Bible and other forms of revelation, a different creed, a different
understanding of apostolic succession, and - in Protestantism today - also
membership in the World Council of Churches, etc. Because of the neutrality of
the State in religious and ideological matters, the theological concept of
"sects" is irrelevant for the Enquete Commission.
In a
certain historical situation, Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch used various
characteristics to develop "ideal-typical" definitions of the terms "Church" and
"sect" for their studies of the history of Christianity and the associated
development of "modern capitalism": while individuals are born as members of a
Church, sects have to be joined; while a Church has a universal claim, sects
only have a partial one; while the charisma of office-holders in a Church is
usually inherent in their office, office-holders in a sect must have personal
charisma, etc. 6
) These
definitions were developed on the basis of analyses of a given historical
situation; hence, they are irrelevant for the problems dealt with by the
Commission.
2.2.3 The term "sect" as used in
colloquial language
The
colloquial use of the term "sect", i.e. its use in the public debate, is highly
multifarious, and its scope is widening more and more. In public usage, the term
"sect" also denotes to religious content. In addition, the term "sect" is also
used
in colloquial language for groupings which are referred to as "new religious
-----------------------
5 )
Cf. Feil, E.: Religio. Die Geschichte eines neuzeitlichen Grundbegriffs vom
Frühchristentum bis zur Reformation, Göttingen 1986, p. 274f.
6)
Cf. Kehrer, G.: Einführung in die Religionssoziologie, Darmstadt 1988.
29
and
ideological movements" in literature. At the same time, the public associates
with this term groupings which lead to societal conflicts of varying intensity,
even if these groupings tend to pursue political or psychotherapeutical
objectives rather than being religious or ideological in nature. Hence, there is
no consistent distinction between "sects" and "psychogroups" in colloquial
language.
Generally speaking, one could say that the public uses the term "sect" for
groups which are assumed to deviate from the convictions and lifestyles that are
still commonly shared. The convictions involved are primarily ethical views
about human interactions. Terms such as human dignity, human rights, freedom,
tolerance, self-development and self-realisation are points of reference for
socially acceptable actions and behaviour. In colloquial language, the term
"sect" is therefore increasingly used to refer to groups which are accused of
systematically defying these points of orientation in theory and practice, of
producing dependence instead of scope for development, of degrading individuals
and
of teaching intolerance, etc.
7
)
The
colloquial use of the term leads to several difficulties. First of all, it is
not possible to delineate this use linguistically from other meanings of the
term "sect" so that if the term "sect" is used in the media for a given group
(which is a correct term when used in its own theological context), there is a
risk that this may create the impression that the group involved may be a source
of conflicts.
Secondly, labelling a group with the term "sect" as used in colloquial language
may suggest that the group is a source of conflict, that it makes its members
dependent, or that it is dangerous in another way, although the members of the
group or other individuals affected may have a different perception. Hence, the
colloquial use of the term "sect" is not very precise in terms of its substance.
For
these reasons, the Enquete Commission feels that this use of the term is highly
questionable and will not use it in this Report unless qualified by quotation
marks or the world "so-called".
2.2.4. Understanding of the phenomenon
in social sciences
In
sociological and social science literature, a "sect" is defined -- with regard
to the questions addressed here -- by the degree to which a group is in
conflict with, in contrast, and in contradiction to its environment.
8
) This understanding
of
the term as used by social scientists, which overlaps with the term's colloquial
use by the general public, is the only relevant definition for this Report.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 )
Cf. Hemminger, H. J.: Was ist eine Sekte?, Mainz-Stuttgart 1995.
8 )
Cf. Niebuhr, R.: The social sources of denominationalism, New York 1929; Wach,
J.: Religions-soziologie, Tübingen, 1951; Wilson, B. R.: Religiöse Sekten,
München 1970; Johnson, B.: Church and Sect Revisited, in: Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 10, 1971; Stark, R. und Bainbridge, W. S.:
The Future of Religion, Berkeley 1985.
30
Based on the understanding of the term in the social sciences, a "sect" could be
defined as a small, exclusive religious or ideological, scientific or political
group which demands total commitment from its followers and which places special
emphasis on the group's separation from, and rejection of, its environment.
9
) Hence, a
characteristic feature of a so-called "sect" is a special, extreme form of
internal and external relations. The deliberate separation from its environment
is a feature which generally applies to all the various aspects of the entire
culture of the group or community.
However, the emphasis in defining the term "sect" varies, depending on which
phenomena of this culture or what level of group interaction is studied from the
outside in terms of this trait. If the focus is on the group's rejection of the
conditions under which it lives in society - in particular the prevailing value
system and the public legal system applied in theory and practice - the
definition of the term "sect" will resemble the secular concept of a sect that
prevails in the public debate. However, if the focus is on the rejection of the
group's religious or theological environment (often primarily its own
intellectual roots) at the level of faith and ideology, the definition of the
term "sect" will resemble the one used in religious or theological studies. In
this case, the tension between a community and its environment will be primarily
determined by the history of its religion and ideas.
At
any rate, the concept involved is always a so-called "relational concept", which
describes the conflictual relationship between a minority and the surrounding
society. Hence, the question as to whether a minority within a culture is
referred to as a sect always also depends on the observer's own cultural vantage
point and on value decisions.
In
this context, it should be pointed out that tensions also arise from differences
in the emphasis placed when defining the term "sect". There are some groups, for
instance, which are classified as sects from a religious perspective, but
which - from the point of view of the social sciences - are not perceived as
sects (or at least not in the narrower sense), because of their relatively
successful adjustment to the everyday life of the established society around
them.
2.2.5 Summary
Due
to the different origins of the term "sect" and its different interpretations,
its use is very problematic, except in cases where the context has been clearly
defined (e.g. in theology or in religious studies). It is hardly suitable for
distinguishing between "conflict-prone" and "non-conflict-prone" groups.
Furthermore, it is not useful at all for characterising specific conflicts.
Since it is not suitable for governmental use, it is not a suitable term for
this Report either.
---------------------------------------------------------
9 )
Cf. Abercrombie, N./Hill, St./Turner, B. S.: Dictionary of Sociology, London,
3rd edition, 1994
(Penguin Reference Books), p. 371.
31
2.3 The term "psychogroup"
In
the past few decades, the term "psychogroup" has been widely used to describe
the "wide variety of psychological and pseudo-psychological advice available
outside professional psychology and outside the public health sector in the
fields of life counselling, life orientation, and personality development"
10
). This spectrum includes
activities which are as diverse as psychological success courses for business
managers, esoteric courses offering advice for coping with money problems,
astral journeys, contact through a medium with extraterrestrial intelligent
life, and the return to earlier lives. A large number of methods are offered to
achieve these and other objectives: Therapies borrowing from traditional
psychotherapy schools; emotional and physical therapies (e.g. primary therapy,
rebirthing); spiritual offerings with purported therapeutic effects (e.g. reiki,
reincarnation therapy); the use of technical equipment in the esoteric scene
(e.g. mind machines, bio-resonance); natural healing methods with a spiritual
background (e.g. aroma therapy, Bach blossom therapy); magical and occult
practices (e.g. telepathy, psychokinesis, pendulum, Tarot); natural religions,
mystical and spiritual traditions; esoteric ministry or life-counselling.
What
these methods have in common is that they are not only practised in groups but
that they are also used commercially to help individuals cope with their lives
or change their personalities. In addition, they are used as a leisure pursuit,
for entertainment and to satisfy the need for sensory and aesthetic experiences.
This is a services sector which is also referred to as "psycho-market". In a
more neutral form, one could also label this sector as alternative,
non-orthodox educational, psychological and psychotherapeutical methods which
are practised side by side with those of recognised schools; this is similar to
medicine where non-orthodox alternative medical approaches and orthodox
medical treatments exist side by side.
Usually, such services are used in the framework of a business relationship with
customers. Since this relationship is not the type of relationship that exists
in a community or a group, it does not make sense to speak about membership in
these cases. However, such relationships may evolve into a "psychogroup" if a
group of regular customers forms around a "life-counselor", and if this group
makes regular use of the services of this counselor or his enterprise. Even
then, there are considerable differences as compared to the type of relationship
in a community because the customer relationship is retained. It is only
justified to refer to a group as a "psychogroup" or - more harshly - as a
"psychocult" if a certain permanent level of organisation is achieved by a
service provider and his clients, and if internal and external relations
establish themselves which are typical of groups.
------------------------------------------
10 )
Hemminger, H. J./Keden, J.: Seele aus zweiter Hand, Psychotechniken und
Psychokonzerne, Stuttgart, 1997, p. 7.
32
2.4 Types of conflict with "sects" and
"psychogroups"
As
described above, the approach adopted in the social sciences towards
understanding this phenomenon is to look at the conflicts arising with various
groups. This is discussed in greater detail below.
The
special, extreme form of internal and external relations in such groups - i.e.
the tension between the tendency to withdraw into a "total" inside world ("total
groups") and the outside world - has been characterised by terms such as
"isolation" and "insulation" (withdrawing to an island). This describes the
tendency of these individuals to isolate themselves more or less completely from
their environment and to limit themselves to living in a world of their own.
Such people then tend to transfer the entire reality of their lives - including
beliefs, cultural and social norms, and possibly economic and political aspects
- exclusively to the inside world of a given group; or they exclusively derive
and define this reality in terms of the knowledge of life (and its sources)
applied and practised by the group. This gives rise to most conflicts.
Hence, one particular aspect of the conflict-proneness of a group in its
internal and external relations has to do with the group's world view and its
life-style, i.e. "dissenting world views" and "non-conformist life-styles". In
other words, theirs are convictions which deviate substantially from the
socio-culturally widely accepted or at least tolerated world views and values,
and life-styles which differ significantly from generally practised or at least
tolerated life-styles.
While this description is abstract and general, an analysis of the groups in
question often shows in concrete terms where potential conflicts may arise. If
an individual drops out of a professional or vocational training programme, or
if an
individual abandons his or her professional career in order to be able to work
in the group, this may prolong an adult group member's financial dependence on
his or her parents or partner beyond what is usual, or it may re-establish this
dependence if an individual abandons his or her professional career. If the
parents, the spouse or the friends of an individual who has just joined a group
are not willing to adopt a positive attitude towards the group and towards the
commitment of its new member, this may lead to family disputes or to separations
with all the resulting conflicts.
For
outsiders, it may also seem disconcerting that the group assigns partners to its
members. Other fields in which conflicts with outsiders may arise include the
group's attitude towards sexuality; its concept of marriage and family life;
questions relating to bringing up children; attitudes towards business and
politics; beliefs about the individual's personal freedom, etc. Even if these
questions often involve areas which are covered by the basic right of free
development of an individual's personality, one cannot ignore the effects which
sudden changes in an individual's views and behaviour can have on his or her
environment. For this reason, such groups are perceived as contentious by their
environment because they trigger such changes.
33
The
characteristics describing the internal and external relations of a group -
such as "total commitment" towards the inside and "separation from the
environment" - can be subdivided into various degrees, so that while a given
type of sectarianism can be determined in accordance with the definition
mentioned above, it is not possible to draw a clear line between a sectarian and
a non-sectarian religious or ideological community.
11
) To sum up, the
conflict-proneness of the groups considered to be sectarian as defined above is
usually due to a combination between the aspects mentioned above - i.e.
exclusivity, total commitment, separation from the environment and its rejection
("isolation" and "insulation") - with "dissenting world views" and
"non-conformist life-styles". These aspects can lead - albeit not necessarily
- to problematic constellations and reactions, and hence, to considerable
conflicts.
The
hazards involved in extreme isolation and insulation are illustrated
particularly clearly by examples which have attracted much attention in public.
These include the murders and mass suicides of groups such as People's Temple
(Guyana), Heaven's Gate (California), Sonnentempler (Switzerland, France,
Canada), Aum-Shinri-kyô (Japan).
2.5 The term "sect" and religious
conflicts
In
cautioning against the indiscriminate use of the term "sect", it must be pointed
out that a certain degree of conflict with society is part of religious
orientation and religious sociation. This is due to the fact that religious (and
often also ideological) communities naturally claim the right to live in a
certain way and to defend their own truth vis-à-vis competing views of human
nature and the world. Something similar applies to modern ideologies with their
own
view
of the world, which - based on scientific or pseudo-scientific evidence -
claim the right to provide their own binding interpretation with regard to the
totality of human existence. As the history of religious and ideological
movements demonstrates, this can sometimes lead to profound societal conflicts.
Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that religions consider it to be one of
their responsibilities to take a critical stance vis-à-vis the society and the
state they live in; under certain circumstances, this may lead to tensions with,
and
sometimes even stark opposition to, government and society. Since religions also
tell individuals what they must not do, they thus imply in one way or another a
distance or a critical stance vis-à-vis the status quo.
In
addition, it is not only the dissident communities that act when conflicts arise
but also competing and already established religious communities, as well as
------------------------------
11 )
Distinguishing between "cult movement", "clients cult", and "audience cult",
which has become common practice nowadays, is a typology which permits such a
subdivision into different degrees. This typology can be applied to sects if one
adopts the distinction between "sect" and "cult" as proposed by Stark/Bainbridge
(which, however, does not seem to be imperative).
34
other political and cultural institutions of society. For all these reasons, it
must be pointed out that any conflict with "conflict-prone religions" can also
lead to questioning our society, and not only to critical questions about the
group concerned. Such conflicts have been and can always be a factor bringing
about societal change.
It
should not be ignored that progressing modernisation and growing cultural
uncertainties create considerable stress, in particular for individuals clinging
to traditional religious life-styles; so that increasing isolation or even
rejection of
modernisation may also represent an attempt to cope with these modernisation
stresses. Often there is a more or less pronounced dichotomy between the
guidance provided for one's own life and for raising children in the framework
of
special ideological/religious communities and the principles of modern living
required to cope with the socio-cultural challenges prevailing in Western
societies. Hence, as a result of destabilisation and "de-traditionalisation",
individuals may also look for shelter and safety in a new "religious/ontological
home" instead of living up to modern expectations and challenges by assuming
personal responsibility and being open, mobile and reflexive. Such attempts to
cope must certainly not be oversimplified by interpreting them exclusively as
"deficient life-styles" relative to the principles of modern life, and the
individuals pursuing such attempts must not be disqualified as "dangerous
sects".
2.6 The term "sect" as used by
governmental bodies
Nevertheless, it would be possible to construct - from the variety of different
concepts - a narrower definition of the term "sect" for the purposes of
political and legal theory and practice. In this case, the term "sect" would be
used to
refer to such religious groupings and life-counselling organisations whose
theories and practices are not compatible with the principles of the German
Constitution and its concept of human beings, its legal system, its value
concepts, etc. and which proclaim, and strive for, a social order other than the
German Constitution. Or based on the description of the phenomenon as used in
social sciences, it would be possible to use the term "sect" to refer to
groupings where the level of isolation, the tension between "inside" and
"outside", etc. lead to a high degree of almost permanent conflict-proneness.
An
introduction into constitutional law of the term "sect", which is already
burdened by various uses of the term in the past, would involve the risk of
restricting the critical potential which is required for the continuous renewal
of society; the emergence of new religiousness can also be seen as a response to
shortcomings in society, as an indicator of misguided developments in society as
a whole and the associated problems.
An
introduction into constitutional law of the term "sect" would above all entail
the risk or the tendency of abolishing or restricting the freedom of religion by
using the term "sect". In our modern age, religion is not influenced by the
State.
35
Nevertheless, exercising freedom of religion is subject to a legal framework
which is set by limits that are inherent in the Constitution. Aside from freedom
of religion, there are other interests which are protected by the Constitution;
and
in
the event of a conflict, the interests concerned must be weighed to decide which
of the interests takes precedence in a given concrete case.
