New Religious Movements: New Religious Movements in Europe

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NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN EUROPE

The new religious movements (NRMs) with which this article is mainly concerned are those that first appeared, or became noticeable, in Europe during the second half of the twentieth century. Many, indeed most, have their roots in one or more religious tradition, but they are termed new because they arose in a new form, with a new facet to their beliefs, or with a new organization or leadership that renounced more orthodox beliefs and/or ways of life. They are, moreover, distinguishable from those religions that are new merely to Europe, having been brought by immigrants, in that the NRMs have consisted, at least initially, of a predominantly first-generation membership of converts. Some of the movements have been denounced by other movements, or have themselves rejected the label "religious." No attempt will be made here to argue what a "real" religion should or should not consist of, beyond stating that the movement/group makes some attempt to address questions of ultimate concern. The term NRM is, thus, employed as a general concept that refers to a multitude of groups that others might call cults, sects, spiritual groups, or alternative belief systems.

Already it will be apparent that, faced with such a wide classification, NRMs will differ greatly from each other, and indeed the first generalization that must be made about them is that one cannot generalize. One could in fact say that the only attribute which all the movements have in common is that they have been referred to as new religions. That said, however, some trends and some characteristics are shared by some NRMs.

Millennia-Long Background of Religious Diversity

From the brochs of the Shetland Isles in the north to Cape Sounion's Temple of Poseidon in the south, and in literature still taught in some schools, there is abundant evidence of a rich European history of pagan beliefs and practices associated with Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, and other indigenous gods. Christianity entered Europe immediately after the death of Jesus, eventually spreading throughout the entire continent—although it was not until the mid-twelfth century that it succeeded in supplanting Paganism in Sweden. In Western Europe, the mushrooming of assorted varieties of Protestants from the fifteenth century to the present day followed the Reformation. Islam has also played an important role in European history: Islamic Spain contained a mostly harmonious multicultural mixture of Muslims, Jews, and Christians for more than six centuries. Under the Ottoman Empire, diversity was controlled through the millet system, in which relatively autonomous religious communities were ruled by their own religious leaders.

While there have always been new religions emerging throughout Europe, there have been periods when these became particularly visible and gave rise to persecution. Early Christian heretics such as the Aryans or Manichaeans were dealt with on an ad hoc basis, but during the Middle Ages more institutionalized methods evolved. For example, Cathars were systematically burned at the stake by the Papal Inquisition. Later sectarian communities (including Hutterians, Mennonites, Doukhobors, and Separatists) emigrated to the New World to escape the persecution they suffered in different parts of Europe.

While the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the emergence of various Christian-based groups such as the Salvation Army, there also surfaced several esoteric groups and/or groups of Eastern origin (including Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Subud, and the Martinus Institute). These spread their gnoses to North America and, when American immigration law was liberalized in 1965, several gurus departed from Europe to find new disciples on the other side of the Atlantic.

Immediate Historical Setting

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, there was a widespread concern to "pick up the pieces" in the aftermath of World War II, which had itself followed a period of economic depression and high unemployment throughout most of the West. By the late 1950s, Western Europe had, generally speaking, made a remarkable recovery. Future prospects seemed hopeful. By the middle 1960s, however, there had grown up a new generation with a new set of hopes and values. The immediate relief of peace and the relative political and economic stability were forgotten as it became increasingly obvious that the rosy expectations of continuing tranquility and prosperity were not being entirely fulfilled. A vociferous group of students in universities throughout Europe, but especially in England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Italy, joined the protesters of North America in attacking the Vietnam War, Western imperialism, and bourgeois capitalism. By the end of the 1960s, however, this section of middle-class youth seemed to be giving up hope of changing the structure of society through mobilizing political pressure and organizing demonstrations. They turned instead to an outright rejection of structures and standards, replacing these with the celebration of free love. Although the "flower children" were never as visible in Europe as they were in California, they certainly existed, being most obviously evident among segments of English, Scandinavian, Dutch, and German culture; however, the sunny Mediterranean coasts of Greece, France, and Spain were attracting seekers who intermingled with those who had discovered, often with the help of hallucinogenic drugs, their paths to a new truth or spiritual enlightenment in California and/or along the hippie trails of India, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

Then, during the 1970s, this wave of alternative movements was augmented by a conservative backlash and the establishment of more organized and authoritarian NRMs, which imposed strict rules, order, and offered clear answers in place of the antinomian laxity of the hippies. At the same time, there was the spread of neo-Pentecostal revivalism and charismatic renewal. The search for order and certainty was also apparent in conservative reactions within many traditional churches in opposition to the liberalization of theology and general worldview evidenced, in part, by Vatican II (1962–1965). By the early 1980s, there existed many hundreds of groups competing for souls and, frequently, the total commitment and financial resources of the young, and, in some cases the not so young, throughout most of Western Europe.

