Excerpt from An Anthology of Texts of the Catholic Church 1986-1994, edited by the Working Group on New Religious Movements in the VATICAN. For full text, click here.
Note: New Religious Movements is abbreviated as NRMs.
The success of the NRMs is due not only to sociocultural causes or to spiritual aspirations that do not find answers; it can also be attributed in large measure to the process of communication adopted and to strategies of spreading influence.
In pastoral documents, the methods used by the NRMs are frequently criticized. A recurring complaint is that some movements adopt methods of recruiting that lack respect for human freedom and that therefore can be called "proselytism" or indoctrination. These can range from intense psychological pressures to financial inducements to join a particular movement. In addition, many groups distort the truth of the Catholic Church and make prejudiced attacks against aspects of its religious practices and teachings.
Many NRM "preachers" are expert in communicating a simple and sometimes emotional message and in using the new media as instruments in their campaigns. Thus the success of such groups sometimes depends on uniting subjective and objective attractions: meeting the spiritual hungers of people by means of sophisticated methods of persuasion.
Hence a discernment is needed between those methods that provide a healthy challenge to the Church and those dangerous methods that ignore the right to objective information, to freedom of conscience, and in general the right of each person to dignity and respect.
The strategies of communication target particular categories of people. Not everyone is equally liable to be attracted to these movements. In general the most likely candidates are people who are weak in various ways: those who are psychologically fragile, those whose Christian formation has been poor, those in problematic moral or family situations, the young without strong roots in family or any tradition, and those who for various reasons have difficulties with the Church.
It is important also to note that the type of communication used by the NRMS will differ depending on the type of movement in question, and that the categories of people targeted are not equally vulnerable to all kinds of NRMS.
DOCUMENTS AND DISCOURSES OF POPE JOHN PAUL
The almost aggressive zeal with which certain people seek new recruits by going from house to house or stopping passersby
street corners is a bogus sectarian version of apostolic missioner zeal; the attention shown the individual and the importance give to his or her contribution to the cause and the growth of the religious group does not stem from the desire to make good use of one's own life by feeling useful to the community to which a person belongs, but rather constitutes a deformed expression of the active role that is proper to believers, living members of Christ body, called to work for the spread of God's Kingdom.
Message for World Migration Day, Doc.5
Nor does the Church close her eyes to the danger of fanaticism or fundamentalism among those who, in the name of an ideology that purports to be scientific or religious, claim the right to impose on others their own concept of what is true and good. Christian truth is not of this kind. Since it is not an ideology, the Christian fait does not presume to imprison changing sociopolitical realities in rigid schema, and it recognizes that human life is realized in history in conditions that are diverse and imperfect. Furthermore, in constantly reaffirming the transcendent dignity of the person, the Church's method is always that of respect for freedom.
Centesimus annus 46, Doc.8.
. . . the growth of sects and other new religious movements, which often appeal to alleged apparitions, prophecies and miraculous cures. The attraction of these movements sometimes lies in the apparent success in responding to the spiritual needs of people the hunger of their hearts for something deeper. for healing, cons ration and contact with the transcendent.
To the Bishops of Ghana, Doc.12.
As these persons and families meet very new situations and enter into quite different environments that often are foreign and even hostile to them, with their values and ways of living and thinking they bring with them a Christian formation that is still very fragile, a faith still so very weak and already beset by growing secularization; they do not find the necessary pastoral help, and with the impact of the consumer society and the mass media's pressure they become, clearly, easy game for the fanaticism of the sects. Certain sects are characterized by the aggressiveness of their proselytism; others offer to the unwary the illusion of having an immediate answer for their enormous spiritual, emotional and even material needs.
To the Bishops of the North-2 Region of Brazil, Doc. 4
We must humbly acknowledge that in certain cases the baptized have not yet, for whatever reason, discovered the fulfillment of these needs in the mystery of the Incarnate Word entrusted to the Church.
To the Bishops of Ghana, Doc. 12
Your ministry must take account of the richness of religious expression and cultural diversity that characterizes the Hispanic community and demands appropriate pastoral programs and initiatives. Among the principal pastoral tasks in relation to the Hispanic community is that of evangelization and catechesis, especially in the face of extremely active proselytism by other religious groups.