In
the interest of a neutral description and analysis, it is therefore more
appropriate when describing the subject under review to use the terms "new
religious and ideological communities" and "psychogroups". However, such general
terms also give rise to problems. It is not possible to find short, concise
terms to characterise the entire diverse spectrum of the groups concerned. This
spectrum also includes groups, for instance, which only pretend to be religious
or ideological communities. In this broad range of groups and movements which
are referred to as "sects" from various perspectives, there are only a few which
are so conflict-prone - and permanently so - that they correspond to the
extreme picture which prevails with regard to new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups.
In
addition, it is advisable for the sake of clarity to use more specific terms
when examining specific fields of conflict. In accordance with Anglo-Saxon
usage, allegedly religious communities with predominantly economic objectives
can be characterised as commercial cults, while ideological communities can be
referred to as "political groups", etc. The commonly used term in scientific
literature is "new religious and ideological movements" (NRMs). The Enquete
Commission has chosen the terms "new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups" as an appropriate and neutral description of the phenomenon. In
this way, the Commission has also responded to the need for differentiation.
2.7 Summary
It
is not possible to use the ambiguous term "sect" to determine the field of
legislative and general governmental action. Hence, another way must be found to
define and limit action in this field. This also applies to the term
"psychogroup".
Need
for governmental action can only be identified on the basis of the real
relations that exist between a group and its social environment. It goes without
saying that need for action arises only through the social interactions caused
by
the
group members' rejection of their social environment, their total commitment,
etc.; usually, it is only when these characteristics take on a very pronounced
or extreme form that there will be such need for action. The fact that there is
a gradual transition from a group's strong emphasis on conflict-triggering
characteristics to its successful integration and adaptation should not be used
as an argument to deny government any scope for action even in the event of
severe conflicts; nor should it be used as an argument to curb the freedom
granted by our Constitution to religious and ideological groups. Instead, the
governmental scope for action includes first of all measures available in the
36
event of violations of effective laws and threats to interests protected by law.
Secondly, there are sectors of social life which, according to our Constitution,
should remain free of any governmental regulation. This includes in particular
personal choices in terms of internal and external conditions of life, and in
terms
of
the context in which an individual decides to live.
The
conflicts which are caused by social actions in connection with new religious
and ideological communities and psychogroups - and in some cases also by the
actions of individuals - can be subdivided into three categories:
a)
violations of laws;
b)
abuse of power by individuals who take advantage of legal vacuums which
jeopardizes interests protected by law; such abuse calls for regulatory action
by government;
c)
violations contra bonos mores derived from the system of fundamental
values, and infringements of social obligations.
In
this area, governmental action is both necessary and feasible. In fact,
conflicts in this field fall within the mandate of the Enquete Commission.
Hence, the Commission's field of study includes not only the groups themselves
but also clearly defined social actions and conflict-triggering actions by
individuals - or more precisely, individual members of groups - most of which
claim to have, or are ascribed, a religious or ideological status
12
) . In this context,
attention must also be paid to a principle laid down in the Council of Europe's
Convention of 4 November 1950, according to which "freedom to manifest one's
religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed
by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interest of public
safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others."
This
means not only that there must be no provisions which restrict the freedom of
religion for specific religious communities, but it also means that religious
communities and their members must of course abide by certain rules that
apply to everyone. Hence, the wording of the German Constitution, which does not
provide for any general requirement to have a law on freedom of religion, seems
less specific. However, there is agreement about the fact that the freedom to
manifest one's religion comes up against its limits whenever it violates the
constitutional rights of others. At any rate, it is not possible to circumvent
or override the legal system by invoking freedom of religion.
----------------------------
12 )
The question of whether a group rightly claims to be a religious community is
answered by constitutional law. The definition of "religion" or "ideology" as
used in constitutional law is usually narrower than the definition used in
social sciences (cf. BAG NJW 1996, 143).
37
3 Macrosocial
and microsocial dimensions of the phenomenon
3.1 Societal causes of, and conditions
for, the emergence and growth of new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups
3.1.1 Preliminary remarks
The
Enquete Commission's work has clearly shown that the phenomenon of "so-called
sects and psychogroups" is a highly complex issue. Attributing problems simply
to those who allegedly caused them - i.e. the "sects" - gives rise
to
more questions than answers. This does not mean that one should deny that
certain groups or individuals may take advantage of the existing room for
maneuver above and beyond what is acceptable if one finds that the problems
associated with new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups are
to a large extent due to social causes and settings. Only if these causes and
settings are understood is it possible to adopt an adequate approach aimed at
finding problem-solutions.
The
public has been paying a great deal of attention to new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups: a large number of articles have been
published in daily and weekly newspapers; and TV and radio programmes, as well
as books have dealt with this phenomenon. In the public debate, the quantitative
scale of the groups concerned has sometimes been overestimated. In its Interim
Report, the Enquete Commission found - largely in agreement with earlier
surveys 13 )
-- that new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups are not so
widespread that this alone could explain the echo which this subject has found
in the public. About 0.5 percent of the respondents said that they were members
or followers of a new religious or ideological movement. Another 0.7 percent
stated that they were
somewhat close to such a movement.
14 )
Despite this limited magnitude, new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups are perceived as a major threat by the public. However, the
quantity and the quality of a problem
are
not identical.
Some
of the most important social causes of, and conditions for, the emergence and
the growth of new religious and ideological groups and life counselling
programmes as well as their perception in society are outlined below.
-----------------------
13 )
Cf. Schmidtchen, G.: Sekten und Psychokultur, Freiburg, 1987; or Stoffers, M.
and Puhe, H.: Neue religiöse Organisationen und Kultpraktiken, project report,
Cologne, 1993.
14 )
Cf. German Bundestag: Interim Report of the Enquete Commission on "So-called
Sects and Psychogroups", Bundestag Doc. 13/8170, p. 35 f.
38
3.1.2 From the traditional community to
the elective community
Modern industrial and service societies are characterised by the fact that they
loosen and sometimes break up traditionally grown structures to replace them by
more flexible ones. The efficiency and the capacity for development of modern
societies is based on this very potential in terms of flexibility, willingness
to change, and adaptability. In various fields - e.g. in associations, trade
unions, political parties, or in married and family life - this development is
also perceived as a loss; this is true in particular in the field of religions.
It is generally assumed that religion unfolds automatically and largely in a
parish, i.e. anchored in the direct environment shared by all its members.
This
has been largely the case in the history of Europe, but also in other cultures.
According to relevant theories, religion was seen, among other things, as an
institution which comprehensively provided transcendental and immanent
meaning for the development of the individual's identity, life-style concepts,
the "cosmisation" of reality, coping with contingencies, reference towards
transcendence, for the entirety of government, society, and culture, as well as
for the
community (both political and religious) and the life world, etc. This world,
which is of course never completely homogeneous, has been in a process of
profound change, dissolution, and restructuring ever since the 17th
/18th
century
-- a process which was accelerated once more during the years after World War
II, and which is often referred to as secularisation. However, what this process
represents is pluralisation of religious contents and forms, as well as
alternatives and options, which creates religious diversity and a religious
market. In addition, there is a distinction between religious and non-religious
life counselling movements or programmes designed to help the individual find
meaning in life. In itself, this is not yet any different from religiousness in
parishes, or from the practice of religion in congregations; instead, a
market-like situation is developing, with a large number of suppliers. In
addition to the traditional religions, there are new ones which are very
different, not only in terms of their origin and tradition, but also with regard
to their forms of organisation.
However, the fact that other organisational forms of religion - such as
supplier or service religions - are possible and widespread became clear when
Peter L. Berger published his book "Der Zwang zur Häresie" (The Need for
Heresy);
because religion or the religions as providers of meaning and life-style
concepts (which they have always been) are obliged to move within this societal
context and look for their links within this context. However, in addition to
communities practising religion in parishes where all the people living in a
given town or district are members, there have always been special alternative
communities such as secret cults, mystery cults, orders, etc.
As
far as organisational forms are concerned, there are two extreme forms of new
religiousness, "in addition to the Churches", i.e. our traditional religions.
39
On
the one hand, there are religious offerings which are evolving into the
direction of religiousness in the form of communities or parishes. Whenever such
religious communities tend to develop into very closed forms (possibly connected
with "isolation" and "insulation", as mentioned above), there is a great
likelihood that conflicts will arise.
15
) This is the case
especially if these groups have recourse to pre-modern patterns, i.e. if they
try to use what could be referred to as the "interpretative value added" of
religion (in other words, the functions and services mentioned above) in order
to undo the separations and segmentations in today's society and culture by
re-establishing traditional unitary concepts, by tying the entire reality of
life directly to religion, and by considerably curbing personal freedom rights.
In
addition, there are market-oriented forms of organisations which convey religion
and meaning in a more precise sense, e.g. in the form of numerous offerings for
therapy and advice on how to cope with life. These forms do not organise
themselves as congregations or parishes; instead, their structure is flexible,
less binding. In such cases, the purpose of the "interpretative value added" of
religious organisations and organisations designed to help the individual find
meaning in life can be to conceal the professional limits or shortcomings of
their life-counselling and therapeutic programmes behind a veil of
religion/ideology (there are parallels to be found in the ideological components
of psychoanalysis).
Such
movements either take a critical stance towards the alleged lack of tradition in
the modern age and propagate a more traditionally oriented way of living and
believing. Or they are very specifically geared towards helping individuals to
adapt to, and make them "fit" for, the achievement-oriented society. This can be
done by having recourse to one's own religious traditions or by importing other
religious/cultural patterns. Quite often, there are also mixed forms composed
of, for instance, European-Christian, Asian and/or (psycho-)therapeutic
components. 16
)
There is not only a breakdown of traditions in large parts of society, but also
a multiplication of options that exist side by side and that compete with one
another for followers. However, the fundamental principle is not the replacement
of
one tradition by another, but it is the coexistence of various traditions whose
popularity varies like ups and downs in the economy. In this context, one must
of course bear in mind that the importance of traditions has undergone profound
change: what used to be more or less binding and compulsory standards for the
individual has become a matter of choice and option. What is perceived as a loss
in this development is not the loss of tradition itself, but the loss of
social transcendence and reliable expectations, i.e. the disappearance of the
binding force of traditions and the standards imposed by them on everyday life
and action in society. In sociology, this is referred to as individualisation".
----------------------
15 )
Cf. Chapter 3.3.
16 )
Cf. Interim Report of the Enquete Commission, loc. cit., p. 96 ff.
40
However, these very differentiation processes are in turn based on some
underlying standards whose validity is growing world-wide, e.g. human rights in
an individualised interpretation, the pursuit of happiness as a source of
meaning, again in an individualised form (see Chapter 3.1.8), etc. Hence, the
individualisation process is unfolding in a globalisation setting; there is
considerable pressure toward uniformisation, not only with regard to normative
standards, but also concerning the overall economic and social settings of our
everyday life world. This standardization (e.g. in professional career
expectations) is progressing both world-wide and within our society; hence,
those who fail to adapt to these changing standards or take the wrong decisions
in their professional and private lives will suffer very negative sanctions as
individuals. On the one hand, therefore, "individualization" means more choice
for the individual; but on the other hand, modern biographies are very much
subject to the constraints of increasingly uniform economic systems and
professional options, which in turn depend on political constraints. Some of the
conflicts with new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups have to do with, among other things,
the fact that some of the groups concerned negate or intend to reverse globally
recognized orientations in life, and that they encourage their followers
more
or less blatantly to ignore the mandatory general rules that apply in business
and in the world of work.
Conversely, another major reason why individuals turn to new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups is that people founder, or fear that
they will founder, under the conditions prevailing in this very world of work
and life, or that they are at least under the subjective impression that they
cannot cope with the pressure to adapt and to do well.
Individualization processes also become manifest in socio-demographic terms.
Reliable data are nowadays available on, for instance, urbanization, as well as
trends with regard to household size, family size, forms and intensity of
personal contacts, and forms of housing and participation, to mention but a few.
For years, these data have revealed a growing trend: The scope and the binding
force of close social relations in families, neighborhoods and local communities
have been declining. Instead, specialized areas of life - first and foremost,
the world of work, but also family life, leisure pursuits and friends - have
been gaining ground as factors of social integration of the individual. At the
same time, the subjectively perceived relative importance of more collectively
oriented areas of life is decreasing. Only about 20 percent of the respondents
regularly state that politics/political parties and religion/Churches are
important areas of life for them, while between 60 and 80 percent mention
professional and family life or leisure pursuits. Except for minor variations,
this has been the result which the Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage in den
Sozialwissenschaften (ALL- BUS - General Population Survey in Social Sciences)
has regularly revealed since 1980.
The
statistical findings indicate that society has been changing in two directions:
On the one hand, the statistics suggest society has lost some of its collective
formative influence on general patterns of thinking and behaviour; on the
41
other hand, the data have shown that the individual depends on, and is supported
by, smaller units of social orientation areas, such as one's own family, the
circle of colleagues at work, or leisure-time acquaintances.
3.1.3 Modern biographies
As
shown above, the changes in traditional social relationships have led to a loss
- which in some cases is substantial -- of social continuity and
transcendence. Filling one's biography with one's own particularities in order
to prove oneself as a social creature is an achievement which used to be
supported by the community and which nowadays is largely up to the individual.
Thus, the "post-modern concept of living" opens up a broad spectrum of options
for action which are equally legitimate in society, as long as they are covered
by a subjectively perceived order or are plausible to the individual, and
providing that they are compatible with the general economic conditions
prevailing in society.
Against this background, it is much more difficult for an individual to develop
and preserve a personal identity. It becomes a life-long project in the course
of which the identity has to be continuously re-established and consolidated.
Problems with regard to the meaning of life are experienced by the individual
much more intensely than would be the case if the individual was part of a
closer community.
This
is described very succinctly by Niklas Luhmann when he says: "The components of
an individual's curriculum vitae are made up of turning points at which
something happened which was not inevitable, beginning with birth". There is no
better way of describing the demands made on the individual's constitution and
his or her biography in the modern age. Against the background of a broad choice
of social options, it is up to the individual to meet the general
requirements for successful participation in social life and to give meaning and
context to what appears to be a random combination of different elements.
17
)
So
while there are better opportunities in life, there is also a greater risk that
- given the wide variety of choices and options available - one might take a
decision which proves to have been wrong at a later point in time. This is the
source of many of the problems and conflict constellations which have been
recently discussed in connection with new religious and ideological communities
and psychogroups: the need to choose from a range of offers made to individuals
to help them cope with life, coping with life in an alternative religious group
(during membership and possibly also after leaving such a group), and the
discussion of these choices in society.
3.1.4 Societal secularity and religious
indifference
Over
50 percent of the respondents in Germany's old federal states and almost 80
percent in the new federal states describe themselves as being non-
-----------------------
17 )
Cf. Identitätsarbeit heute, (ed.) Höfer/Keupp, H., Frankfurt, 1997.
42
religious. 18
) The expression
"neue Unübersichtlichkeit" (Jürgen Habermas; roughly: the "new complexity") also
applies to the Churches. On the one hand, the number of Church members has
declined substantially since the 1950s; on the other hand, an average of 17
percent of the respondents still go to church (with considerable variation both
above and below this average) and a much higher percentage of individuals are
still members of a Church. In the Churches themselves, the phenomenon of a shift
from tradition to option has also become manifest, and has even reached their
core congregations.
This
illustrates that religious aspects of life and performing religious acts jointly
in a congregation have become less important for the German population. However,
this is not tantamount to a complete loss of religiousness or full
secularisation of life as a whole. As far as values are concerned, for instance,
there is still a strong emphasis on Christian values. The belief in religious
patterns in the broadest sense is also quite widespread. In their everyday
lives, people read their horoscopes, believe in faith-healers, witches or lucky
charms; they believe in reincarnation or occult phenomena. Religious needs and
religious patterns of coping with life are still widespread in the population.