There had been a handful of representatives of various NRMs in at least some parts of Eastern Europe during the 1980s and even earlier. These had frequently operated underground (some slipping into Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia from bases in Vienna). When discovered, members might be deported or imprisoned; some, including four members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), died in jail in the Soviet Union. But with the arrival of glasnost and perestroika and the eventual removal of state-imposed secularism, missionaries from NRMs and several older religions swarmed into Eastern Europe. Apart from providing a context within which (and concepts with which) the religiously starved could explore religious ideas and practice spiritual rituals and techniques, the movements brought all manner of secular hand-outs: Unificationists offered visits to the West and English language lessons; Scientologists offered communication and purification courses; posters were pasted on walls and lampposts throughout the region, advertising classes leading to health and wealth and a wide variety of yogic, meditation, and other Eastern practices.

The Range of Movements

Most European countries have produced at least some of their own NRMs. Among these, the Aetherius Society, Emin Foundation, Exegesis, Findhorn, the Jesus Army, the Process, the School of Economic Science, TOPY, and various esoteric orders associated with Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) and Gerald Gardener (1884–1964) originated in Britain. The Raelians, Aumism, and Roux's L'Église Chrétienne Universelle were founded in France; the Ananda Ashram in Denmark; Damanhur in Italy; Dragon Rouge and Livets Ord in Sweden; the Lou Movement in the Netherlands; and Al-Murabitun in Spain. In Eastern Europe, Vissarion's Church of the Last Testament in Russia, the New Jerusalem in Romania, and Mariya Devi Khristos' White Brotherhood in Ukraine emerged, or, as in the case of Duenov's Brotherhood of Light in Bulgaria, reemerged. Several Neopagan groups and Wicca covens have professed their allegiance to local European gods and goddesses in, for instance, the Caucuses, the Baltic, Volga, Norse, and Celtic regions. Moreover, several movements considered to exhibit sectarian characteristics have arisen within the Roman Catholic Church (Focolare, Communion and Liberation, Neocatechumenate, Poland's Radio Maryja, and, although it was founded in 1928, some would include Opus Dei).

The majority of NRMs are, however, not indigenous to Europe. Many can be traced to the United States (frequently to California), including offshoots of the Jesus Movement (such as the Children of God, later known as the Family); the Way International; International Churches of Christ; the Church Universal and Triumphant (known as Summit Lighthouse in England); and much of the human potential movement (such as est, which gave rise to the Landmark Forum, and various practices developed through the Esalen Institute). Several of the movements came from Asia, mainly India (Rajneesh; ISKCON; Brahma Kumaris; Divine Light Mission [later called Élan Vital]; Sathya Sai Baba, Transcendental Meditation; Sahaja Yoga; Ananda Marga; and various practices associated with Tantra, kuṇḍalinī, and other types of yoga), but also from Japan (Sōka Gakkai; Risshō Kosei Kai; Agon Shu; Mahikari; Tenrikyō); Korea (the Unification Church); and other parts of Asia (Caodaism from Vietnam; Fo Guang from Taiwan; Falun Gong from China). There are also groups from the Caribbean (Rastafarianism) and Africa (Cherubim and Seraphim; the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star), most of these finding their home among the black populations residing in Europe. Another development has been the growth of a number of Islamic groups (Hizb ut-Tahrir; the Nation of Islam; Al-Muhajiroun; Murabitun).

Not infrequently, movements with roots in the East (such as ISKCON) have been introduced to Europe indirectly, via the United States. It is, however, noteworthy that several of the Eastern religions show the influence of Europeans who had traveled to Asia, carrying with them either the Christian message or, more recently, the language and perspectives of various forms of humanistic psychology and the human potential movement—a movement that has itself been traced both to the East and to seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries pietism in the West. Thus it is that, although many NRMs may appear alien and/or exotic to Europeans, it is possible to identify a not inconsiderable contribution from Europe that could have "prepared the way" or made the novelties more acceptable to Westerners. There is, moreover, a further twist to this growth of cultural exchange and syncretism: it is sometimes the accretions of American culture, such as a "happy-clappy" enthusiasm, that the new movements bring across the Atlantic that are most strongly objected to by their European critics.

