FECRIS
Encyclopedia
FECRIS - European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism - is a non-profit association
that serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of cults or cult-like organizations in Europe
.
, founded in Paris
on June 30, 1994, after the 1993 Congress on Sectarianism in Barcelona
. FECRIS serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of cults or cult-like organizations in Europe
, and it describes itself as "politically, philosophically and religiously neutral". The first president of FECRIS was Dr. Jacques Richard, succeeded by Friedrich Griess. The organization began in 1994 with representation from 10 different countries in Europe. The group's first meeting was held in Paris in October 1994. Its second meeting in April 1995 was attended by individuals from six different countries. At the meeting, the organization decided to focus on research, and stated "the legal aspects of family/cult relationships should be the first subject for research by an appropriate university or professional department".
At a meeting held in Germany in 1996, the organization recommended perusing recent court decisions for information that could be of use to individuals involved in groups researched by FECRIS. By 1999, FECRIS had established a website, located at www.fecris.org. The organization's president, Jean Nokin, traveled with the vice president to a meeting of the American Family Foundation in April 2000, where they presented on the topic of "Cults and the Millennium". By May 2001, FECRIS had 36 member organizations in 24 different countries. A June 2001 meeting in Paris dealt with the impact of membership in controversial religious groups, issues of litigation against cults, and safety of youth involved in such groups. The organization held a May 2002 meeting in Barcelona on the topic of "Children and Cults".
As of 2003 the government of France provided funding to the organization. In March 2005, the Council of Europe's Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly granted FECRIS advisory status. In 2009, FECRIS was granted "ECOSOC Special Consultative Status" by the United Nations
.
. Paul A. Marshall writes in Religious Freedom in the World that many cult-awareness groups (CAGs) that investigate new religious movement
s belong to FECRIS. Writing in Multireligiosität im vereinten Europa, Eileen Barker
comments that "FECRIS was founded to encompass a number of anti-cult groups." The organization is described in the 2004 book New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities: "In France, the principal anti-cult group is UNADFI (National Association for the Defence of the Family International). FECRIS (European Federation of Centres for Research and Sectarianism), founded in 1994, covers Europe more widely, having representatives from ten different European countries."
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
that serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of cults or cult-like organizations in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
History
FECRIS was formed as a French non-profit associationVoluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
, founded in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on June 30, 1994, after the 1993 Congress on Sectarianism in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. FECRIS serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of cults or cult-like organizations in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and it describes itself as "politically, philosophically and religiously neutral". The first president of FECRIS was Dr. Jacques Richard, succeeded by Friedrich Griess. The organization began in 1994 with representation from 10 different countries in Europe. The group's first meeting was held in Paris in October 1994. Its second meeting in April 1995 was attended by individuals from six different countries. At the meeting, the organization decided to focus on research, and stated "the legal aspects of family/cult relationships should be the first subject for research by an appropriate university or professional department".
At a meeting held in Germany in 1996, the organization recommended perusing recent court decisions for information that could be of use to individuals involved in groups researched by FECRIS. By 1999, FECRIS had established a website, located at www.fecris.org. The organization's president, Jean Nokin, traveled with the vice president to a meeting of the American Family Foundation in April 2000, where they presented on the topic of "Cults and the Millennium". By May 2001, FECRIS had 36 member organizations in 24 different countries. A June 2001 meeting in Paris dealt with the impact of membership in controversial religious groups, issues of litigation against cults, and safety of youth involved in such groups. The organization held a May 2002 meeting in Barcelona on the topic of "Children and Cults".
As of 2003 the government of France provided funding to the organization. In March 2005, the Council of Europe's Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly granted FECRIS advisory status. In 2009, FECRIS was granted "ECOSOC Special Consultative Status" by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
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Member organizations
Source| Country | Organization |
|---|---|
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...  |
Aktion für geistige und psychische Freiheit e.V. (AGPF e.V.) |
| Sektenberatung Bremen | |
| Niedersächische Elterninitiative gegen den Missbrauch der Religion (EGMR) | |
| Sekten-Info Essen Nordrhein-Westfalen | |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...  |
Gesellschaft gegen Sekten- und Kultgefahren |
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...  |
|
| Contacts et Informations sur les Groupes Sectaires (CIGS) | |
| Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...  |
|
| C.I.S.K.- Centre for Information on Sects and Cults, Croatia | |
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...  |
Centre de documentation, d'éducation & d'action contre les manipulations mentales - centre Roger Ikor Roger Ikor Roger Ikor was a French writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1955. He was born in Paris.-Life:Of Jewish origin, he was a student and professor of literature at the Lycee Condorcet and the Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly-sur-Seine.... (CCMM Centre contre les manipulations mentales The Centre contre les manipulations mentales , widely named CCMM or Center Ikor Roger, is a French anti-cult association.... ) |
| Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu The Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu is a French anti-cult association founded in 1974, recognized as a public utility association by a decree of 30 April 1996, and directly subsidized by the French State... (UNADFI) |
|
| Groupe d'étude des mouvements de pensee en vue de la prévention des individus (GEMPPI) | |
| Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...  |
|
| The Family Survival Trust | |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...  |
|
| Dialogue Ireland | |
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...  |
|
| ARIS Veneto - Associazione per la Ricerca e l'Informazione sulle Sette | |
| ARIS Toscana - Associazione per la Ricerca e l'Informazione sulle Sette | |
| FA.VI.S - Associazione Nazionale Familiari delle Vittime delle Sette | |
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...  |
Ruch obrony rodziny i jednostky polish family association (RORIJ)- Polish Family Association |
| Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...  |
C.R.S. - orthodox Center of Religious Studies in the name of Saint Irenaeus Irenaeus Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology... , Russia |
| Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...  |
|
| C.A.S. - Center for Anthropological Studies, Serbia | |
| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...  |
Atención e Investigación de Socioadicciones (AIS) |
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....  |
Föreningen Rädda Individen (FRI) |
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....  |
Schweizerische Arbeitgemeinschaft gegen destruktive Kulte (SADK) |
| Association suisse pour la defense de la famille & de l'individu (ASDFI) | |
| Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...  |
F.P.P.S. - Family and Personality Protection Society |
| Armenia Armenia Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...  |
N.S.S. - National Spiritual Security |
Analysis
FECRIS is described in the 2006 book Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe as "a transnational network of ... anti-cult associations". The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides places FECRIS within the genre of the anti-cult movementAnti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...
. Paul A. Marshall writes in Religious Freedom in the World that many cult-awareness groups (CAGs) that investigate new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s belong to FECRIS. Writing in Multireligiosität im vereinten Europa, Eileen Barker
Eileen Barker
Eileen Vartan Barker OBE, born in Edinburgh, UK, is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics , and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights...
comments that "FECRIS was founded to encompass a number of anti-cult groups." The organization is described in the 2004 book New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities: "In France, the principal anti-cult group is UNADFI (National Association for the Defence of the Family International). FECRIS (European Federation of Centres for Research and Sectarianism), founded in 1994, covers Europe more widely, having representatives from ten different European countries."