19
)
Nevertheless, there is a large amount of religious indifference with regard to
social contexts. In the framework of such social action contexts, religion does
not seem to be immediately required to help individuals find meaning and
orientation and to cope with life as long as those individuals are sufficiently
involved in everyday life and as long as their everyday life is intact. In the
family, at work and in professional life, as well as during leisure pursuits
with friends and
acquaintances, there are many opportunities for an individual to fill his or her
everyday life sufficiently. Often, there is no time for religious practice, nor
is there any pressing need. On the contrary: In many parts of society, there is
even
massive social pressure supporting religious indifference. In professional life,
for instance, an excessive orientation towards religious norms could easily
hamper an individual's career. According to a survey conducted among managers in
German industry, indifference towards religion is a very pronounced attitude in
professional life. Or as Franz-Xaver Kaufmann found out: "Religious standards
are not generally rejected, but they are not highly valued by most people".
20)
Hence, religious references are excluded from many sectors of life in society
because they are considered to be irrelevant. Religious activities form a
separate, specialised sector in society, in which such activities can unfold.
This
constellation is by all means paradoxical because it demonstrates that while
individuals are relatively out of practice when it comes to religion, they are
unquestionably receptive to religion. Questions about the meaning of life can
suddenly come to the fore in an individual's everyday life when that individual
is
------------------
18 )
Cf. Table 16 in Daiber, K.F.: Religion unter den Bedingungen der Moderne,
Marburg, 1995, p. 55.
19 )
Cf. Eiben, J.: "Neue Religiosität" in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Cologne,
1996, p. 42f.
20 )
Cf. "Religiöser Indifferentismus", in: ibid.: Religion und Modernität, Tübingen,
1989, pp. 146- 171, p. 151.
43
personally affected by radical change or crises; this may be the loss of one's
job, sickness, or the severe illness and death of a close relative or friend. In
other cases, one's expectations with regard to one's professional career, or
one's marriage or partnership are frustrated, which raises the question of the
meaning of life. From this perspective, it can therefore be said that it is not
the individual who is indifferent towards religion, but it is the social
structure in
which he or she lives and acts.
From
the individual's perspective, this constellation of the integrated secular world
appears to be continuously jeopardised and unstable; as a result, indifference
can also turn into determined opposition to, or support of, a given religious
life-style. From a perspective of cultural sociology, this is corroborated by a
supplementary analysis of the current attitude towards religion of the citizens
of a secular society, which shows that there is a separate secular history of
religion in modern age.
21
) This would mean that
fundamental concepts of occidental modern age - such as the idea of scientific
progress, the idea of the development of new human beings by means of education
and psychology, etc. -- can themselves assume the function of a religion (which
has already happened to some extent) and compete with the religions for cultural
influence. In the case of modern ideologies such as Communism and National
Socialism, this influence cannot be denied; however, it is debatable whether the
individualised life-styles of today's majority also derive meaning from "secular
religious" ideas. In this case, the majority's indifference towards
pre-modern-age religious traditions could also be interpreted as a commitment to
such secular religious sources of meaning and interpretations of human
existence.
Against this background, the emergence of a market-oriented religiousness, which
almost invariably also wants to provide life-counselling, would also have to be
seen as an attempt at finding a different way of keeping the promises
made
after all with regard to finding meaning in a secular world, after the
plausibility loss of the conventional institutions, i.e. politics and science.
At any rate, the development of so-called "psychocults" and "political sects" in
the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the emergence of the New Age and esoteric
movements in the 1980s, give credence to such an interpretation.
Various recent studies, some of which were also proposed by the Enquete
Commission, 22
) have shown that,
in most cases, the reason why individuals turn to new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups has to do with
-----------------------------------------------------------
21 ) Cf.
Küenzlen, G.: Der Neue Mensch - zur säkularen Religionsgeschichte der Moderne,
Munich, 1994
22 ) Cf.
Andritzky, W.: Alternative Gesundheitskultur. Eine Bestandsaufnahme mit
Teilnehmerbefragung, Forschungsberichte zur transkulturellen Medizin und
Psychotherapie, Vol. 4, Berlin, Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung, 1997;
Dipl.-Psych. Dr.
Murken, S.: "Soziale und psychische Auswirkungen der Mitgliedschaft in neuen
religiösen Bewegungen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der sozialen Integration
und psychischen Gesundheit", study conducted on behalf of the German Bundestag's
Enquete Commission on "So-called Sects and Psychogroups", January 1998.
44
personal problems which tend to be secular problems from today's perspective.
Such motives include the departure from the parental home, conflicts with one's
parents or partner, professional problems, unfulfilled wishes. Usually it is not
until later that explicitly religious motives come to the fore, once a certain
life-counselling programme available from a group has been put into a broader
context of helping the individual to find meaning in life. At this point, the
individuals concerned are very willing to get involved in a "completely
different life" whose quality, concomitants, and consequences cannot be surmised
by them; on the other hand, their ability to handle religious feelings and
impressions today probably tends to be poorly developed.
3.1.5 Supply of, and demand for,
meaning, life-counselling, personality development
In
response to these specific needs for meaning and help in coping with life, a
form of organisation has emerged to which various secular societies have not yet
sufficiently adjusted because these societies continue to assume that the
institutions providing meaning and help to cope with life are embedded in
relatively homogeneous forms of religiousness, or that religion and meaning can
only be provided in the context of parishes or congregations practising their
religion. Such more market-oriented approaches cannot be generally applied to
specific religious groups, including specific new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups; instead, they can be associated with most
religious doctrines. This is a way of spreading religious ideas and
life-counselling assistance in general which can be established more effectively
because of the modern structures prevailing in society. In the past few years,
for instance, the Churches have been confronted more and more with the demand
that they should offer their services in a more demand-oriented manner.
However, in order to deal with market-oriented aspects and offerings,
23
) there is not
only a lack of consumer awareness among the "buyers" but also a lack of consumer
protection criteria such as transparency of offers and options, contents and
costs. The realisation that there is a need for consumer protection is growing
only slowly.
Unfortunately, the awareness of this need is not yet sufficiently developed on
the part of the consumers and on the part of relevant social institutions, e.g.
in the fields of law and life-counselling. However, the increasingly
individualised demand for sources of meaning and help in coping with life makes
individuals particularly vulnerable, especially in a society which is or was
characterised by a situation of relative religious clarity. Some of the
conflicts which have arisen in connection with new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups are due to the fact that people are not
sufficiently familiar with a pluralistic offer of religions and that they
misunderstand the market-oriented religious offers made.
-----------------------------
23 )
Cf. Zinser, H.: Der Markt der Religionen, Munich, 1997.
45
For
certain groups of people, the threat to their modern life-styles is much more
concrete than for others, which also increases the willingness in certain
contexts and of certain people to adopt compensatory, radical religious or
ideological orientations in life. Young unemployed people with a lower level of
education, for instance, whose prospects of participating in the fruits of
working life are currently very dim, have a high aggression potential which can
be exploited in a variety of ways by satanic groups (cf. Chapter 3.4).
Riesebrodt, for instance, used the example of Protestant fundamentalism in the
United States to show that a tendency towards religious fundamentalism in a
given population stratum may be associated with protests against a loss of
social privileges, in this case a loss of social status and economic security in
the lower white middle class.
24
)
It
can be assumed that the "classical" sects will benefit from these
interdependencies, at least those which can be ascribed to Protestant
fundamentalism in terms of their contents and their life-world; it is also
likely that there will be similar interconnections in the Catholic tradition.
There is a lot of evidence which proves that politically marginalised population
groups tend to gain self-esteem and confidence in their actions by way of
compensation in the field of religion.
This
can be demonstrated by the rise of Spiritualist communities and Afro-Brazilian
religions in Brazil and the success of the Pentecostal movement among Caribbean
immigrants in the United Kingdom, etc. Hence, it can be assumed
that
there is not only a general social interconnection between individualisation and
the "need for heresy" on the one hand, and on the other hand a possible sudden
change into rigid interpretation systems with totalitarian claims imposed
on
the individual. Instead, it can also be assumed that concrete biographical
processes - which may also be based on specific problems such as membership of
a disadvantaged population group, unemployment, the collapse of current social
security systems, etc. - may accelerate an individual's conversion.
This
specific parallel connection cannot necessarily be formulated in the framework
of the overriding sociological theories underlying this report (risk-taking
society, experience-oriented society, communication society); however, a
separate theoretical deduction would go beyond the scope of this report. Such
conversion processes are sufficiently known, based on historical and practical
experience. This is all the more significant since this is exactly the point of
focus for political measures aimed at preventing religious and ideological
radicalisation.
However, the growth of market-oriented movements which help the individual find
meaning in life and which provide life-counselling services is not exclusively
due to relevant demand. Instead, it is the processes of social change outlined
above that enable sellers or operators to open up distribution channels and find
acceptance among "customers" in the first place. For this reason, it is not easy
to say how much of the demand for market-oriented movements which help
-------------------------------------------------------
24 )
Cf. Riesebrodt, M.: Fundamentalismus als patriarchalische Protestbewegung,
Tübingen 1990, ibid.: Protestantischer Fundamentalismus in den USA - die
religiösen Rechte im Zeitalter der elektronischen Medien, EZW-Texte, Information
No. 102, Stuttgart 1987.
46
individuals find meaning in life and which provide life-counselling services is
caused by the fact that the advocates of certain forms of religion and
life-counselling have become more professional, as it were, allowing them to
gain their
livelihood in this way and to improve their social status in their context; this
is a development which is not considered to be very unusual in other countries
with different religious traditions (e.g. the United States).
It
is almost trivial to point out that the Free Christian Congregations, for
instance, which have emerged in the past 20 years - usually initiated by
individual missionaries - and which exist side by side with the established
Churches and Free Churches, are usually groups with a very distinct profile
which follow a specific school of thought and which cover a rather large
geographical area; such organisations are only possible because of the high
mobility of people in
conurbations. Likewise, the opportunities of the esoteric movement for
distributing their courses, seminars, etc. depend largely, and increasingly so,
on modern communications media and modern modes of transport.
3.1.6 Globalisation and localisation
Today, we are witnessing an accelerated development of our societies towards a
global society: in economic terms, in terms of the media, but also in political,
legal, and cultural terms. However, the effects of this development towards a
global society are contradictory. It is not simply a development which leads to
the unification of a variety of different cultures and societies in an
overarching form. It is first of all a matter of establishing comparability and
having the
experience of being compared: comparability of political, economic, and social
systems, their cultural foundations, as well as their systems of religious
thinking and standards. Essentially, this leads to two opposing trends. On the
one hand, given the wide variety of the different approaches currently pursued,
the global society creates pressure for a generalisation of its values and
regulatory systems. In other words, what this global society has in common in
terms of its substance, will tend to be more and more generalised and will be
bound to encompass more and more conflicting traditions. On the other hand,
there is a trend toward consolidating regional and particular traits. As Roland
Robertson
said, globalisation and localisation combine to become glocalisation.
25 )
The generalisation of the basic legal system and of basic values goes hand in
hand with the isolation of regional sub-societies which take certain particular
idiosyncrasies to extremes. Distinctions thus gain greater importance. New
religious subcultures emerge. This is a trend which incidentally can also be
observed in the Churches. New religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups, but also new parishes established either within the Churches or at
their fringes represent such religiously motivated localisation phenomena. At
the
----------------------------------------
25 )
Cf. Globalization, London, 1992.
47
same
time, however - and this is the global dimension - there are relatively small
groups which establish themselves as international organisations operating
world-wide.
This
conflicts with the century-old experience of relative religious dominance in
Europe after the Treaty of Westphalia because religious diversity and the
development of new, alternative or simply hitherto unknown forms of religious
life and action are incompatible with this picture of well-ordered religious
structures.
The
conflict is due to the fact that the religious market and its possibilities to
establish new patterns do not coincide with societal expectations; hence, many
people affected initially reject, or are alarmed by, patterns which do not
correspond to the "Church"-type image. This also applies to groups and movements
within the Churches (e.g. the Protestant Confessional Movement, Opus Dei) or at
their fringes. In a certain way, this situation is compounded by the concept of
society's progressing secularisation propagated in social sciences in particular
in the 1960s and 1970s; according to this concept, the inclination towards
religion was considered to be a phase-out model. Even if sociology today assumes
that the secularisation of society continues, it also assumes that there is a
shift of religious needs to the individual.
This
conflict is further aggravated by another effect of globalisation: the
implementation of de-traditionalised "alien" religious convictions and groups in
social contexts. Not only are the new pluralistic religious phenomena confronted
with different societal expectations; instead, it is also a potentially
disturbing, frightening, but certainly irritating presence of something "alien"
in the form of religion in one's own social environment, "next door", as it
were. So, the thrill of the "exotic" and the "alien" which the individual
expects to find at a remote holiday destination as part of the local everyday
life can turn into something which is perceived as threatening.
3.1.7 Media and public awareness
Society's image of what is publicly presented or presents itself as religion is
biased in a very specific direction. Considering that in Germany, as well as in
many other European countries, the concept of religion is primarily
characterised by relative homogeneity and by the notion that religion is
practised in parishes, whereas there is also a variety of market-oriented groups
today, all forms of religion which are not in keeping with the traditional image
can initially only be described in public in terms of their conspicuous or
deviating features.
It
would be wrong to suggest that it is the sensationalist journalism of the media
which creates a "sect problem". One must realise that the media - as the term
indicates - are only the messenger, the mediators who respond in a very
specific way to the expectations of those who are supposed to receive given
messages or news. Nevertheless, in a society which is increasingly characterised
48
by
"media-conveyed hyperrealities", the media's potential in terms of generating
images and perceptual patterns should not be underestimated. Hence, the media
aggravate the problem if they suggest as a generalised message that sects are a
"peril". However, the core of the problem is that there is no open social
discourse on religion.
The
image which the media present to the public about new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups is often focused on sensational events.
This
type of presentation will only decline and stop finding a market if it is
deprived of its "mystique", so much so that individuals can also reflect their
own impressions and their rationale for turning towards religion. Interestingly
enough, a term such as "sect" is always used to describe others. It is always
the others who are the "sectarians", not only for "sect members". This is the
only explanation why almost 80 percent (of a total of over 33,000 callers) were
in
favour of "banning sects" during a survey conducted by the German TV station
3SAT in December last year. There seems to be no other field of public debate in
which there is less information about the subject under discussion
than
in the field of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups.
Religion as a whole is defined in terms of its extremes. Often there is no
useful information which would enable the individual to deal with religious
matters adequately, i.e. to have a free and informed choice and discussion. It
is doubtful whether the often very popular sensationalist journalism increases
the population's level of information.
For
this reason, an open, unbiased and informative analysis of the opportunities and
risks associated the search for meaning and religious devotion in modern society
does not take place in a way which encompasses all sectors of society.
3.1.8 Experience orientation as a
selection criterion
According to Gerhard Schulze,
26
) the process of
modernisation can also be seen as an "expedient-rational transformation of
action structures". Society's outward or collectively oriented modernisation
(i.e. the development of societal institutions) is continuing, but it is
supplemented by an inward type of modernisation.
If
the individual is ultimately unable to act or to decide because of the
mind-boggling variety of offers and options available - a variety which can
only be achieved by explicitly relinquishing any far-reaching collective rules
- the interest in an option for action (such as buying a specific product) can
be stimulated by establishing a direct relationship to the individual. Hence,
inner-direction means establishing a connection with potentially desired
characteristics of the individual. In this way, consumption becomes a
possibility for the individual to do something very special for him- or herself.
---------------------------------
26 )
Cf. ibid.: Die Erlebnisgesellschaft. Kultursoziologie der Gegenwart, Frankfurt,
1992.
49
What
is striking in this context is the subjective reference of the action patterns,
and hence also a strong subjectification of the stabilisation of identity.
Schulze calls this form "Erlebnisrationalität" (experience rationality): "The
subject treats
himself as the object whose condition is to be manipulated".