Mention should also be made of what has come to be known by Troeltsch's term, popularized by Colin Campbell (1972): "cultic milieu." Many Europeans who would not consider themselves to have any connection with an NRM do, nonetheless, draw on concepts that owe their origin to Eastern philosophies, often transported through NRMs and the media—concepts such as reincarnation, for example, are accepted (often with the concept of resurrection) by roughly one-quarter of Europeans, and many Christians can be found attending yoga and meditation classes that are based on religious precepts at variance with traditional interpretations of the New Testament.

The Spread of the Movements

All European countries play host to some new religions, with a number of geographical centers such as Glastonbury, Lyons, Turin, St. Petersburg, and Amsterdam attracting particular genres. Rodney Stark (1985) has argued that much of Europe, having experienced more secularization than the United States, is more receptive to NRMs than had been generally assumed, and that the more northern, Protestant countries, in which traditional churches are weakest, are the most receptive to alien religions (cults), whereas the more southern, Catholic countries, in which conventional religion is stronger, are more likely to be receptive to sectarian (revivalist) activity.

Calculating precise statistics for NRMs and their membership is difficult because definitions as to what is and is not an NRM vary; many movements do not advertise their existence and may not be recognized for some time; several movements are secretive about, or grossly exaggerate, their membership numbers; and most NRMs, like traditional religions, have different levels of membership ranging from an inner core to associate members, and each group is liable to use a different criterion for what comprises membership. Moreover, NRMs frequently gloss over their high turnover rates, counting only converts, not defectors.

It is, however, likely that the number of NRMs in Europe is in excess of two thousand, but that most have a relatively small membership (occasionally less than a score, with only a handful having more than a thousand members in any one country at any one time). Britain is certainly not representative of Europe as a whole, but INFORM had collected details about more than 800 different NRMs that were active in the United Kingdom at some point between 1984 and 2004. This number might be doubled if, for example, they included all New Age and pagan groups as separate entities, nineteenth-century religions (such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons), and Buddhist and Hindu groups considered traditional in their countries of origin. Just under half (373) of the 806 NRMs were recognizably of Christian origin, and by far the largest number of these (171) could most easily be classified as some form of Protestantism, with twenty-seven being related to Catholicism, and twenty to African Independent Churches. There were, unambiguously, sixty-six Buddhist, thirty-eight Hindu, forty Muslim, and twelve Jewish NRMs, and a motley assortment of syncretistic, Shintō, yoga, esoteric, Gnostic, New Age, pagan, shaman, human potential, Satanic, Spiritualist, UFO, and other groups. Altogether INFORM has a record of more than three thousand different organizations, including several that are active elsewhere in Europe. And there are undoubtedly many other groups about which INFORM (and most other people) are ignorant.

Reactions to NRMs

As elsewhere throughout the world, NRMs in Europe have been greeted with suspicion and hostility. Almost without exception, media coverage has been of a sensational and negative nature. Headlines have told of mass suicides and murders; bizarre sexual practices; blasphemous beliefs; brainwashing techniques; kidnapping; deception; broken-hearted parents; political intrigue; exploitation of members; and the vast wealth amassed by leaders.

The intensity and focus of responses to NRMs have varied both between and within the different countries of Europe at different times, each of which started from a different position—while religious freedom was virtually unchallenged in Britain, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands, it was not until 1970 that non-Catholic religions could operate legally in Spain, and there was state-imposed secularism in Eastern Europe until the collapse of communism. In the 1970s, the movement that received the most attention was the Unification Church, its members being popularly referred to as "Moonies." The French displayed concern particularly about the movement's political and financial concerns; the Norwegians about its theological status; the English worried about brainwashing and the break-up of families; the Germans about social security payments and the possible emergence of a new Hitler Youth movement; while the Finns appeared remarkably unaware of the Unificationists in their midst. Another group to be singled out at a relatively early stage was Scientology, which has continued to be met with considerable opposition, especially in Germany and Belgium. Other NRMs that have frequently hit the headlines include ISKCON, the Children of God (later known as the Family), the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and the International Churches of Christ.