To the Bishops of Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington (United States), Doc. 15
OTHER DOCUMENTS OF THE CHURCH
The sects offer people a closed community that is more fraternal than the Catholic masses. Worship is participative and simpler. Biblical fundamentalism makes the initiates feel that they are learned in religion because they memorize some passages from the Bible Their consciences are assuaged because God directly forgives sins. There are no complications about abortion and birth control Some groups regularize second marriages between divorced people. These characteristics of the sects attract new members and, at the same time, make them fanatical.
Cardinal Ernesto Corripio Ahumada, Doc. 26
There is a need for a sense of community, and sects offer human warmth, aid and attention to the person, especially to people who are divorced, who are migrants, alcoholics.
Many people feel a need to come to terms with themselves, to feel safe, secure, able to overcome their problems and complexes; sects offer a palpable religious experience....
People need to feel recognized, to improve their social status, to be taken into account; what sects offer people is interest in them a persons, offering them a share of responsibility and inviting the, to become part of a select group.
People need spiritual direction: the sect offers them this through the pastor, the religious leader.
Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo, Doc. 28
The rapid expansion of these sects in certain parts of the world, including the Gulf, is in great measure due to the psychological, social and economic conditions prevailing in these regions. It is no less the result of their missionary fervor and the efficiency of their method. They follow a process of simple techniques perfected by years of experience.
At first they work on the emotional plane. The new immigrant is taken notice of. Warmth and friendship are given to him. He feels he is esteemed and appreciated. He is made to feel that his talent have a contribution to make for the advent of God's kingdom. This personal approach is hard to resist.
Next comes the phase of indoctrination. Some of the immigrant beliefs are called in question. Doubts are thrown in. Adherents to these sects have only a very superficial knowledge of theology, of Scripture, but they are specialists in a limited field. Their topics of attack, and their quotations from Scripture are the same for the last 400 years. Their "myths" and "fables" have been exposed over an over again, but they keep on repeating them so as to ensnare the ignorant and innocent.
This phase of brainwashing when the prospective adherent is subjected to a barrage of scriptural quotations, indoctrination, slogans, isolation, social and psychological pressures, and a climate of fear and insecurity, leave him completely confused and helpless
Most Rev. Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli, Doc. 60
Commercial travelers peddling salvation are increasing on our roads and reach the remotest villages in our provinces, offering their wares as the latest and best bargain for man's happiness, the new truth that must sweep away everything that existed previously. Badly informed Christians, spurred on by the longing for unclouded bliss let themselves be taken for a ride.
Most Rev. Robert Sastre, Doc. 38
Not all methods deserve to be frowned upon. The dynamism of their missionary drive, the evangelistic responsibility assigned to the new "converts," their use of the mass media and their setting of the objectives to be attained, should make us ask ourselves questions as to how to make more dynamic the missionary activity of the Church.
There are methods used by some NRMs that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel because these methods do not respect human freedom of conscience sufficiently.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, Doc. 25
Proselytism: Here is meant improper attitudes and behavior in the practice of Christian witness. Proselytism embraces whatever violates the right of the human person, Christian or non-Christian, to be free from external coercion in religious matters, or whatever in the proclamation of the Gospel does not conform to the ways God draws free men to himself in response to his calls to serve in spirit and in truth.
Cited in The National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry, Doc. 42
[The fundamentalist sects] are characterized by their very enthusiastic proselytizing through persistent house visiting and large-scale distribution of bibles, magazines, and books; their presence and the opportunistic help they provide at times of personal or family crisis; and their great technical skill in using the media. They have at their disposal immense funding from other countries and the tithes they oblige all their members to pay.
Other features are a rigorous moralism, prayer meetings with a participatory and emotional Bible-based worship, and their aggressive stance toward the Church; they often resort to defamation and to material inducements. Although they are only weakly committed to the temporal realm, they tend to become involved politics with a view to taking power.
IV General Conference of Latin American Bishops, Doc. 3
The fundamentalist groups come with a financially well-backed plan. Millions of dollars flow easily in different forms, such as funding for livelihood projects, educational scholarships, care enhancement programs, employment, etc. Some of them . . . openly pay their members for every "conversion" they obtain and the job they provide for their members, thus offering them a certain economic security.
Cardinal Ricardo J Vidal, Doc.31.