27
) Basic patterns of such
experience include: social rank, conformity, belongingness, self-fulfilment, or
stimulation, with the individual being able to use the most varied
means to achieve this realisation. The common denominator of these means is that
while they are generally available in society, they can take on both a positive
and a negative form. Self-fulfilment can be experienced by means of professional
activity or by explicitly abstaining from such activity; it can be achieved both
by means of close social contact, but also by social isolation; by establishing
a family or by living the life of a single. An individual can also find
self-fulfilment by continuously increasing the intensity of pursuing specific
goals, in particular in professional life, but also in the social arena.
This
type of uncertain societal anchoring of experience makes this experience
vulnerable, both in its collective and in its individual form. Collectively
reliable structures do not develop. Instead, there are fads that change very
quickly.
They
change like market trends, and tomorrow they may be quite different from what
they are today. From the individual's perspective, this means that the
experience cannot be perpetuated. As a result, there is a permanent search for
new or revamped experience opportunities in ever new fields of experience:
experience demand and supply combine to form an experience market which provides
considerable potential - albeit a very delicate one - for the expression of
individual identity.
The
fleetingness and arbitrariness of emerging and passing forms are not problematic
for the "experience market" itself. However, problems arise with regard to the
individual's reliable self-portrayal because while the experience market is
capable of supporting a sufficiently well-functioning everyday life, it cannot
provide answers to questions about the meaning of life, about the major
transcendences such as disease, death or other major strokes of fate.
The
demand for, and great respect in society for, the assumption of personal
responsibility and autonomy by individuals, as well as the assumption that the
individual is able and willing to perform, is combined with highly stable,
specialised institutional sectors and increasingly generalised social and
cultural values.
In
view of the (necessary) weakening of the major collective meaning-imparting and
rule-setting systems, represented - particularly in Germany - by the Churches
on the one hand and science based on enlightened reason (belief in
science and progress) on the other hand, this situation leads to a permanent
need for the provision of meaning which is adapted to the very specific problems
experienced by individuals in terms of meaning and life. This has been
demonstrated very clearly by the relative attractiveness of experience-oriented
----------------------------
27 )
loc. cit., p. 419- 420.
50
religiousness and psychotherapy in the past few years. This applies not only to
developments within the established religious groups but also to the new
religious groups.
Experience-orientation also leads to the creation of a market in which
individual buyers are supposed to act and opt for products. This also includes
the existence of controlled counselling institutions. Counselling has become
more and
more
important in all areas because the individual is less and less capable of
acquiring sufficient competence in all walks of life. The fact that professional
counselling services are still rather underdeveloped in the religious and
ideological sector, which is developing more and more commercial momentum, is
problematic because such services tend to be simplistically seen as competing
with systems that help individuals find meaning in life and not as an attempt at
helping individuals cope with very profane problems in life, without any direct
and explicit reference to systems that help individuals find meaning in life.
3.1.9 Modern society: A
communication society
In
the past few years, the various contemporary sociological diagnoses have been
evolving into a theory of the communication society.
28
) This has led to the
contention that there is a need not only for differentiation in society and
development of the inner logic of its differentiated sub-systems (e.g. the
economic or the political system) but also for mediation of this logic by means
of processes that cross system boundaries. This mediation can be achieved by
specific systems which can be described as a specific form of communication.
Modern society has to build bridges within and among all societal fields; these
bridges consist of transboundary communication circles which ensure the
necessary
transfer of information, e.g. by means of simple discussion forums where various
sectors exchange their views, or by means of advisory boards, commissions, but
also through associations and public discourse.
Modern society is no longer capable of finding "all-embracing and definitive"
solutions to its key problems. One of the major attributes of modernity is the
ability to deal with problems in a flexible manner. The efficiency and stability
of
modern society is due to the development of specific sub-systems. It is not
possible to control society by setting and pursuing certain political
objectives; nor is it possible to do so by means of confidence in a society's
industry and
the
prosperity which it can provide. Only mediation between the systems can protect
modernity from the paradox which would result from the one-sided dominance of
the logic of individual sub-systems. And as far as political action
is
concerned, this means: regulation and not control,
29
) as well as stimulation
--------------------
28)
Cf. inter alia the theories developed by Beck, Habermas, Luhmann, Mayntz oder
Münch.
Cf.
inter alia Münch, R.: Die Dialektik der Kommunikationsgesellschaft, Frankfurt,
1991; Die Dynamik der Kommunikationsgesellschaft, Frankfurt, 1995.
29 )
Cf. Mayntz, R. and Scharpf, F. W. (ed.): Gesellschaftliche Selbstregulierung und
politische Steuerung, Frankfurt, 1995, in particular Chapters 1, 2, 4, 7.
51
and
utilisation of the self-regulatory forces in other sectors of society which are
confronted with problems, and the development of objectives in a dialogue and in
a discussion with all the parties concerned.
How
religion or religions will or should cope with the challenges described above is
an open question which cannot be answered in this Report. It would also go
beyond the scope of this Report to discuss whether and how religion
can
fulfil its traditional functions without a certain measure of institutional
transcendence and continuity.
The
fact that there is a risk that modernity might lead to a fall-back to forms of
traditionalism is paradoxical. This risk seems to be ubiquitous, especially in
the field of religion. However, traditional solutions would not be viable at the
overarching level of society as a whole. It is not possible to go back to the
conditions prevailing before modernity. Ideological pluralism, diversity of
life-styles, the individual as the key element in the determination and
preservation of personal identity, performance orientation instead of the
feeling of belonging to a community, systemic differentiation of society - all
these are characteristic features of modernity.
At
the level of individual biographies or contexts, however, it is quite possible
for traditional and particular approaches to be adopted as specific solutions,
but they must be susceptible to integration in the context of an overall
pluralistic
society. Such approaches create problems in particular if they lead to actions
that are liable to criminal prosecution, or when there is a manifest attempt to
impose de-differentiation and de-modernisation at governmental and systematic
level as binding policies. In other words: what is no longer feasible in society
as a whole, is quite conceivable at the level of mediating systems. Concepts
such as that of the "intermediary institutions" or the "revitalisation of small
life worlds" are examples of such systems.
30
)
This
must also be the basis of any debate about new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups. The variety of alternative life designs and
religious ideas is a "normal" part of any modern society, a part which will
probably tend to increase in importance. Of course, this does not in any way
mean that this phenomenon is only positive. However, it is becoming clear that
society and its institutions must reckon with this situation, that they must
develop mediation systems which can help not only to preserve a sufficiently
harmonious societal structure and to protect the individuality of the individual
but also help to sustain a common cultural legitimation basis. So far, such a
basis of legitimation is virtually nonexistent in the ideological field, which
itself is seen as such a legitimation basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------
30 )
Cf. Berger, P. L./Luckmann, Th., Modernität, Pluralismus und Sinnkrise. Die
Orientierung des modernen Menschen, Gütersloh, 1996, pp. 59- 63, 70f.; Herzog,
R.: Die Unübersichtlichkeit als Phänomen des wissenschaftlichen Zeitalters,
Speech delivered by the German Federal President on 17 January 1996 in Tutzing,
in: Bulletin, (ed.): Office of the Federal President, 13 Feb. 1996, p. 161. In
addition, mention should also be made of the adage according to which
constitutional democracies rely on conditions which they cannot create
themselves (E. W. Böckenförde), i.e. on traditional, practised value convictions
in society and on communities
sharing these convictions.
52
3.3 New religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups as perceived in society
In
its Interim Report, the Enquete Commission had already decided to approach the
subject of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups by
consistently focusing on conflicts which may arise. This is not a new approach
introduced by the Commission; instead, it is a perspective which has become
manifest in announcements and opinions of public authorities in the past few
years. The Commission has kept the cause of its establishment in mind, i.e.
petitions addressed to the German Bundestag by citizens because of concrete
conflicts which the individual citizen could not cope with at all, or not
adequately. It became increasingly clear to the Commission in the course of its
work that a generalising approach, involving the use of the term "sect" as a
generic term to describe all forms of new or binding types of religiousness
and/or ideology, cannot do justice to the diversity of phenomena and the
different
types of conceivable conflicts. And there is another aspect that needs to be
considered: If the popular but nebulous term "sect" is used as a generic term,
this can lead to stigmatisation. A religious or ideological group which has been
publicly labelled as a sect will experience a wide variety of problems because
of the great attention paid by the public to the alleged conflict-proneness of
"sects". A wide variety of very different religious groups, including smaller
Christian groupings, have expressed concern to that effect vis-à-vis the
Commission.
In
the public sector, it is therefore neither advisable nor acceptable to use a
single generic term ("sects") for controversial phenomena or groups if the
public already applies this term - usually without reflection - to all
smaller, recently established or simply unfamiliar movements.
3.2.1 Historical review
In
the 1960s, the phenomenon of new or alternative religiousness - which has its
roots in the United States - also appeared on Europe's societal stage. At
first, it was hardly noticed in the political arena. This "new religiousness"
was seen at best as a less problematic concomitant of the youth movement.
Nevertheless, politicians were soon confronted with quite a large number of well
organised religious and ideological groups.
The
Churches were the first to look after this new field. Groups of individuals
affected by the actions of these new religious groups (parents, family members,
friends, as well as former group members) formed, usually around the Protestant
and Catholic Churches' commissioners in charge of sects. One of the first of
these groups that were formed was the Munich initiative centred around Reverend
Friedrich Wilhelm Haack, the Protestant Church's Commissioner for Sects. In his
paper on the "new youth religions", Reverend Haack set an initial standard in
the discussion.
Subsequently, the phenomenon was referred to as
53
"youth religion" or "youth sect".
31 )
Since most of the groups which emerged in Europe - usually coming from the
United States - in the late Sixties acted as "collecting vats" for individuals
who had been active in the disbanded youth
movement, 32
) the problem was
first and foremost a youth problem.
In
addition, the new religious groups emerged when the population's commitment to
the Churches was declining. For this reason, it was assumed that there was a
link between the growing attraction of the new religious groups for young
people and the growing disillusionment with the Churches, especially on the part
of young people. For a long time, the fact that the new religious and
non-religious groups slowly began to offer life-counselling services was not
sufficiently taken into consideration because the "sect approach" suggested that
these groups were a purely religious phenomenon (cf. Chapter 3.5).
Since some segments of the public were concerned about the appearance of new
religious and ideological communities
and
psychogroups, governmental bodies also began to express their views about this
issue in the course of the 1970s.
The
German Federal Government and various state-level governments published
brochures designed to inform the public about "sects". Furthermore, some of
Germany's federal states established centres whose task it was to deal
with
the questions arising in this context, and to collect and process information
and make this information available to the public. However, almost all of these
centres only dealt with this issue "as a side-line". As a result, it was not
possible initially for any governmental concept to emerge. Even if approaches
towards developing such a concept were made at an early point in time (e.g. in
the 2nd Status Report published in 1983 by the Government of the State of
North-Rhine Westphalia), it took quite a while until the various objectives and
approaches of governmental, Church and private organisations began to become
clear. This is a shortcoming which has persisted until today and which the
Enquete Commission also has to address.
From
the very beginning, public authorities benefited from work done by the Church
commissioners and groups of parents and other affected individuals.
The
authorities were even largely dependent on this work because basic scientific
studies on this subject were not available, nor was it possible to refer to
social work or psychosocial counselling services in this context. This con-
tinued to make the development of a single governmental concept difficult.
Initially, the governmental bodies had to rely on the work done by the Church
commissioners and by private initiatives of parents and other affected
individuals. Apart from very few exceptions, these private groups were the prime
source of the necessary information gathered in the course of the groups' daily
counselling work and the support given to various groups of affected individuals
(family
------------------------------------
31 )
In its Interim Report, the Commission described this development in great
detail. Cf. The findings of Working Group 1.
32 )
This was made very clear by Steven M. Tipton: Getting Saved from the Sixties:
Moral Meaning in Conversion and Cultural Change, Berkeley, 1982.
54
members, friends, colleagues, drop-outs). Other potential sources such as
psychosocial counselling services, social workers, and academia did not provide
sufficient useful information for governmental bodies.
In
addition, governmental authorities expected the major Churches to have a certain
competence and responsibility in religious matters, also as far as macro-social
developments were concerned. This role of the Churches became questionable with
the emergence of religious/ideological pluralism (see Chapter 3.1).
As a
result, the governmental bodies themselves had to assume greater responsibility,
which made it necessary for them to compile know-how of their own.
Even
today, it is difficult to measure the success of governmental measures adopted
in connection with new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups.
This is primarily due to the fact the political objectives were not
clearly defined over a long period of time. What should or can be achieved by
governmental intervention?
3.2.2 Objectives and instruments of
governmental intervention
As
far as religious beliefs are concerned, governmental action is subject to the
principle of neutrality laid down in the German Constitution (cf. Chapters 4.1
and 5.5.3.1 for more details). However, the Constitution does not define what a
religion or an ideology is; instead, the two terms are simply taken for granted.
Even if the authors of the Constitution may have had Western Christian concepts
in mind, today it is clear - in view of an increasingly multicultural society -
that
it is only with great care that any restrictions can be imposed on
religious/ideological activities. Instead, the government is obliged to protect
the freedom of worship - in particular the freedom of religious minorities -
and to guarantee the right to exercise one's religion.
The
role of government is to protect the citizens and to preserve social peace.
In
connection with the conflicts arising in the field of new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups, there are four types of governmental
intervention:
·
creating
the legal setting,
·
providing
education and information and, where necessary, warning the public with regard
to the activities of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups
,
·
helping
"victims" or individuals who suffered harm due to the activities of new
religious and ideological communities and psychogroups, or who try to
re-establish contact with the rest of society after having been a member of a
compulsory or closed group for a longer period of time,
·
where
necessary, mediating in conflicts between religious groups, or between citizens
and groups.
55
One
of the purposes of governmental action in this field is to reduce social
tensions and to reconcile conflicting interests. For this purpose, it is
necessary to identify objectives in an appropriate and comparable manner, and to
find instruments for their implementation.
3.2.3 New religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups as a challenge for society
In
one of its hearings, the Enquete Commission asked various groups in society to
present their views. The groups invited included the political parties
represented in the German Bundestag; representatives of the Protestant Church,
the Catholic Church, the Association of Free Protestant Churches, and the
Central Council of Jews in Germany; the German Trade Union Federation, the
German Press Council, and the German Sports Federation. In addition,
representatives of Germany's industry associations were also asked for their
views during the hearing dealing with "So-called Sects and Psychogroups in
Business Enterprises".
All
the organisations invited pointed out that this was an important issue to them,
although only very few cases were reported where any of them were directly
affected by the issue. All the political parties in Germany expressed a
particular concern about the Scientology Organisation. The CDU/CSU, as well as
the SPD and the F.D.P. have adopted incompatibility decisions
33
) because they feel that
being a member or a follower of the Scientology Organisation is not compatible
with membership in their parties. They contend that the objectives of their
parties are not compatible with the objectives of the Scientology Organisation.
This is obviously an exceptional approach because the political parties have
expressly stated that they do not see any need for adopting similar decisions
with regard to other groups.
All
the political parties stated that they were not being infiltrated by the
Scientology Organisation or by any other new religious and ideological community
or psychogroup. However, they felt that it was necessary to provide information
and
education on these matters not only to the members of the political parties but
also to the public at large. Brochures to this effect have been produced by the
CDU/CSU, the SPD, and BÜNDNIS 90 / DIE GRÜNEN. Their efforts were
invariably aimed at achieving an adequate approach to, and better understanding
of, religiousness and life counselling under the conditions of a changing modern
society. In addition, the representative of the F.D.P. pointed out that it was
not only desirable but also necessary to adopt a common approach nationwide
towards providing information and education on these matters.
