Misconceptions of the Religious ‘Other’
The Importance for Human Rights of Objective and Balanced Knowledge
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v1i1.5Keywords:
Methodology, discrimination, sect, new religious movements, religious diversityAbstract
In a world in which we are faced with an ever-increasing religious diversity, the underlying assumption of this paper is that logical thought combined with accurate and reliable knowledge can make a significant contribution to the reduction of conflicts that arise through fallacious arguments and through both ignorance and misinformation of the beliefs and practices of religions other than one’s own. The paper summarizes some of the challenges of religious pluralism, demonstrating how tensions can arise and be exacerbated through the construction of negative images of ‘the other’, and outlines some of the common misconceptions that have led to conflicts and the abuse of the human rights of members of minority religions.
References
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Weber, Max. 1947 The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press.
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Wessinger, Catherine. 2000 How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate. Chappaqua, NY: Seven Bridges Press.
Whitfield, Susan. 1999 Life Along the Silk Road. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Wilson, Bryan. 1966 Religion in Secular Society: A Sociological Comment. London: Watts.
Yang, Fenggang. 2009 “Religious Trends in China and their Social Implications.” Freeman Report [Centre for Strategic and International Studies] March, 1-3.
Antal, Chris. 2003 “Forcible ‘Deprogramming,’ the Japanese State, and International Human Rights.” Journal of Unification Studies 5: 51–80.
Anthony, Dick, and Massimo Introvigne. 2006 Le Lavage de Cerveau: Mythe ou Réalité? Paris: L’Harmattan.
Baird, Robert. 1971 Category Formation and the History of Religions. The Hague, Paris: Mouton.
Barker, Eileen. 1994 [1984] The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice? Aldershot: Ashgate.
1994 “But is it a Genuine Religion?” In Between Sacred and Secular: Research and Theory on Quasi Religion, edited by Arthur Greil and Thomas Robbins, 97–109. Greenwich, CT; London: JAI Press.
1995 “The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must be Joking!” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion issue 34(3): 287–310. (Also in Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader, edited by Lorne L. Dawson, 7–25. London: Blackwell, 2003).
2002 “Watching for Violence: a Comparative Analysis of the Roles of Five Cult- Watching Groups.” In Cults, Religion and Violence, edited by David G. Bromley and J. Gordon Melton, 123–148. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511499326.008
2006 “What should we do about the Cults? Policies, Information and the Perspective of INFORM.” In The New Religious Question: State Regulation or State Interference, edited by Pauline Côté and T. Jeremy Gunn, 371–395. Brussels: Peter Lang. Available at http://www.Inform.ac/aboutInform.pdf
Berger, Peter. 1980 The Heretical Imperative. London: Collins.
Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. 1967 The Social Construction of Reality: Everything that passes for knowledge in society. London: Allen Lane.
Beyer, Peter, and Lori Beaman, eds. 2007 Religion, Globalization, and Culture. Leiden: Brill.
Bromley, David and James Richardson, eds. 1983 The Brainwashing/Deprogramming Controversy. New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
Bruce, Steve. 2002 God is Dead: Secularization in the West. Oxford: Blackwell.
Casanova, José. 1994 Public Religions in the Modern World. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Davie, Grace. 2002 Europe: The Exceptional Case. London: Darton, Longman and Todd.
Dobbelaere, Karel. 2002 Secularization: An Analysis at Three Levels. Brussels: Peter Lang.
Douglas, Mary. 1966 Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. doi:10.4324/9780203361832
1970 Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology. London: Barrie and Rockliff. doi:10.4324/9780203426623
Durkheim, Émile. 1952 Suicide: A Study in Sociology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Foltz, Richard. 1999 Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. New York: St Martin’s Press.
Galanter, Marc. 1980 “Psychological Induction into the Large Group: Findings from a Modern Religious Sect.” American Journal of Psychiatry 137(12): 1574–1579.
Ginsburg, Gerald, and James Richardson. 1998 “‘Brainwashing’ Evidence in Light of Daubert.” In Law and Science: Current Legal Issues 1998, edited by Helen Reece, 265–288. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Greer, Steven. 2008 “Human Rights and the Struggle against Terrorism in the United Kingdom.” European Human Rights Law Review 2: 163–172.
Harris, Margaret, and Patricia Young. 2009 Bridging Community Divides: The Impact of Grassroots Bridge Building Activities. London: Institute for Voluntary Action Research.
Hospers, John. 1956 An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis. London: Unwin.
Martin, David. 1978 A General Theory of Secularization. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Marx, Karl. 1973 The Grundrisse der Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
McGuire, Meredith. 2002 Religion: The Social Context. 5th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Popper, Karl. 1959 The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.
1963 Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Richardson, James. 1980 “People’s Temple and Jonestown: A Corrective Comparison and Critique.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 19(3): 239–255. doi:10.2307/1385862
2003. “A Critique of ‘Brainwashing’ Claims about New Religious Movements.” In Cults in Context: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements, edited by Lorne L. Dawson, 160–180. Malden: Blackwell.
Robertson, Roland. 1990 “Globalization, Internationalization and Religion.” In Buddhism Today: A Collection of Views from Contemporary Scholars, 63-69. Tokyo: The Institute of Oriental Philosophy.
Shimazono, Susumu. 2007 “State Shinto and Religion in Post-War Japan.” In The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, edited by James Beckford and N.J. Demerath III, 697–709. London: Sage.
Shupe, Anson and David Bromley. 1980 The New Vigilantes: Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions. Beverly Hills, Ca: Sage.
Shupe, Anson and Susan Darnell. 2006 Agents of discord: deprogramming, pseudo-science, and the American anticult movement. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Stark, Rodney. 1999 “Secularization, R.I.P.” Sociology of Religion 60(3): 249–273. doi:10.2307/3711936
Stark, Rodney and William Sims Bainbridge. 1987 A Theory of Religion. New York: Peter Lang.
Weber, Max. 1947 The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press.
1949 The Methodology of the Social Sciences. New York: Free Press.
Wessinger, Catherine. 2000 How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate. Chappaqua, NY: Seven Bridges Press.
Whitfield, Susan. 1999 Life Along the Silk Road. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Wilson, Bryan. 1966 Religion in Secular Society: A Sociological Comment. London: Watts.
Yang, Fenggang. 2009 “Religious Trends in China and their Social Implications.” Freeman Report [Centre for Strategic and International Studies] March, 1-3.
Published
2010-07-29
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Barker, E. . (2010). Misconceptions of the Religious ‘Other’: The Importance for Human Rights of Objective and Balanced Knowledge. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 1(1), 5-25. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v1i1.5