Whatever the movement in the news, after 1978 almost all media reports referred to the horrific events in Jonestown; but it was not until after the 1994/5 murders and suicides of members of the Solar Temple in French-speaking Canada and Switzerland and, later, in France itself that "cult-associated atrocities" became widely recognized in the European political scene. Then, in 1995, the release of sarin gas in the Tokyo subway by members of Aum Shinrikyō alerted European governments to dangers not merely to those associated with NRMs, but also to the public at large—a fear that was confirmed and magnified beyond any previously imagined expectation when al-Qāʿidah hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, with the fear of "sectarian terrorism" in Europe becoming firmly established in 2004 with the railway bombings in Madrid.

By the end of the 1970s, a loose network of groups, whose avowed goal was to expose and curtail the activities of NRMs, had been established throughout most of the continent. Anticult groups were particularly prominent in France, Germany, and Britain, but there were also individuals or small groups actively opposing NRMs in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and elsewhere. Some of these, founded in the mid-1970s, such as FAIR (Family Action Information and Rescue—the R being changed to Resource in 1994) in Britain and ADFI (Association de Défense de la Famille et de l'Individu) in France, organized a number of forcible deprogrammings, but by the end of the century these illegal abductions were almost completely stopped in Europe, non-forcible exit counseling having become the preferred option. Nonetheless, the number of cult-watching groups expanded and these were joined by some in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, one of the most active and influential, St. Irinaeus of Lyon Information-Consultation Center, operating under the patronage of the Moscow Patriarchy. In 1994, a network of European anticult groups, FECRIS (Fédération Européene des Centres de Recherche et d'Informa-tion sur le Sectarisme), was formed. This network includes among its members AGPF (Aktion für Geistige und Psychische Freiheit) in Germany; FRI (Förening Rädda Individen) in Sweden; the Polish Family Association; GSK (Gesellschaft Gegen Sekten und Kult Gefahren) in Austria; AIS (Asesoramiento e Información sobre Sectas) in Spain; SADK (Schweizerische Arbeitgemeinschaft Destruktive Kulte) in Switzerland; and the Ukrainian National Center of Religious Safety and Help to Victims of Destructive Cults.

There also emerged a number of centers run on more academic lines that were largely the result of scholars reacting to the selective and sometimes inaccurate information being disseminated in the media and elsewhere by both the NRMs and their opponents. Among these were CESNUR in Italy, which has a useful Web site (http://www.cesnur.com); FINYAIR in Sweden; VIK (Center for Information on Religion) in Hungary; RENNER (Research Network on New Religions) in Denmark, REMID (Religionswissenschaftlicher Medien- und Informationsdienst) in Germany; NRTIC (New Religions Research and Information Center) in Lithuania; and INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), an information network based at the London School of Economics and supported by the British government and mainstream churches. In Eastern Europe, there had been very little opportunity to study new religions before 1990, but some scholars who had been interested in the subject have been meeting (with one or two Westerners) since 1991, and by 1995 they had founded ISORECEA (International Association for the Study of Religion in Eastern and Central Europe), which holds regular conferences and has published, mainly through the Polish publishing house Nomos, a number of volumes containing papers about NRMs in post-communist Europe.

Official government interest in NRMs in Europe has, unsurprisingly, varied from country to country. There was not much concern until after the Jonestown incident, and even then it was minimal. A number of reports were commissioned: both the Germans (1980 and 1998) and the Dutch (1984) concluded that there was little to worry about that could not be dealt with by the law as it stood; a French report (1985) expressed more anxiety and included the recommendation that judges be allowed to give parents the power to extract their adult children from religious organizations, but little action was taken at the time. In England, the Unification Church lost a six-month libel action against the Daily Mail (1981) and pressure was put on the Charity Commissioners to remove the charitable status of two Unification-related organizations, but by 1988 the case had been dropped due to insufficient evidence.

In May 1984, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for "a common approach by the Member States of the European Community towards various infringements of the law by new organizations operating under the protection afforded to religious bodies" (PE 90.562:49). The resolution expressed concern about some of the practices of the new religions, and listed a number of "criteria [that should] be applied in investigating, reviewing and assessing the activity of the … organizations" (PE 90.562:51). The supporters of the resolution were in favor of instituting a voluntary code of practices to be followed by the movements; several of the movements responded that not only did they follow most of the code's rules anyway, but that any such code ought to apply to all religions, not just to the "new" ones (which were, furthermore, notoriously difficult to define). Further reports for the Council of Europe (1999) and two commissioned by the European Parliament (1992 and 1998) again warned of the need to be alert to the dangers NRMs might pose, but no action was taken.