The
representative of the German Sports Federation stated that there had been
isolated cases of attempts made to influence sports clubs, and that this applied
in particular to the fields of marketing and sponsoring. The few cases that had
-------------------------------------
33 )
After passing through several stages of appeal, a final judgement has now
confirmed the legality of the CDU's incompatibility decision.
56
become known involved the Scientology Organisation. However, there could be no
question of infiltration. In this context, the German Sports Federation also
provides information and education to its members.
The
representative of the German Press Council drew attention to two other issues:
First of all, attempts had been made repeatedly - in particular by the
Scientology Organisation - to prevent consistent, systematic and aggressive
reporting and commentaries. However, the representative of the German Press
Council pointed out that, overall, these attempts had not been very successful
to date; publishing houses and press organs had recognised the problem and were
able to handle this problem themselves.
Secondly, it was up to the press itself to contribute towards objectifying its
reporting on new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups.
However, this issue was not a major problem in the work of the German Press
Council. In the past few years, there had been an average of about 12 complaints
in this area, most of them referring to the Scientology Organisation. However,
there was no question of the press being infiltrated or even the freedom of
the
press being jeopardised.
Similar comments were made by the representatives of German industry
associations during the hearing on the subject of "So-called Sects and
Psychogroups in Business Enterprises". It was pointed out by the representatives
of the associations that this topic had gained considerable significance in
recent years, although it was difficult to assess the actual magnitude of a
potential threat; on the one hand, there were only few reports on specific cases
where a group - in most cases, the Scientology Organisation - succeeded in
gaining influence on a company's management; on the other hand, companies had a
major image problem and suffered massive economic losses if their name was
mentioned in connection with a group such as the Scientology Organisation.
34
)
Other aspects were emphasised by the members of the religious communities which
had been invited by the Commission. The representative of the Catholic Church
drew attention to the increase in the number of options available to individuals
in modern society to find meaning in life. At a time of individualisation and
growing diversity, the concepts offered by the Churches for finding meaning in
life were less appealing to people. Approaches developed within the Churches and
offers made to specific groups were also aimed at finding new approaches. The
representative of the Catholic Church pointed out that the answer to the problem
was not isolation; instead, attempts had to be made to
meet
new needs. After a period of fierce controversy with new religious and
ideological movements, today the Catholic Church's commissioners for sects are
more relaxed and more focused on providing information.
---------------------------------
34 )
As far as this hearing is concerned, see the Interim Report of the Enquete
Commission, p. 62ff. Cf. also Chapter 5.3 of the Final Report.
57
The
representative of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany pointed out
that, on the one hand, it was necessary to prevent abuse in this new, complex
situation. He was in favour of consistent consumer protection, including in the
field of institutions or services offering individuals to find meaning in life
and to cope with life; he suggested that there was a lot to catch up on in this
area. On the other hand, the representative of the Protestant Church felt that
any criticism with regard to a potential abuse should be launched very
cautiously; otherwise, there was a risk that criticism of new religious and
ideological communities and psychogroups and their offers might turn into
general criticism of religion.
The
representative of the Central Council of Jews in Germany said that she was "full
of consternation" and that she was "offended" by the comparison made between the
situation of the Scientology Organisation in Germany and the situation of the
Jews during the holocaust. She strongly objected to this comparison.
However, she felt that this problem also demonstrated that while it was
necessary to have this debate in society, it should be handled very prudently.
She stated that legislative action seemed less appropriate in this area;
instead, it was
necessary to identify and eliminate the social causes. She drew particular
attention to the fact that new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups had failed to gain a foothold in the Jewish community.
The
representative of the Association of Free Protestant Churches was concerned
about the "sectophobia" that prevailed in Germany according to his observations.
He pointed out that this impression was also corroborated by a study conducted
by Infratest on behalf of the Enquete Commission.
35
) According to the
representative of the Free Protestant Churches, this study showed that quite
different groups were being lumped together and jointly considered to be
dangerous and threatening, to the point that even the Free Churches were now
included in this assessment. He reminded everyone that there was a need for
careful differentiation and for an informed, appropriate treatment of the
subject. He admitted that it was clear that warnings had to be expressed with
regard to certain aggressive types of group; however, it would have to be
equally clear in these warnings what specific groups and events they referred
to. He pointed out that one also had to realise that the growth of problematic
groups was largely facilitated by causes rooted in society.
In
summary, the hearing of the social groups mentioned above led to the following
findings:
·
From their
perspective, most of the identifiable problems and conflicts at the end of the
1990s relate to the Scientology Organisation.
·
All of them
rely on education and information; and they consider that some of the reports in
the media and some of the reactions by the public are "too heated".
-----------------------
35 )
Cf. Interim Report of the Enquete Commission, Bundestag Doc. 13/8170, Chapter
2.2.7,
p.
33ff.
58
·
They feel
that the problems and conflicts experienced are also due to processes of change
in society and efforts made by individuals and society as a whole to cope with
these changes.
·
They are
concerned that the current "criticism of sects" might turn into a blanket
criticism of religion.
·
And the
Free Churches, in particular, are concerned about the fact that an
undifferentiated perception and fears in society might lead to stigmatisation
and isolation of religious minorities.
3.2.4 Survey conducted among various
groups
During its 34th
meeting on 13
November 1997, the Enquete Commission decided unanimously to conduct a survey
among various groups. The purpose of this survey was to find out from the groups
concerned whether the public
debate and the portrayal of new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups had any adverse effects on the groups or their members.
This
survey was primarily carried out because of numerous requests and complaints
addressed by various groups to the Chairwoman and the members of the Enquete
Commission. The authors of these letters stated repeatedly that they were being
discriminated against. A variety of groups have also submitted statements on the
Enquete Commission's Interim Report.
The
Enquete Commission asked the groups invited to answer the following questions:
a)
What is your assessment of the public debate conducted by the media,
politicians, the official Churches, etc. with regard to your community?
b)
What is your assessment of decisions, if any, taken by
governmental/public institutions concerning your community?
c)
Are you aware of any members who have suffered disadvantages due to their
membership?
d)
What is your assessment of the Enquete Commission's Interim Report?
The
Commission selected communities which had been in correspondence with the
Enquete Commission and which were invited by the Commission. In addition, the
Enquete Commission asked the Free Churches which are members of
the
Verband Evangelischer Freikirchen (VEF - Association of Free Protestant
Churches) to answer the questions.
Some
groups had interpreted the questions mentioned above to mean that the Commission
was asking them in its letter to prove that they were religious or healing
communities. They hoped that their answers would lead the Enquete
59
Commission to confirm at an appropriate point (in statements or in the
Commission's Final Report) that they were not a "sect". Very few groups refused
to answer the questions because they did not see themselves as "sects".
In
addition to answering the questions in their replies, many groups also made
comments on themselves or on the Enquete Commission's work, e.g. on the problem
involved in defining the terms "sects" and "psychogroups". The groups criticised
the fact, for instance, that the term "sect" was a "war cry used by the
Churches". Similarly, some expressed concern about the fact that this term might
be defined by Church representatives in the Enquete Commission. If this was
done, some groups suspected that relevant movements within the major Churches
would be deliberately excluded.
Survey findings
The
answers given by the groups in their replies were most detailed with regard to
the media. What the groups criticised most was that reports published on them
were distorted or false.
What
is particularly striking is that the groups feel that media reports on them are
objective if they paint a positive picture of them. However, they feel that they
are being discriminated against whenever they are criticised. The groups
allege that critical media reports are due to, for instance, inadequate or
insufficient investigations, sensationalist journalism, or simply ignorance.
Only
very few groups criticise the way in which they are publicly portrayed by
politicians or public institutions. Their criticism is focused on publications
in the form of governmental "Reports on Sects"; because of the wording used in
the
Commission's letter, these reports were taken to mean "decisions taken by
governmental institutions". The "Reports on Sects" were criticised for drawing
on information from biased sources. In addition, it was also alleged that
"decisions
by
governmental institutions" included negative portrayals in teaching materials,
the withdrawal or refusal to grant non-profit-making status, as well as the
banning of events, etc.
Overall, the survey conducted among selected groups or communities can be rated
as a success. Of a total of 27 groups, 23 answered the questions put to them by
the Commission, with some of the answers being very extensive. The
vast
majority of the groups contacted by the Commission are willing to continue to
co-operate with the Commission. Some of the groups felt that the written
questions were a particularly positive contribution towards initiating a
constructive dialogue.
Many
of the groups that responded were critical with regard to the role played by the
Churches in their public portrayal. They claimed that the Churches'
commissioners for sects and ideology issues were particularly powerful with
their
publications in influencing definitions, and that they also had a strong impact
on public opinion. Overall, however, the responses varied widely:
60
·
Most of the
groups emphasised that they were willing to participate in a dialogue, and that
they would like to have a more open and more intensive exchange of views with
the Churches.
·
A minority
of the groups were critical and sceptical vis-à-vis their public portrayal by
the Churches and tended to be doubtful about the Churches' willingness to
participate in a dialogue with them.
·
Only very
few groups totally rejected any contact or exchange of views with the Churches.
These groups saw the Churches as their competitors which they wanted to push
offside. They did not expect a dialogue to develop, nor did they welcome such a
dialogue.
The
vast majority of the groups felt that there was little discrimination against
their members in public life. While the groups reported quite a number of cases
where members were discriminated against or put at a disadvantage through
insults, verbal abuse, problems in their families and with friends and
acquaintances, as well as problems encountered by children in schools and
nursery schools, once their membership in a given group became publicly known.
The Enquete Commission was unable to verify these isolated accounts.
Nevertheless, if one examines the statements in terms of their overall tenor,
these accounts seem to describe isolated cases; while these cases have to be
taken seriously, they do not at all reflect the general situation of minority
groups
in
Germany. Instead, the generalising public debate ("sectophobia") is perceived as
threatening and disparaging, not only by the Free Churches but also by other
groups. Some think that one way out of this dilemma would be for the Enquete
Commission to clear up the allegations by drawing up "black lists" and "white
lists", as it were. Without exception, however, the responses indicate that
groups questioned would like to see a more open and unbiased public debate.
3.2.5 Conclusions
The
findings described above show that there are two trends in society with regard
to new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups.
On
the one hand, the progressing decoupling of religion and life-counselling has
led to the emergence of a new, largely non-regulated field of social
interaction. Many things that used to be integrated into the context of a
religious life-style in the past are now also available from life-counselling
providers in a non-religious context. Apart from the question of proving that
such alternative offers are effective, they have also not at all been tried and
tested in practice. In some
cases, this creates considerable scope for conflicts and problems which must not
be ascribed to religiously oriented life-styles.
36
)
----------------------
36 )
Cf. Chapter 3.5 for more details.
61
On
the other hand, the findings which the Commission has obtained during its work
suggest that current public debate is problematic. This debate can even
aggravate existing problems if its overall impact is ignored. The Commission
would like to make the following comments on this point: In addition to the
(still outstanding) development of a common concept with regard to education,
advice and, where necessary, mediation on the part of the German Federal
Government and the state-level governments, the following aspects seem to be
noteworthy. While the information pamphlets published by the state-level
governments played an important role in terms of educating the citizens and
objectifying the public debate, they also had certain side-effects.
Pamphlets on the general topic present highly different groups side by side,
although they are at different stages of their development. The more problematic
groups always have radiating effects on the other groups. Thus, the image of the
"most dangerous group" at a given point in time tends to affect all the other
groups in the same way. In addition, there are accumulation effects due to the
fact that the problematic features accumulate from one reference group to the
next, so that this may lead to lead to incorrect general images in the minds of
the readers of such pamphlets.
It
is advisable that governmental information pamphlets should not provide such
general reports; instead, they should present descriptions of specific groups or
movements for which there is a current need for information and education. These
descriptions of specific groups or movements should basically be conflict
reports, and they would have to be updated regularly. These reports should also
distinguish between legally relevant "hard" conflicts and other, more socially
relevant "soft" conflicts. A side-effect of such an approach would also be
faster availability because in the event of a legal dispute, this dispute would
be limited to the group described in the report. Hence, there would not be the
accumulation of legal actions and temporary injunctions which have led to major
delays in the publication of governmental information pamphlets in the past.
On
the other hand, this would also create incentives for contentious groups because
there would be no need for a report if a group eliminated or reduced the
intensity of particularly controversial characteristics and patterns of
behaviour. At any rate, conflict characteristics could no longer be ascribed
collectively to the entire sector.
In
addition, generalising terms such as "sect" should be avoided altogether.
Instead, it is necessary to use more specific terms which describe the
orientation, as well as the objectives and, where applicable, the particular
conflict characteristics of the group concerned (cf. Chapter 2).
Since one of the reasons for the attractiveness of problematic religious or
non-religious groups is the desire of individuals to be able to cope with change
processes in society, better information and education can only be part of the
solution. This has also been confirmed by the Commission's hearing of various
62
social groups. In a broader sense, it is also a societal problem. And it is also
part of the modernisation of society that the social settings for the life of
the citizens must be designed in such a way that problematic developments -
whether religious or political in nature - will have little prospect of
success.
These framework conditions also include social attributes such as prosperity,
solidarity, and empathy, as well as cultural and intercultural learning and
tolerance. However, they also include a broadly-based debate in society on
questions of religion, ideology and life, and the scientific study and analysis
of these questions. Neither task has been adequately fulfilled in the past few
decades.
3.3 Group structures, activities and
objectives
3.3.1 Opportunities for, and limits
to, establishing a typology
In
accordance with the Commission's intention to largely do without referring to
specific groups, the following description of group structures, activities, and
objectives is typological in nature. It is designed to capture general,
significant, and specific characteristics, while at the same time paying
attention to concrete particularities. The Commission's hearings of groups have
served, inter alia, as a source of information for the development of the
following typology. The Commission has approached the subject from the
perspective of the conflicts or the conflict-proneness of groups in a wider
social context. 37
) In this context,
it should not be overlooked that conflict-proneness is not usually a unique
feature of the religious and ideological groups described below; instead, such
conflict-proneness can also be found in other sectors of society. Nevertheless,
there are also specific conflicts which are due to religious or ideological
claims.
The
typology covers characteristics which, first of all, (can) apply almost without
exception to all religions, religious and ideological groups, communities and
movements; hence, they do not pose a problem. At this general level, it is not
possible to provide an adequate description and assessment of conflicts and
conflict-proneness. In addition, some of the potential conflicts and conflict
constellations may be quite normal in the context of religious conversion and
socialisation, and should therefore be tolerated, at least in principle and as
far as government is concerned. For this reason, there is a considerable need
for a differentiated description which also includes concrete conflicts. Such
concrete conflicts illustrate that certain identifiable group structures appear
to be inadequate, problematic, dangerous, etc. because their purpose is to
achieve certain specific objectives by means of certain specific activities (cf.
Chapter 3.3.5).
Secondly, there is also a risk that this may lead to unacceptable
generalisation. In this case, the most conflict-prone groups or those which are
most highly developed in organisational terms are then chosen as a model and
paradigm; or
------------------------------
37 )
See also Chapter 2.
63
conflict-promoting characteristics in structures, activities and objectives are
described in an additive form, which creates the impression that the sum of all
negative characteristics thus obtained applies to all groups, and equally.
"Sects" would then be indiscriminately seen as being "totalitarian" and
organised in a "rigid hierarchy", etc.; they would be seen as being involved in
"aggressive recruitment" or "evangelising", while simultaneously or primarily
pursuing economic and political objectives; and they would be ascribed at least
a tendency to lust for international/global influence or power, which they may
have already achieved to some extent. On the other hand, there is a risk that
even blatant cases of abuse may be justified by religious and ideological
motives.
Hence, the following points should be clearly stated from the onset:
·
Some groups
have an effective global or international organisation and are structured
accordingly.
·
Not all
groups with an international or global organisation are equally conflict-prone.
·
Almost all
of the groups addressed in this Report - including those with a global
organisation - are minorities, both on a global and on a national scale.
However, minorities can also be a source of hazards for individuals and/or
society as a whole.
