Intro

CESNUR's

11th International Conference

About the event's organizers:

In the words of the conference brochure, "CESNUR (Centro Studi sulle Nuova Religioni/Center for Studies on New Religions), whose international headquarters are located in Torino [Turin], Italy, is a network of independent, international, nongovernmental, educational, informational organizations whose purpose is to serve as an international forum for scholars; to sponsor, support and conduct conferences, seminars, research and educational programs; to seek cooperative and supportive relations with bodies with similar interests; and to promote publication of new works in the field of new religions."

The conference drew speakers from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States.

Scheduled participants noteworthy by their absence included CESNUR conference regular J. Gordon Melton of the Institute for the Study of American Religions (who was reportedly at a conference on vampires in the U.S.), Michael W. Homer of CESNUR U.S.A. (in Salt Lake City), and Maria Dolores Fernandez-Figares of the New Acropolis movement (whose paper was canceled when conference organizers discovered that she had neglected to disclose her membership in, and close family ties to the founder of, the group).

Note: In most cases, titles of papers are as they appear in official conference literature or in printed copies of the papers themselves.