One of the reasons for government reluctance to introduce special legislation to control NRMs has been a concern to observe Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950): "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance." After the Solar Temple and Aum Shinrikyō episodes, the Article's second clause, which stated "subject only to such limitations as … are necessary … for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others," has formed a more persuasive basis for advocating control in one form or another in some European countries.

In 1995, a second government-sponsored report was published in France. This contained a list of 173 sectes (including Anthroposophy, which later (2000) successfully sued the Rapporteur for defamation). This report resulted in 1998 in the establishment of MILS (Interministerial Mission to Fight the Sects), which was replaced in 2002 by MIVILUDES (Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Fight against Sectarian Deviances). In 1997, a report commissioned by the Belgian government included a list of 189 movements (including the Quakers and the YWCA, though not the YMCA). This resulted in a law establishing CIAOSN (Information and Advice Centre Concerning Harmful Sectarian Organizations), which has offered its services, including access to a now-substantial library, to the public since 2000. Although neither the French nor the Belgian governments officially incorporated their lists into law, several NRMs have been discriminated against merely because they were on one of the lists. When the Swedish government published a report in 1998, its list included all known religions in Sweden, including both Satanism and the (then-established) Lutheran Church of Sweden.

Other West European governments, including Austria (1998) and the Swiss Canton of Geneva (1997 and 1999), have produced reports and/or passed laws that result directly or indirectly in NRMs either being denied privileges (such as registration) that are available to older traditions, or treated in some way that distinguishes them from more socially acceptable religions.

Appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is a final option available to NRMs that believe their rights have been violated. There are numerous cases in which Jehovah's Witnesses have, on the basis of Article 9, won decisions in their favor from the court on issues such as child custody, conscientious objection to military service, the right to proselytize, the right to gather for worship, and the right to refuse to participate in ceremonies or activities (such as bearing arms) that would violate their conscience. One of the best-known cases is that of Minos Kokkinakis, who had been arrested for proselytism on more than 60 occasions. In 1993, the ECHR ruled in his favor and Greece was ordered to pay both damages and costs. Greece remains, however, the only European Union country that bans proselytism under its constitution, and the police can prosecute religious communities that operate or build places of worship without the permission of both the government and the Greek Orthodox Church. Another case concerned an Austrian court's decision that a mother was "unfit" as a parent because she was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. The ECHR determined that "a distinction based essentially on a difference in religion alone is not acceptable," and custody was returned to the mother.

Despite the euphoria of celebrating religious freedom after the collapse of communism, by the end of the century the majority of Eastern European countries were introducing laws that curbed the activities of NRMs. These laws have frequently been related to registration, which often entails having a minimum number of members and a minimum number of years of residency in the country. In 1997, Russia passed its Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations, in which one of the requirements for registration is documental proof that the organization "has existed over the course of no less than fifteen years on the relevant territory" (Article 11.5). Those religions that do not succeed in getting registered may be "liquidated." In March 2004, the Moscow Golovinsky District Court issued an order that the local Jehovah's Witness society be closed down, and numerous landlords throughout the country immediately canceled rental agreements with local congregations.

The Aging of NRMs

While stressing the importance of not generalizing about NRMs, there might, nonetheless, be certain characteristics that some of them tend to share at all times and all places merely because they are new and religious. One universal fact is that NRMs do not remain new forever. With the passage of time, many disappear; a few, such as the Worldwide Church of God, start to grow then shatter into literally hundreds of schisms. Those that survive exhibit a tendency towards "denominationalization." Enthusiastic young converts mature and have to devote time and money to children who need to be socialized and are quite likely to question the movement's beliefs and practices. Founders die, and their charismatic authority becomes routinized, making the movement more predictable. Dichotomous worldviews with sharp distinctions (godly/satanic, true/false, right/wrong, them/us) become modified and, rather than insisting on how different they are from the rest of society, members begin to stress how normal they are. The host society may become less fearful of the movements, even accepting them as part of the religious scene. In Britain, for example, dropouts and former drug addicts from the hippie scene who decided to become Krishna devotees can be heard representing the Hindu community on the BBC. In most of Eastern Europe, however, ISKCON continues to be treated as a dangerous cult. Some NRMs, whose techniques, such as yoga and meditation, appeal to a wide range of Europeans and have gained sufficient respectability to organize classes under the auspices of local authorities, or to provide courses for large corporations and even government departments.