·
Groups
which pursue universal objectives and international ambitions do not necessarily
have the effective structures and the influence required to attain these
objectives and fulfil their ambitions.
·
In terms of
their structure, many groups range somewhere between an informal organisation
and a stable institution.
·
Even the
smallest groups with a predominantly informal organisational structure or
limited local activity can be highly contentious and cause considerable
conflicts in their limited sphere of influence.
The
following general description includes elements found in the development of any
group or community, as well as the basic elements inherent in the development of
religious or ideological groups and communities. Generally speaking,
these elements are not problematic as such, at least with regard to governmental
action.
It
must be assumed that, when religious or ideological groups and communities
establish themselves, there is always a potential or latent chance that
conflicts will arise. This is due to the particular demands imposed by religions
and ideologies in terms of life-style and way of life. Whenever groups with
controversial or radical views come across vulnerable individuals and
conditions, there is a particularly high likelihood of conflict.
Hence, the following chapters describe a framework which can be applied under a
variety of circumstances and which needs to be filled with specific
constellations and patterns of conflict.
64
3.3.2 Overview of structural
elements of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups
Many, if not most religious and ideological groups are established because
individuals, ideas, intentions and practices of a religious and/or ideological
nature interact with each other; i.e. there is a more or less informal network
of relations.
These elements can usually be identified and linked with each other when such a
network develops into a genuine group.
Similar patterns may also be found in the genesis of psychogroups, as well as
mixed types with features of profit-minded business enterprises, and extremist
political groups, etc.; this also applies to the subsequent development steps:
·
The central
point of reference is an individual who is considered to be the leader, master,
source of revelations, mediator of salvation or healing.
·
There are
ideas, doctrines, convictions, views, etc. which vary widely in terms of their
nature (e.g. revelations, visions, auditions, rules for living, as well as
social, cultural, economic, and political convictions and objectives) and in
terms of their origin, and which almost exclusively were developed by the
individual who is seen as the central point of reference, or are attributed to
this person.
·
Alternatively, or closely related with the elements described above, there are
saving, salutary, curative or - in the broadest sense - beneficial effects,
forces, energy flows, etc. which are attributed to the individual who is the
central point of reference.
·
There are
practices and rituals.
·
There are
followers whose relations amongst themselves are largely dependent on, or even
superseded by, the elements mentioned above.
·
Distinctions are made between followers, depending on whether they are permanent
or occasional supporters (sympathisers, bandwagon jumpers, etc.); whether they
are close to, or distant from, the central person; and whether they have the
associated powers in terms of teaching, setting rules that determine the lives
of followers, and in terms of organisation and administration.
·
While there
is a more or less pronounced separation from outsiders or non-followers, there
is also a more or less intensive relationship with those who are inside, i.e.
the followers and the elements that support them (the group or the organisation
tends to be the demarcation line of truth or life and salvation).
·
When group
structures become more firmly established, important factors to be considered
include not only the requirements derived from the doctrine and the associated
internal guidelines governing the actions of a group, but also the impact of
such requirements and actions on society as a whole, as well as the reactions
and repercussions in society. The effects can include changes in objectives or
deformations caused by the isolation of groups, due to interactions between the
group and its social environment.
65
When
small informal groups develop into larger and better organised groups, it is
possible to distinguish between six phases or aspects which are of particular
interest:
a)
Informal relationships which are still unstructured - vis-à-vis both the
outside and the inside world - develop into structured small groups, which
eventually become large groups (which may also have a binding legal status).
b)
Satellite units - i.e. other groups with permanent ties to the primary
group - are formed, usually at other locations or even in other countries.
c)
Theory and practice are codified and generalised.
d)
A larger or large organisation evolves, which may be active
internationally or world-wide.
e)
Sub-organisations, subsidiary organisations or covert organisations are
established; these other organisations may pursue secondary or partial
objectives of a cultural, economic or political nature.
f)
A solution is found with regard to succession, i.e. the transition of
leadership from the original central figure to another individual or a group of
several persons.
Each
of the phases mentioned above may trigger specific conflicts, either within the
religious/ideological context itself or outside. As far as the theory and its
application in practice is concerned, it is important how both fit into, and
relate
to,
their socio-cultural environment in religious, ideological, and cultural terms,
etc. (e.g. they may either accept or reject this environment). This has a
particular impact on concrete and practical issues of life and concrete
life-styles (e.g. questions of authority, obedience, married life, work, family,
and raising children).
It
is difficult to identify general characteristics of relationship patterns which
tend to prevent conflicts versus those which tend to promote conflicts. However,
the question as to how the central authority (master, teacher, etc.) defines
his/her relationship with his/her own background in terms of the history of
ideas or traditions, and how he/she relates to the other (non-member) advocates
of these ideas, traditions, promises, etc., seems to play an important role in
most
cases.
There is a particularly great likelihood that a radical development will occur
whenever two conditions coincide: First of all, the community claims to be the
sole representative of its religion/ideology vis-à-vis other, closely related
religious/ideological communities; i.e. it feels that it is the only group that
is entitled to communicate its promises, etc. Secondly, this exclusive claim is
not substantiated by actual modifications or significant differences in terms of
theory, etc.
On
the contrary: Relative to the original traditions, the community's own ideas and
practices are more restricted and extremist, so that the claim of exclusivity
cannot be justified by intellectual or practical substance. In this situation,
the
66
central figure of the community (or the community itself) can enhance its
self-perception by means of psychological and social radicalisation. The purpose
of the conflicts which arise in such cases is - at least initially - to
consolidate
one's own identity by developing enemy images, etc. The community's social
isolation and "insulation", as well as its marginalisation and stigmatisation,
are the results of interactions between the increasingly radical group and
conflict-
promoting or mediating reactions of the environment. This can be illustrated by
means of the two following examples:
·
In the
1930s, Jehovah's Witnesses developed under Rutherford from a loosely organised
community of "serious bible researchers" to an organisation with authoritarian
structures.
·
From 1986
to about 1995, VPM evolved from a group of young followers gathered around a
charismatic leader (Friedrich Liebling) to an ideological psychogroup.
Conversely, it is often possible to reduce conflicts because the ideological and
practical substance of a community changes in the course of its development;
and/or the group's claim to exclusivity is put into perspective or eventually
even abandoned altogether. A well-known case in point is the post-war
development of the Seventh-Day Adventists in Germany, from an exclusive special
community to a Free Church.
Another important factor for an analysis of contentious developments is the
question of whether a group's theory and practice can be qualified as being
religious and ideological in the narrower sense, or whether they also cover
other areas such as culture, economics and politics to some extent,
significantly or even primarily. It is part of the nature of religious and
ideological concepts that these areas are also covered. However, in view of the
fact that these areas are
separated from each other in a modern state, this raises a particular problem
which explains the conflict-proneness of some groups, in particular so-called
sects and psychogroups. This applies especially to extremist political groups.
It is noteworthy that some (many) of the internationally organised groups which
are active in Germany have passed the development steps mentioned above
elsewhere (e.g. in the United States).
3.3.3 Description of typologically
generalised groups
The
various development steps are described below. This description is based on
concrete groups which, however, have been generalised for the purpose of this
typology.
a. Master circle
New
religious and ideological communities and psychogroups often revolve around a
male or female master (prophet, etc.) and a circle of persons gathering around
this individual. The founders usually do not come from a religious/ideological
67
"vacuum"; instead, they rely on existing religious, ideological or general
cultural convictions which they either give a new interpretation and update, or
which they reject, sometimes strongly, polemically, etc. Much of the
plausibility for the circle of followers who gather around the master is derived
from this positive or negative reference to the religious, ideological,
cultural, and social environment.
A
characteristic feature of the way in which such groups are founded - which in
fact applies to the beginnings of many traditions - is the strong attachment to
the master, the circle of people around the master, his doctrine and life-style,
etc., which can lead to profound changes, upheavals, and reorientation in an
individual's private, religious, social, and professional life.
Initially, the structures in this founding circle tend to be rather informal;
usually, however, informal differences, hierarchies and membership categories
begin to manifest themselves even at this early stage. The circle's activities
and objectives are designed jointly to preserve and cultivate their new
knowledge and the new life-style they practise. Often, recruitment activities
are also of a more informal nature (word-of-mouth propaganda, simple leaflets,
etc.).
b. Transition from
a circle to a group
A
crucial step in the transformation from a circle to a group or large group
(terminological accuracy is not considered to be important in this context) is
the development of formal group structures. These result or may result from the
need to cement the position of the founder and the circle of people closest to
the founder.
A
broad spectrum of objectives may be pursued in this context, ranging from
religious and ideological objectives in the narrower sense to merely
consolidating one's power and exercise of power; often these objectives overlap,
and it is not
possible to draw clear-cut lines between them. The general reason for the
transformation of circles into groups is the desire to adapt the life of the
group to new circumstances, for instance, in the event of rapid growth or
because of the need to organise the relations with followers elsewhere and with
newly emerging groups, so as to be able to recruit or evangelise more
efficiently, etc.
Often the key impetus for the development of formal structures comes from the
founder himself, i.e. it emanates from the latter's missionary zeal; however,
this impetus may also come from a group of "managers", i.e. individuals who
organise or "manage" the founder, as it were. The primary objective and interest
of this formalisation process is to ensure the sustainability and continuity of
essential elements of the group: both on the inside and towards the outside
world, by consolidating the (exclusive) position of the founder, his doctrine
and his practical life-style across long distances in the group's missionary
expansion and in the interest of increasing the efficiency of this expansion; in
addition, rules on the assignment of powers and membership status also serve the
purpose of preserving essential
elements of the group. This stabilisation and institutionalisation phase is, or
may be, associated with the adoption of legal rules, both internally and in
terms of civil law (i.e. establishment of an association under civil law,
adoption of a financial regime, etc.).
68
This
phase basically completes the development of a new organisation, which does not
rule out a continuation of the institutionalisation process, e.g. in the event
of geographical expansion, additional growth in numbers, the death of the
founder, etc. The characteristic features are the group's formalisation and
stabilisation on the one hand, and its differentiation on the other. These three
processes may be associated with the development of a variety of permanently
installed power, influence, and decision-making structures and levels, as well
as related competencies in terms of defining activities and objectives,
hierarchies and dependencies, the distribution of responsibilities, and fixing
rules on membership, status, and membership say, etc. When satellite units (i.e.
separate local chapters) are established, it is important how the relationship
between the head office/parent organisation and the sub-groups is organised.
Many of the supra-regional groups with a long-term conflict potential are stable
entities with a sophisticated organisational structure. A strengthening of the
group's formalised and complex structures, activities and objectives may be the
result of a transition from the founder to one or several successors.
c. Organisations
operating nation-wide or internationally/world-wide
A
step which is associated with, results from, or follows the stage described
above is the development of an organisation which is present nation-wide or
internationally/world-wide and which may have a Church-like structure. Generally
speaking, this phase is organised exactly like the previous one; however,
everything is more complex, and hence less transparent (e.g. management
structures, legal conditions, financial regime, etc.), especially if the
organisation or network involved is active internationally/world-wide.
The
various groups may vary widely in terms of origin, self-image, age, etc.;
however, they are all variations of a basic model. This also applies mutatis
mutandis to ideological communities, so-called psychogroups, mixed types with
ideological elements and a strong emphasis on economic objectives, and extremist
political groups.
With
very few exceptions, the new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups that are now present in Germany did not evolve into
international/global organisations from their base in Germany; instead, they
achieved
this
development abroad, mainly in the United States, and then went to Germany as
more or less developed international/global religious organisations.
This
may also give rise to specific conflicts (inculturation problems).
d. Groups with
sub-organisations and subsidiary organisations
A
number of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups which are
present nation-wide and/or internationally/world-wide have established
additional institutions and facilities in the fields of culture, education,
medicine, business, and politics. This sometimes leads to conflicts which go
beyond a religious or ideological context in the narrower sense.
69
It
is necessary to clarify how the structures, strategies, and objectives of a
religious and ideological parent organisation relate to the
religious/ideological objectives, and to the structures, objectives and
activities of subsidiary organisations. There are four potential models which
are, of course, not clearly distinguishable from each other:
·
While the
subsidiary organisations are partially independent in their activities, they are
clearly subordinated to the religious/ideological parent organisation. In this
case, there is only a minor or limited additional potential for conflicts.
·
The
subsidiary organisations pursue the objectives of the religious/ideological
parent organisation, however in a concealed fashion, i.e. in the form of
educational and cultural services, or in the form of medical, economic, social,
and political activities and facilities. This gap between declared and
(possibly/actually) envisaged objectives is, or can be, highly contentious.
·
The
activities of the subsidiary organisations - in particular those which are of a
commercial or political nature - apparently or actually serve commercial or
political purposes in the true sense of the word, i.e. the organisations
involved try to combine the pursuit of their own religious/ideological
objectives with commercial or political objectives (which may be quite
far-reaching). Such activities may be international/global in scope, or they
can be limited to a national or local/regional scale. Such a twin or
multiple-track strategy - which differs from the ones described above in terms
of its scope and scale - can also be highly controversial.
·
Objectives
or organisations and their activities which are officially described as
secondary or subsidiary are actually, or at least appear to be, primary
objectives; the declared primary objectives of a religious/ideological nature
are/appear to be a mere pretext. In specific cases, this reversal of the
objectives and the related activities may be hard to identify, which may shed
some light on the controversies regarding the question as to whether numerous
new religious groups are actually religious or only pretend to be.
In
all four cases, the likelihood of a conflict increases with the number,
efficiency, and lack of transparency of the subsidiary organisations and their
activities. This applies in particular if it is difficult to identify the exact
extent to which the subsidiary organisations or sub-organisations are associated
with the primary organisation, its management and management structures, as well
as its objectives and activities, especially in the case of covert
organisations.
3.3.4 Mixed forms, commercial
enterprises and pyramid selling
In
this context, there are also mixed forms of organisations for which commercial
or political objectives become so important that any existing ideological or
religious beliefs and objectives are superseded or even replaced. This does not
exclude the possibility that much of the development of these groups initially
70
follows the patterns of development outlined above. As commercial or political
objectives become predominant, new elements are added which result from the
nature of the objectives which may now be pursued in a covert manner. It is
quite possible in such cases that some of the followers will continue to be
interested in the group's ideological objectives and that they declare for
themselves that these objectives are their primary interest.
There is broad range of organisations and service providers in this so-called
psycho-market or life-counselling market. The activities of these providers
include personality development courses and seminars, management consultancy,
direct selling, multi-level marketing systems and even pyramid selling systems
(see Chapter 5.3). Such organisations also include groups which offer users a
mixture between the "dream of big money", ideology and esoterics. In the past
few years, various organisations operating in this field have been increasingly
subject to critical questions. It is safe to say that it is not always easy to
draw a clear line between respectable, qualified pyramid/direct selling
enterprises and providers of training courses for the business community on the
one hand, and less respectable, problematic providers on the other; furthermore,
the methods used by such operations can also be applied in specific companies
and corporate activities.
Some
of these types of organisation deliberately claim for themselves that they work
primarily in accordance with economic principles. However, many of the
structural features such as the pyramid-like organisation (where possible,
everyone should be both an employee and a customer; new employees are assigned
to the person who recruited them, etc.) do not apply to all groups. The primary
focus of these organisations is not on ideological issues but on enabling the
individual to make a monetary profit. In many cases, however, hopes of success
are supported by a "winner ideology". Those who join such organisations are not
only people who would like to make a big profit with their money within a short
period of time, but also people who hope to avoid a social decline by joining
these organisations.
