Jean-Michel and his team
Encyclopedia
The Jean-Michel and his team association was a controversial Evangelical
-oriented new religious movement
founded in 1975 in the Vaud
canton, in Switzerland, by Jean-Michel Cravanzola.
and, after two dreams with alleged divine origin, decided to found a hierarchic and patriarcal community in Essertines-sur-Yverdon
to help poor people, drug addicts, and convert them. Life in the community was devoted to prayer, work and proselytism
. Followers had to sell 30 books per day.
After an important tax adjustment, the association was dissolved in 1980, but a commercial company with approximately 400 employees and a jewelry factory was founded in the Ticino
canton. After a suspicious conviction for fraud in charity, the founder went in Florida
and unsuccessfully tried to build a biblical theme park named Bibleworld. In 1992, the company cut Cravanzola's authority and the group ended. There were about 300 believers in Europe and U.S.
), psychological pressures exerted by Cravanzola, excessive control of life, difficulties to leave the community. In Switzerland, media widely gave negative reports about the community and contributed to raise mistrust towards new religious movements, but French association for the defense of religious freedom CICNS criticized this point of view.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
-oriented 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...
founded in 1975 in the Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
canton, in Switzerland, by Jean-Michel Cravanzola.
History and organization
Presented as being charismatic, Cravanzola was born in France in 1945, and grew up in Algeria. He became evangelist in LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
and, after two dreams with alleged divine origin, decided to found a hierarchic and patriarcal community in Essertines-sur-Yverdon
Essertines-sur-Yverdon
Essertines-sur-Yverdon is a municipality in the district of Gros-de-Vaud in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-Geography:Essertines-sur-Yverdon has an area, , of . Of this area, or 68.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 25.5% is forested...
to help poor people, drug addicts, and convert them. Life in the community was devoted to prayer, work and proselytism
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
. Followers had to sell 30 books per day.
After an important tax adjustment, the association was dissolved in 1980, but a commercial company with approximately 400 employees and a jewelry factory was founded in the Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
canton. After a suspicious conviction for fraud in charity, the founder went in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and unsuccessfully tried to build a biblical theme park named Bibleworld. In 1992, the company cut Cravanzola's authority and the group ended. There were about 300 believers in Europe and U.S.
Controversies
The community was criticized by some former members and Swiss anti-cult association ASDFI whose founder, Paul Ranc, started to warn the population against the group in 1979. Criticisms included exaggerated focus on donations (voluntary work and double titheTithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
), psychological pressures exerted by Cravanzola, excessive control of life, difficulties to leave the community. In Switzerland, media widely gave negative reports about the community and contributed to raise mistrust towards new religious movements, but French association for the defense of religious freedom CICNS criticized this point of view.