Long-term Significance

It is difficult to assess the long-term significance of NRMs in Europe. New new religions continue to emerge, but it must be stressed that only a tiny proportion of those that abandon their commitment to traditional religions avail themselves of the new options. Far more common in Europe is a "soft secularism," which turns to religious institutions only at times of crisis or for formal rites of passage. Others may claim that they enjoy some kind of spirituality in their lives but that this has little or nothing to do with any formal religiosity.

By the start of the third millennium, few, if any, NRMs had succeeded in becoming a major player in the European religious scene. It is, indeed, arguable that reactions to NRMs are more significant than the movements themselves. Taken as a group, new religions have certainly contributed to the growing multiculturalism that is most evidenced in the effects of mass media, migration, and globalization. They are also playing a significant role in testing limits of tolerance and control of minority religions through the legal activities of several countries and the ECHR. What remains to be seen is the role they may yet have to play in a constantly changing Europe, with its expanding economic and political interactions through the pan-European structures that are seen by many to undermine individual identity and the cultural and religious heritage of the 47 or so countries of Europe.

Bibliography

There are no books dealing systematically with the new religious movements in Europe as a whole. Much of the American literature is, however, applicable to the European scene so far as individual movements are concerned, and there are numerous collections that include articles on European movements, concentrating on particular movements and/or European societies. New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective, edited by Phillip Charles Lucas and Thomas Robbins. New York and London, 2004. Includes chapters on NRMs in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Baltic States, Russia, and the Caucasus. Eileen Barker and Margit Warburg, eds. New Religions and New Religiosity. Aarhus and Oxford, 1998. Contains further chapters on particular movements and comparisons between the situation in Europe and elsewhere. Robert Towler, ed. New Religions and the New Europe. Aarhus, 1995. With chapters on movements in Lithuania, Romania, Belgium. Helle Meldgaard and Johannes Aagaard, eds. New Religious Movements in Europe. Aarhus, 1997. With contributions on Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Scandinavia, as well as some more general comparisons. The following countries are featured: Poland, Belarus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, East Germany. Ukraine and Russia are among the countries that feature in New Religious Phenomena in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Irena Borowik and Grzegorz Babinski. Krakow, 1997. Among the many books on European Paganism, a good starting point is Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman's edited volume Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty-First Century. London, 1995. For an overview of the New Age, see Paul Heelas' The New Age Movement: The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity. Oxford, 1996, and Wouter Hanegraaff's New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Albany, 1998. A report on the Satanism scare in Britain is to be found in Jean La Fontaine's Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England. Cambridge, 1998. Some of the darker aspects of occult Europe are explored in Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke's Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York, 2002. Some excellent articles on how Europe has responded to the recently increasing religious diversity (and other aspects of NRMs) can be read in Challenging Religion, edited by James A. Beckford and James T. Richardson. London, 2003. Detailed analyses of legal issues surrounding NRMs in Europe (and elsewhere) are included in Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe, edited by James T. Richardson, New York and Dordrecht, 2004, and in Facilitating Freedom of Religion and Belief: Perspectives, Impulses and Recommendations from the Oslo Coalition, edited by Tore Lindholm, Bahia Tahzib-Lie, and W. Cole Durham. Dordrecht, 2004. Numerous references and contact details can be found in Eileen Barker's New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction. London, 1989. Two books by Grace Davie, Religion in Modern Europe: A Memory Mutates (Oxford, 2000) and Europe: The Exceptional Case: Parameters of Faith in the Modern World (London, 2002), while not focusing specifically on NRMs, discuss the overall context within which the movements operate. Reference was made in the foregoing article to Rodney Stark's ideas in "Europe's Receptivity to Religious Movements," found in pp. 301–344 of Religious Movements: Genesis, Exodus and Numbers, which Stark himself edited. New York, 1985. Colin Campbell was largely responsible for popularizing the concept of the cultic milieu through his article "The Cult, the Cultic Milieu and Secularization" in A Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain 5 (1972): 119–136.