When
new participants are recruited, the techniques used are designed to influence
the individual psychologically. The world is sub-divided, for instance, into
"winners" and "losers". The recruiters suggest to a prospect that an individual
can
achieve anything he wants, if only he puts his mind to it. During this early
phase, individuals are already immunised against possible objections. Only the
individual can fail, they are told, not the system. If the newly recruited
individual is willing to go along with the "system", an attempt will be made to
"install" a compatible corporate ideology and identity. The use of corporate
phraseology, a commitment to money and success, a uniform dress code - all of
these things can help to create identity. Bonuses which are distributed to
employees in the presence of all their colleagues give a taste of the success to
be expected.
Employees in management positions enjoy almost the status of a cult figure.
The
feeling of belonging together is strengthened by means of group-dynamic games,
and by allowing the employees to experience extreme situations to level out any
differences among them.
71
Expensive status symbols and further education are prerequisites to rising in
the hierarchy of the system. In some cases, it is also possible to pay a certain
amount of money in order to reach the next higher status level, which makes the
individual's prestige and rise in the system more profitable. The general
conditions prevailing in this system context often lead to a complete change in
the way participants think, feel and act. What emerges is a separate world,
which is
viewed only from the perspective of corporate ideology. The company becomes a
substitute family. Former social relations with other persons are abandoned,
unless they qualify as potential customers and employees.
The
high cost of status symbols and never ending training courses, etc., as well as
the losses due to unsold merchandise, in many cases lead to financial bankruptcy
because no individual can rise as quickly in the system as is suggested during
company events.
3.3.5 Potential
conflicts
In
the past 30 years, some new religious and ideological communities and
psychogroups have proven to be contentious during certain periods or
permanently; others still are today. It should be noted in this context that
conflicts are interactive and may be caused by either side. 38 ) By way of a
typology, these potential conflicts can be sub-divided as follows:
a)
Conflicts with the societal system. When groups want to achieve changes
which are not compatible with a democracy under the rule of law (e.g. abolishing
the equality of men and women and of all individuals by introducing a cast
system; depriving individuals of their civil rights if the latter do not adhere
to the group's principles), then this is a problem. Such doctrines, and
practices which may result from such doctrines, harbour a large potential for
conflict.
b)
Conflicts with existing laws. Various court cases have shown that some
groups fail to comply with, or even deliberately try to circumvent, German
labour laws and social security legislation; some at least tried to do so in the
past. There have also been cases where some groups were in conflict with fiscal
laws and criminal law. The Commission also discussed cases where groups
instructed their members to commit illegal and unethical acts, or where groups
condoned such acts. It is not possible for the Enquete Commission to say whether
organised crime is involved in specific cases; instead, finding an answer to
this question will continue to be the responsibility of public prosecutors and
their investigations.
c)
Some groups are prone to conflicts because their internal organisation is
characterised by totalitarian power structures and because they have restricted
or abolished the constitutional rights of their members. These
----------------------------------
38 )
See Chapter 2.5.
72
power structures are associated with very powerful "context control" (e.g. by
means of internal disinformation), with extremely heavy workloads imposed on
members and promises of compensation "in the next life", as well as with
personality cults (idolisation of individuals), etc.
d)
The doctrines advocated in the groups can also lead to conflicts, if
these doctrines are associated with
·
an
ideologisation tending towards a total absence of experience,
·
a
simplification of reality, going as far as a loss of any sense of reality,
·
a resulting
immunisation against experience and criticism, - an absolute and exclusive
claim to the truth, which rules out the possibility of any error of one's own
and which creates "truth barriers" between the inside group and the outside
world,
·
ethics that
apply only to the inside group and which at the same time annul the ethical
standards to be observed when interacting with others,
·
"psychotechnical" patterns of thinking, etc. Communicating with the social
environment creates difficulties which lead to strains in, or even disrupt, the
group's relationship with society (cognitive and moral dissonance).
e)
Some groups provoke either permanent or temporary conflicts with the rest
of society in order to strengthen their internal solidarity.
f)
Some groups mix their religious beliefs with commercial activities, or
they use religious objectives as a pretext for pursuing commercial and political
goals.
g)
The external relations of some groups are prone to conflicts if they are
characterised by a strong sense of mission which does not respect the rights of
others because they are seen as being wrong by definition; and if they are
characterised by group egotism which does not allow the individual to assume any
responsibility for the environment; by external disinformation; by unethical or
covert recruitment methods, and by being hostile towards their societal
environment and the rule of law in a democratic state.
h)
Some groups are prone to conflicts because they try to make it impossible
for members and followers to leave, thereby curtailing the rights of their
members, including the right to choose another denomination. This happens as
part of a gradual process:
·
by means of
economic measures: Members/followers are brought to sacrifice their property and
their lives for the group (e.g. by breaking off their vocational training) -
for the sake of the group's objectives - so that leaving the group may threaten
to disrupt an individual's whole life line;
·
by means of
social and socio-psychological measures: Members/followers are brought to break
off all other social relationships, so that when they leave the group, they may
be left completely isolated socially;
73
·
by
non-material measures: Members/followers are brought to adopt views which are in
crass contrast with the views of their social environment, so that when they
leave the group, they are disoriented psychologically and in cognitive terms;
·
by other
measures which in colloquial language are referred to as "psychotechniques"
39
).
i)
Conflicts also occur when groups promise unsuitable achievements which -
as far as anyone can judge - are either unattainable or can only be reached by
the leadership elite (gospel of prosperity, pyramid selling), superhuman
capabilities (flying), healing, etc., without being able to live up to these
promises, not even to a minimum extent. Such conflicts are significant when
people have to pay money to acquire the promised skills.
j)
Furthermore, conflicts are caused by groups when they deliberately
alienate their members/followers from their families and other social contacts,
by bringing them to break off their education or to "drop out" of their
professional lives.
k)
Numerous conflicts can emerge for children when they are socialised in an
isolated group which makes it difficult or even impossible for them to live a
life in social reality; in some groups, children are also deprived of their
natural opportunities for development.
3.3.6 Digression: Enlistment and
recruitment strategies
The
following chapter gives an overview of the enlistment and recruitment strategies
used in this particular sector. In this context, the same caveat applies that we
expressed with regard to group structures, etc.: It is certainly not true to say
that all groups have a highly developed, comprehensive, multi-level repertoire
of enlistment and recruitment strategies. Such strategies require a
sophisticated organisational structure and a certain size in terms of followers
or members as well as a certain financial scope which can be found only
partially and only in some groups.
This
means that many groups do not make use of all the methods, but select only this
or that method from the strategies mentioned above. And not all of the
strategies mentioned are used to recruit followers and members for
institutionalised and properly organised groups; in many cases, individuals are
attracted by activities offered in the so-called psycho-market or
life-counselling activities. Finally, it must be borne in mind that some of the
enlistment and recruitment strategies presented below are ethically and legally
acceptable. Nevertheless, one should be aware of
the
fact that new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups - as well
as other relevant groups in society - practise systematic recruitment. Such
recruitment is perceived as controversial when manipulative elements or forms of
hidden recruitment are predominant.
---------------------
39 )
Cf. Chapter 5.1.
74
To
date, there have been very few systematic publications on the methods used for
enlistment and recruitment. An expert report for which the Enquete Commission
intended to award a contract did not materialise because of the
short period of time available. Information on recruitment methods can be
obtained by looking at the groups' recruitment materials, observing the
behaviour of "recruiters" in the groups, attending pertinent events, and by
reading
or
hearing reports of "dropouts".
40 )
It should be borne in mind in this context that enlistment and recruitment
methods vary widely because of the differences (which in some cases are
substantial) between new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups
in terms of their age and organisational structure.
More
than traditional religious communities, new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups primarily depend on advertising and recruitment
efforts to attract new members, followers, participants and customers. In
principle, not much has changed in this respect even for those groups which were
established in the past century, although many of these groups have now seen the
arrival of the "second generation" and although some of the future members are
now also "born into" these religious communities. However, most of the new
religious and ideological communities and psychogroups do not have enough
members and their membership turnover is too high to be able to safeguard the
group's survival even at its current size. Aside from those groups which want to
fulfil the promise of salvation only for themselves and which therefore isolate
themselves physically or withdraw from society, all other groups depend on
active recruitment to obtain new members. This applies especially to groups
which a priori are aiming to reach adults only. New groups are obliged to
approach the general public by advertising their ideas, their promise of
salvation, and their cults.
In
their campaigns designed to recruit new members and followers, they assume that
there is a "clientele" which is free, at least formally - a clientele whose
"religious", therapeutic and other needs they try to satisfy by means of the
activities they offer. At the same time, they have to compete with the major
Churches and amongst themselves, as well as with other potential leisure
pursuits.
In
order to find buyers, followers and members, new religious and ideological
communities and psychogroups use the methods developed by the advertising
industry. However, there are major differences between the groups when it comes
to the finer details, and the advertising methods used also vary, depending on
the target group envisaged. While some groups tend to use unprofessional
advertising methods, others mail glossy brochures, for instance, to selected
addressees. These brochures include not only an invitation to attend a course
customised for a given professional group or some other event, but also
----------------------------
40 )
Cf. Zinser, H., Der Markt der Religionen, Munich 1997, p. 111 ff.
75
reply cards for ordering another publication, usually free of charge. One can
find advertising materials produced by new religious and ideological communities
and psychogroups almost everywhere that a large number of people gather: in pubs
and student cafes, in esoteric and ecological shops, at esoteric fairs, at
conferences on related subjects, at in-company and other further education
courses and at neighbourhood festivals. Time and again, many groups try to
recruit new members by directly approaching individuals in the street and by
putting up book stands in public places. Only a few groups engage in
door-to-door advertising. In addition, ads are inserted in the relevant sections
of all local
city
information magazines to publicise courses and information events where the
"entry package" is often offered on a free trial basis.
Some
of the groups such as the new Christian groupings, the so-called classical
"sects" as well as groups that offer help to individuals looking for meaning in
life, etc. use clearly religious themes in their advertising. Other groups
offer:
practical, usually commercial life-counselling; management courses; therapies;
the promise to increase the individual's working and performance capability;
healing; professional, legal and health counselling/advice, etc.; in other
words,
they
cover subjects and provide courses which at first glance do not appear to be
religious, or only pretend to be religious, or which do not have any religious
background. Some groups have established sub-organisations which are
responsible for marketing these courses and activities. Occasionally, the
relationship with the religious group is concealed, and it requires considerable
effort to identify the ties which such "cover organisations"
41
) have with other
groups.
Many
of these advertising activities can probably be qualified as sham advertising
designed to conceal the actual recruitment method applied, so-called dialogue
marketing, i.e. establishing contact with the "candidate" by means of personal
talks. The recruiters contact their "customers" in the framework of courses and
address their weaknesses, needs, wishes, fears and desires. At the same time,
they make promises with regard to solutions to the individual's prob-
lems. In this process, they appeal to the individual's emotions. Their
performance (packaging: friendliness and empathy) triggers certain dynamics.
Once the "customer" has been given the impression that he/she has learnt
something, that he/she has achieved a positive development (and this impression
is evoked by the recruiters and in the groups, and it is then socially confirmed
in the groups), the "customer" is given the credible assurance that he/she can
improve even more. At this point, the candidate is encouraged to attend further
courses, where he/she can eventually be "converted", which is the actual point
of the exercise. If the "candidate" does not contact the group on his/her own,
the
recruiter will establish this contact, either by phone or even by visiting the
"candidate" personally. During these contacts, the recruiters succeed in
interpreting the candidate's personal as well as social, ecological, and
economic problems as religious or psychological problems, in keeping with the
doctrines of their leader or group. This seems to help the individuals to find
meaning in their lives,
----------------------
41
) Cf. e.g. Haack, F. W., Findungshilfe 2000, Apologetisches Lexikon, Munich
1990.
76
so
that some feel relieved of their relevant problems, at least temporarily.
42
) The groups have
realised that any efforts made to spread their concept of the meaning of life
must be focused on the individual and that this concept can only be
conveyed by people. This realisation suggests that establishing direct personal
contacts is also the most promising approach for groups whose advertising
efforts are aimed at integrating new members. This finding is confirmed - at
least partially - by the fact that a considerable percentage of the followers
of most groups is recruited by personal acquaintances (friends, colleagues,
etc.).
For
most people, publications which describe the ideology and the religious belief
of a given group are of secondary importance; however, such publications can
generate interest in, and create a positive attitude towards, the group
concerned. The purpose of events that are organised is to create a feeling of
belonging to a group and to facilitate group experiences in order to confirm the
religious or psychological "concept of life" adopted by the group's members
and
followers.
During these recruitment talks - and even before - the recruiters apparently
differentiate among their target customers by subdividing them into those who
will only spend money on courses, meditation events, books, religious articles,
devices, etc. and those who can be expected to become future members or
co-workers. Because of their positions in society or in professional life, other
persons are not primarily contacted with a view to recruiting them as future
cus-
tomers or members; instead, they are expected to help the group become socially
accepted and to be recognised in society. It is not always easy to detect this
intention, especially since many groups also feel that they are being
"persecuted" and marginalised and also portray this image to the outside world,
creating the impression that they are in need of help.
Some
groups organise expensive world tours to the "holy" sites of the major
religions. The individuals participating in such tours are carefully selected;
it is virtually impossible for them to escape the group's dialogue marketing
efforts
during the entire trip. Other groups use such tours to reward successful members
(trips to their headquarters located in another country, or to other special
locations).
Some
of the "courses" and cultic events organised are very expensive, so that
students or trainees can afford such events in exceptional cases only. For this
reason, advertising for such courses is mailed only to groups of persons who
are
expected to have an interest in such courses and to be able to afford them
because of their professional and economic positions and functions. In some
------------------
42 )
Currently, there is a lack of empirical studies on the reasons why people go to
such groups and attend their events (e.g. Klosinski, G. Warum Bhagwan? Auf der
Suche nach Heimat, Geborgenheit und Liebe, Munich 1985). However, it is very
difficult to carry out such studies successfully because some of the members
refuse to answer these questions for themselves while others only repeat the
answers given in the doctrines of their group. These individuals have
assimilated the their group's "explanations" of their personal problems and
questions. This assimilation of the "explanations" offered by the groups can be
described as the true objective of the recruitment methods applied and the
efforts made to convert individuals.
77
cases, the courses are disguised as courses designed to provide basic and
further education and to upgrade professional skills. Some groups and event
organisers claim in their advertising that they have a system of courses at the
end
of which candidates can become teachers themselves; and they create the
expectation that course graduates will be able to earn their living in this way.
In some cases, such advertising is deliberately aimed at a group of persons who,
after completing an extended education at a technical college or university,
failed to find the positions that they had hoped for. It seems that, overall,
new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups provide courses and
activities which are designed to meet the needs of a variety of social groups in
different circumstances. However, each group is usually oriented towards a
certain clientele; only very few groups try to reach several target audiences.
Hardly
any
group's advertising is addressed to all social strata or all professional and
population groups.
However, there are also groups - such as various (albeit not all) zen groups
and some shamanistic groups, as well as the esoteric grail movement, etc. -
which practically do not engage in any advertising and which even have
reservations with regard to the use of word-of-mouth propaganda.
Once
again, there is a need for further research in this area as well, especially in
order to be able to distinguish the dubious and seductive recruitment methods
from those that are still legitimate; and in order to be able to provide
sufficient prior information to participants at recruitment events with regard
to direct and - more importantly - indirect methods of influencing
individuals.
3.4 Occultism/Satanism
Today, hardly a day in the week goes by without sensational reports in TV or
radio programmes and in newspapers or magazines about occultism or Satanism. In
particular young people are assumed to be affected by an epidemic
increase in the interest in occult practices. However, the interest in, and use
of, occult practices is not at all limited to young people.
Satanism is a particular source of controversy in this area. However, empirical
studies have shown that there is a particularly wide gap between media coverage
and reality in this context.
It
cannot be denied that there is a risk that the media not only cover and report
on "trends", but that they also produce "trends".
43
) However, it is
not only the media that can play a "trend-setter role". Experts and scientists
will also have
to
subject their services and their methods of work to careful (self-) reflection
and supervision in this context.