It is usually said that proselytism is an activity aiming to win over the proselytized which uses an indiscreet zeal that moves people convince others of their own beliefs. It is the reckless search adepts merely for the purpose of increasing numbers and, with help of dishonest and anti-evangelical means, exploiting poverty: for example, buying support or exercising unjustifiable pressure intimidating by the use of psychological alienation and brain washing.... It is the action directed at procuring adepts for religious creed, violating their freedom.
Most Rev. Javier Lozano Barragan, Doc. 45.
Some recruitment, training techniques, and indoctrination procedures practiced by a number of sects and cults, which often highly sophisticated, partly account for their success. Those most often attracted by such measures are those who, firstly, do not know that the approach is often staged, and, secondly, are unaware of the nature of the contrived conversion and training methods (the social and psychological manipulation) to which they are subject The sects often impose their own norms of thinking, feeling, behaving. This is in contrast to the Church's approach, which implies full-capacity informed consent.
Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity Secretariat for Non-Christian, Secretariat for Non-Believe and Pontifical Council for Culture, Doc. 53.
The existence has been denounced in these sects of indefensive attitudes and various manipulative techniques used on individual who come to these organizations seeking something, or fleeing the emptiness they find in our society, our families and sometimes, our churches: for example, the exploitation of the Bible by means of a fundamentalist and fragmented interpretation, out of context; the abuse of emotional experiences, fanaticizing adepts to the point of bringing them to a state of alienation and marginalization; the use of the total isolation of individuals away from all external influence; adopting methods that undermine mental health and lead to intellectual confusion, spreading guilt complexes and destroying critical thought or reflection.
Episcopal Conference of Spain, Commission for Interconfessional Relations, Doc. 53
The missionary activity of these groups is directed at attracting the attention of the sectors to which the Church pays the least attention, and persons with little religious training. Thus it offers them more personalized and constant attention, as a possibility of an ongoing religious and biblical formation....
There is also a drive to attract the attention of nominal, non-practicing middle-class Catholics, where religious ignorance is rife. It is not surprising to find in these movements persons belonging to professional classes and of greater means. University youth and professional groups exist which carry out constant activities in their respective sectors.
Some groups seek adepts in the middle-to-upper and professional classes. Likewise, young people are offered the possibility of filling their leisure with sports and cultural activities that disguise a proselytizing interest. Groups inspired by the Eastern religions and by a certain type of philosophy (Rosicrucian, gnostic, metaphysical, Hare Krishna groups, etc.) seek people with a certain cultural level or a natural taste for the esoteric.
Lastly, it should not be forgotten that these groups seek to capture people who have psychological and moral problems, who have difficult relations with the Church, who have suffered because of bad example, or who are searching for help for their moral regeneration.
Episcopal Conference of Venezuela, Doc. 43
If a closer look is taken at what the NRMs are offering to Western society, it will be seen that some of them are essentially therapeutic in nature, appealing to the individual and showing little concern for the general welfare of society. Others however have a more universalist outlook, and these attract people of a more active nature and altruistic bent. In spreading their message they make use of the modern means of communication whose rapidity and power have brought about such a degree of interdependence in the world of today.
There is a fascination in the aims proposed by this second group: the unity of the world (sometimes exalted as Mother Earth, Gaia), the bringing of a new era, the awakening of a new planetary consciousness. These are to be achieved in spiritual communion with like-minded people, all those who are fellow-pilgrims along the way. Indeed the proposed horizons often go beyond this world and take on a metahistorical and metaspiritual character.
Most Rev. Michael L. Fitzgerald, Doc. 32
It would seem that the groups most at risk would be mainly those in some difficulty with the Church and those far removed from the presence of the priest. Youths looking for security or "knowledge" or what is "new" are particularly vulnerable; so are women and those who feel isolated in urban areas and in the peripheries of cities. Their particular attraction for women could be because of their appeal to the emotions and the fact that women are admitted to most offices. People may be attracted by their offers of healing, bodily and spiritual, or by the promises of instant solutions to all problems. Some sects pose as channels of professional advancement and economic success. Others emphasize a narrow spiritual conversion that ignores or even rejects social and political responsibility.
Synod of Bishops: Special Assembly for Africa, Doc. 35
From Sects and New Religious Movements
An Anthology of Texts from the Catholic Church 1986-1994
edited by The Working Group on New Religious Movements in the VATICAN.
Last updated August 20, 2000 0:00