-------------------
43 )
Cf. Müller, U.: "Zur Konstruktion von Wirklichkeit", in Jugend & Gesellschaft,
4, 1988.
78
3.4.1 The scope of occult and
Satanic phenomena
Today, a number of empirical studies are available about the scope of occult
practices and concepts - especially among adolescents. However, only very few
studies have been conducted with regard to adults.
The
concepts and practices of modern occultism are more widespread than organised
religious practices. According to various studies, occult concepts and practices
are - half jokingly and half seriously - part of the everyday life of
about one-quarter of adolescents.
44
) The share of adults who
left the regular school system early and then went to evening schools or other
educational institutions is even higher.
Various studies have shown that between 20 and 30 percent of the population -
in some cases even more - believe in occult phenomena,
45 ) i.e. effects
of hidden forces and powers that cannot be perceived by the human senses;
devotees of occultism believe in the force of lucky charms, fortune-tellers,
faith healers, astrology, etc. However, these figures say nothing about the
question of whether these people actually take their everyday decisions on the
basis of horoscopes, the pendulum, tarot cards or similar things.
Depending on the study cited, between 20 and 30 percent of the adolescents are
also involved in occult practices such as the pendulum, the reading of tarot
cards, the moving of glasses, etc. The more accessible the practices are
(pendulum, tarot cards), the higher the share of adolescent devotees.
46
) It is questionable
whether it is sufficient for an individual to participate once or even several
times in such practices to suggest that this individual is committed to
occultism, or has an occult view of life, or that occultism is relevant for
his/her everyday life.
47
) In 1996, about 1
percent of all adolescents stated that they belonged to occult groups.
48
) According to two
studies, approx. 68 percent
49)
and 51 percent 50
), respectively,
of the population strongly reject occult groups; in fact, among the various
groups that are rejected, occult groups are number
---------------------
44 )
Cf. Zinser, H.: Zur Verbreitung des Okkultismus "Jugendokkultismus in Ost und
West", Munich 1993; ibid.: "Moderner Okkultismus zwischen Glauben und Wissen" in
ZMR, 78, 1994.
45 )
Cf. Noelle-Neumann, E./Köcher, R.: Allensbacher Jahrbuch der Demoskopie. 1984-
1992, Vol. 9, Munich inter alia 1992; Terwey, M.: Zur Situation von Glauben und
Kirche im vereinigten Deutschland, in: Information Nr. 30 des Zentralarchivs für
empirische Sozialforschung, Cologne 1992, pp. 59- 79.
46 )
Cf. Zinser, H., loc. cit.; Mischo, J.: Okkultismus bei Jugendlichen. Ergebnisse
einer empirischen Untersuchung, Mainz 1991; for an overview, cf. Helsper, W.:
Okkultismus - die neue Jugendreligion? Die Symbolik des Todes und des Bösen in
der Jugendkultur, Opladen 1992; Streib, H., Entzauberung der Okkultfaszination.
Magisches Denken und Handeln in der Adoleszenz als Herausforderung an die
praktische Theologie, Kampen 1996.
47 )
Cf. Helsper, W., loc. cit., 1992 und Streib, H., loc. cit. 1996.
48 )
Cf. Silbereisen, R. K. et al.: Jungsein in Deutschland. Jugendliche und junge
Erwachsene 1991 und 1996, Opladen, 1997.
49 )
Ibid., p. 64 f.
50 )
Cf. Jugendwerk der Dt. Shell (ed.), Jugend 1997, Opladen 1997, p. 365.
79
four
(following football hooligans, right-wing radicals, and skinheads). However, it
should be borne in mind that devotees of occultism are usually individualists
who do not tend to join any groups.
Practices that are inspired by Satanic rituals represent only a minor portion of
the spectrum of "occult" practices. Various studies have shown that - except
for pupils in the eastern part of Germany, where involvement in such practices
is only about half as high - only a few percent
51
) of Germany's
adolescents are actively or passively involved in "black masses".
52 )
However, it is unclear in this context what the adolescents mean when they refer
to "black masses". It can be assumed that only some of them will actually
include Satanic rituals.
53
)
Overall, the horror scenarios presented in the media have clearly been put into
perspective by the figures found in studies. Satanic practices, which have been
attracting particular attention in the reporting of media, have proven to be
relatively rare marginal phenomena.
3.4.2 Modern occultism
Occultism is an ideology which has emerged relatively recently and which is
marked by the dichotomy between belief and knowledge, and between religion and
science. Since modern occultism from the very beginning smacked of
deceit, temptation and fraud, some scientists avoid using this term and instead
- following M. Dessoir - initially used the term "parapsychology" and
subsequently "extra-sensory perception" (ESP), PSI capabilities (psychokinesis),
etc.
Despite contrary views held in parapsychology, scientists deny that the natural
and emotional phenomena summarised under the term of occultism exist outside the
mind world of devotees of occultism and scientists who support them.
Since, by definition, such phenomena are not be examined by means of
scientifically recognised methods, they are not susceptible to scientific
scrutiny. However, the phenomena involved are not occult in and by themselves;
they only
become occult by being interpreted as such.
The
question as to whether so-called occult phenomena have an existence of their
own, independently of their devotees, is at the same time an explanation of why
many people are devoted to such a system of belief. For these people,
occultism represents a psychological or religious reality; in the case of
esoteric ideological communities, it may also represent a social reality which
- like other systems of belief - determines the individual's actions and forms
a framework
-----------------
51 )
Cf. Streib, H.: Entzauberung der Okkultfaszination, Magisches Denken und Handeln
in der Adoleszenz als Herausforderung an die praktische Theologie, Kampen,
Niederlande, 1996, p. 9 ff.
52 )
Cf. Zinser, H.: Jugendokkultismus in Ost und West, Munich 1993.
53 )
Cf. Streib, H.: Entzauberung der Okkultfaszination, Magisches Denken und Handeln
in der Adoleszenz als Herausforderung an die praktische Theologie, Kampen,
Netherlands 1996, p. 9 ff.
80
for
the individual's views, beliefs and self-image. Wishes, fears, and phantasies
are expressed in the practices and concepts of modern occultism in a way that is
found nowhere else in the industrial bureaucratic world that we live in. Some
occultists and parapsychologists even think that it is possible to find an
answer to the question of human mortality by means of occult and
parapsychological experiments.
54
)
The
current popularity of occultism is probably largely due to the fact that many of
the fears, wishes and questions which people have seem to be ignored by the
modern sciences, or that people do not recognise themselves in and cannot
identify with modern sciences; hence, they try to find reassurance and
satisfaction in occult or esoteric concepts and practices - something that they
cannot find in social reality, religious doctrines or the arts and sciences.
Devotees of occultism such as esoterics usually do not tend to form any fixed
social organisations; occultists are individualists whose social relations
amongst themselves usually correspond to the organisational structures of a
public or client religion.
55
) However, Satanic
groups represent a distinct exception to this general rule.
3.4.3 Modern Satanism
The
general appearance and the rituals of Satanic groups cannot be traced back to a
single source; instead, their background is a patchwork beginning with studies
of texts of black masses of the 17th
and 18th
century,
then moving
on
to groups with a freemason background, sometimes involving anticlerical
parodies, and finally finding its way to Crowley.
56
)
For
modern ritual Satanism, Aleister Crowley (born on 12 Sept. 1875, died on 1 Dec.
1947) plays a crucial role. Crowley is seen as the "spiritus rector" and the
supplier of ideas for a large number of groups and organisations and their
rituals.
A
key element of Satanism is that, both in its system of belief and in its ritual
practice, it is not focused on the figure of Satan, Baphomet, or whatever other
name is used. The focus and the primary target is the human being: in other
words, the "self-idolisation" of man. The point and purpose of Satanism is to
use a ritual system - which primarily consists of sexual magic - in order to
promote the recognition of one's own divinity. 57)
---------------
54 )
Cf. Driesch, H.: Parapsychologie, 4th edition Frankfurt/Main 1984.
55 )
For more information on public and client organisations, cf. Stark, R. and
Bainbridge, S.: "The Future of Religion", Berkeley 1985, p. 24 ff. and Zinser,
H.: "Der Markt der Religionen", Munich 1997, p. 122 ff.
56 )
For a biography of Aleister Crowley, cf. Dvorak, J.: SatanismuS, Geschichte und
Gegenwart, Ffm, Eichborn, 1989; Schmidt, J.: Satanismus, Mythos und
Wirklichkeit, Marburg, 1992; Symonds, J.: Aleister Crowley, das Tier 666: Leben
und Magick, Munich, 1996.
57 )
Cf. Christiansen, I.: Bedeutung und Brisanz von Sekten, Destruktiv-Kulten und
Weltanschauungen für Jugendliche in unserer Gesellschaft, Göttingen, 1997, p.
262.
81
In
addition, Satanism provides opportunities for individuals - which are
successfully utilised by some - to transform their inferiority complexes into a
higher appreciation of themselves (ego upgrade). Hence, one reason why some
people
with
a weak ego turn to Satanism is that they want to have the feeling that they can
have power over other people through rites and rituals, that they can live out a
latent anger, that they seem to be able to change laws of nature to their
own
advantage. 58
)
As a
culture which "transgresses" Christian beliefs and lifestyles, "Satanism" and a
Christian religious orientation are not necessarily mutually exclusive. On the
contrary: An orientation to the occult seems to be quite compatible with
views held by the Churches because a crucial source of Satanic convictions and
rituals is the negation of the Christian order - a negation which does not
leave the Christian code; instead, it merely reverses the code signs indicating
what
is "good" and what is "bad", thereby living out conflicts, hurt feelings and
crises in the individual's life history by identifying with what is coded as
being negative in the Christian order. In this context, there is evidence
suggesting that
an
individual's Christian socialisation (marked by narrow confines, rigidity, a
negative attitude toward sensuality, and religious constraints) - either in
special Christian communities or in rigorous or traditionalist groups of the
major popular Churches, strictly distinguishing between "good" and "bad" systems
and powers - may be a background for "Satanic" rebellion and withdrawal as a
way of "freeing oneself" from constraints.
59
)
This
line of thinking according to which Satanic practices appear to be an integral
part of a culture of transgression and breaking taboos also helps to explain the
proximity of Satanism to "magic sexual practices" and sexual obsessions.
60
)
This
can easily result in or lead to an affinity and attraction to Satanic concepts
on the part of individuals who are prone to breaking sexual taboos and to sexual
abuse. While there is evidence to this effect
61
), there are not
yet any reliable or well-founded findings.
3.4.4 Typologies of Satanism
Satanism research has led to the development of a typology which appears to be a
useful tool for systematically categorising various types of Satanism:
62
)
·
ritual
Satanism (involving the establishment of an order),
·
rational
Satanism (Satan as a symbol or code),
-------------------
58 ) Ibid., p.
263.
59 ) Cf.
Klosinski, G.: Psychokulte.
Was Sekten für
Jugendliche so attraktiv macht, Munich 1996; Helsper, W., loc. cit. 1992;
Streib, H.: Teufelsbeschwörung und Jesus-Zauberspruch - magische Handlungen mit
heilender Kraft?, in: Heimbrock, H. G./Streib, H. (ed.): Magie -
Katastrophenreligion und Kritik des Glaubens, Kampen/Weinheim 1994 as well as
loc. cit. 1996.
60 )
Cf. Introvigne, M./Türk, E.: Satanismus, Paderborn 1995.
61 )
Cf. Fröhling, U.: "Vater unser in der Hölle", Seelze-Velber, 1996.
62 ) Cf.
Introvigne, M.: Auf den Spuren des Satanismus, EZW 5/92, pp. 161- 178, EZW 7/92,
pp. 193- 202.
82
·
traditional
occult Satanism (Satan is God's antagonist),
·
acid
Satanism (sadistic, orgiastic and drug-consuming groups),
·
Luciferism
(Satan and Lucifer as objects of worship).
In
parallel with this typology as used in religious studies, there are also groups
and cults with Satanic tendencies; however, their classification criteria have
to be derived from their psychosocial and social environment:
1.
Psychotic Satanism. This genre tends to be typical of individuals that
can be described as "loners". They practice rituals only alone or in small
groups. It cannot be ruled out that such individuals are susceptible to
committing crimes motivated by "delusions" (cf. Chapter 3.5.3, psychotic
episode).
2.
Marketed Satanism. This is a scene which makes commercial use of
Satanism. By means of newspaper avertisements, or probably more often by means
of word-of-mouth propaganda, interested groups are informed about black masses
where - sometimes for horrendous sums of money - they can live out the most
perverse inclinations which may involve sado-masochistic practices.
The
form of Satanism which is probably most well-known to outside world is
youth-centred Satanism. This type of Satanism is not genuine Satanism in the
strict sense of the term. Instead, it is more of a youth subculture which wants
to
offset itself from the adult world. There is a large number of different forms
and varieties, including individuals purloining "Satanic quotations" to develop
their own adolescent style; some who are fascinated with symbolism of evil;
others who are leaning towards Satanic ideas; and yet again others who practise
Satanic models. In this context, phantasies of sexualised violence and their
enactment do play a role. However, it is not clear yet whether this latter
variant is of any major relevance in the field of youth subcultures.
3.4.5 Examples of problematic
practices and rituals in Satanism
Arcane discipline
(AD)
Each
Satanic organisation (cult), group, lodge or order cultivates or protects its
"arcane discipline" (AD). Initiated members are forbidden - often under threat
of martial punishment (such as torture, rape, death, etc.) - to disclose any
information to outsiders regarding the infrastructure and the level of
organisation of their group, lodge or order. Nor are they allowed to talk about
different levels of initiation or any details of rituals or other practices. In
addition, the initiation ritual binds members to their organisation for the rest
of their lives. The way the groups, lodges or orders see it, their members do
not have the choice to leave the organisation - unless the organisation is
disbanded or the "initiated" dies. Members who want to leave the organisation
are told in no uncertain terms, using both psychological and physical means,
that the organisation is
83
firmly determined not to let them go that easily. One dropout, for instance,
reported that the leader of his group tried to dissuade him from leaving the
group by means of bodyguards and by threatening physical violence ("... the
only
way to leave is to leave forever ...!"). Dropouts are exposed to permanent,
primarily physical pressure. They receive parcels with half-decayed black cats
and cocks; or ex-members find dead rats, for instance, arranged in the form of a
pentacle in front of their doorstep. In this context, it is irrelevant whether
the cult involved is devoted to vulgar "traditional Satanism" (i.e. it does not
have a very pronounced system of rituals), or whether the group is composed of
academically educated intellectuals who are devoted to "rationalist Satanism".
63
)
There are several reasons why such "pressuring mechanisms" work; one has to do
with the belief in magic of the individuals involved; another one is that most
members are aware of the fact that the rituals or other practices performed by
the group often involve criminal offences which are bound to be prosecuted by
police and public prosecutors, once they become known. In addition to mentioning
ideological reasons, ex-Satanists also give economic reasons to explain why
their organisations were so adamant and relentless in punishing any violation of
the AD and the often associated exit of those who "violated the AD".
Everyone who leaves the organisation proves with his behaviour that the premises
claimed in "traditional occult Satanism" are wrong: Satan does not have
"omnipotence" throughout the world; and he is not the "Prince (Ruler) of this
world"; and hence, an individual can change his ideological trappings with
impunity. If a Satanic group, lodge or order accepts such a step, the Satanic
cult concerned will be doomed. In addition, it is by all means also in the
economic interest of Satanic organisations to ensure that the involvement of
their members is irreversible. This will also guarantee future revenues from a
variety of activities including compulsory prostitution of female members, drug
trafficking, handling of stolen goods, and extorting "voluntary payments of
money". 64
)
"Black masses"
The
black mass is one of the rituals practised by each and every Satanic group. The
black mass is a reversal of the Christian rite, or to be more precise: the Roman
Catholic mass. The necessary utensils include black cloth,
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