Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992, Page 72
That is hilarious but, incredibly, people are apparently drawn into that organization by trite
and puerile quotes of that kind. Some will say that if people are naive and foolish enough to
be persuaded by that kind of juvenile rubbish, that is their own business. To some extent I go
along with that, but at the same time one has always to watch for the motives of these
people. Why are they trying to attract young people and others into their ranks? We have a
duty to watch and monitor these groups and where necessary --it is not always necessary --
to warn parents and young people about the groups' methods and motives.
I am grateful to Mr. de Puig for the opinion that he has presented on behalf of the Committee
on Culture and Education and for the helpful amendments that he has tabled. He rightly refers
to the need for greater vigilance and also presses the need for education. He says: "Informing
adolescents about sects and new religious movements must be an integral part of the general
education system." I warmly endorse that.
As members of the committee will know, during its preparation and in discussions of the
report, I carefully considered the use of legislation to deal with this problem. I came to the
conclusion, however, endorsed by the committee, that the introduction of major legislation
would conflict with the freedom of conscience and of religion which is guaranteed by Article 9
of the European Convention on Human Rights. Instead of legislation, I suggest that we
require the registration of all sects and new religious movements so that we can monitor their
activities. Coupled with that, we should set up independent bodies to circulate objective
information, particularly to schools and colleges, so that parents, teachers, and young people
can be fully and accurately informed. Having done that, it is then up to each individual to
make his or her own judgment and decision in the light of the information made available.
It seems to me that any genuine sects will have nothing to fear from this monitoring exercise
and the undesirable activities of the more dubious groups should, it is to be hoped, be curbed
and restrained by the existence of the monitoring machinery.
In conclusion, I concede that my solutions are not dramatic or radical. I fear that they may
disappoint those who were looking for harsher action against cults and sects, but I believe
that they are a realistic response to the deep concerns that have been expressed in all our
countries by so many parents, teachers, and youth workers. On that basis, I commend my
report to the Assembly.
Mr. de Puig (Spain) (Rapporteur of the Committee on Culture and Education) presented the
opinion of the Committee on Culture and Education on sects and new religious movements
(Doc. 6546). He said that many of the activities of these sects were completely unacceptable.
His committee had studied the reports from Sir John Hunt's committee very carefully. There
was a difficult choice to make between trying to prevent sects having a negative effect on
individuals and society and the defense of religious freedom.
Although it would be extremely difficult and might not be desirable to outlaw sects, many of
their activities were simply criminal and could be combatted by the existing forces of law and
order. Examples of crimes perpetrated by sects were brainwashing, economic exploitation,
and enslavement of their members. The Committee on Culture and Education endorsed the
report, but proposed amendments to take stock of the cultural, as well as the legal,
perspective.
Mr. Worms (France) said that he wished to put on record his total support for the report. It
was an admirably objective document. The religious and secular aspects of society needed to
be kept clearly apart. All religions should advocate respect for human rights.
Mr. Muller (Germany) said that recent decades had witnessed a decline of religious values in
the West whilst Islamic fundamentalism had gone from strength to strength. The traditional
churches in Europe had failed their congregations by ignoring basic moral issues. Instead,
worship in churches more often resembled sociology seminars. Religious houses had allowed
That is hilarious but, incredibly, people are apparently drawn into that organization by trite
and puerile quotes of that kind. Some will say that if people are naive and foolish enough to
be persuaded by that kind of juvenile rubbish, that is their own business. To some extent I go
along with that, but at the same time one has always to watch for the motives of these
people. Why are they trying to attract young people and others into their ranks? We have a
duty to watch and monitor these groups and where necessary --it is not always necessary --
to warn parents and young people about the groups' methods and motives.
I am grateful to Mr. de Puig for the opinion that he has presented on behalf of the Committee
on Culture and Education and for the helpful amendments that he has tabled. He rightly refers
to the need for greater vigilance and also presses the need for education. He says: "Informing
adolescents about sects and new religious movements must be an integral part of the general
education system." I warmly endorse that.
As members of the committee will know, during its preparation and in discussions of the
report, I carefully considered the use of legislation to deal with this problem. I came to the
conclusion, however, endorsed by the committee, that the introduction of major legislation
would conflict with the freedom of conscience and of religion which is guaranteed by Article 9
of the European Convention on Human Rights. Instead of legislation, I suggest that we
require the registration of all sects and new religious movements so that we can monitor their
activities. Coupled with that, we should set up independent bodies to circulate objective
information, particularly to schools and colleges, so that parents, teachers, and young people
can be fully and accurately informed. Having done that, it is then up to each individual to
make his or her own judgment and decision in the light of the information made available.
It seems to me that any genuine sects will have nothing to fear from this monitoring exercise
and the undesirable activities of the more dubious groups should, it is to be hoped, be curbed
and restrained by the existence of the monitoring machinery.
In conclusion, I concede that my solutions are not dramatic or radical. I fear that they may
disappoint those who were looking for harsher action against cults and sects, but I believe
that they are a realistic response to the deep concerns that have been expressed in all our
countries by so many parents, teachers, and youth workers. On that basis, I commend my
report to the Assembly.
Mr. de Puig (Spain) (Rapporteur of the Committee on Culture and Education) presented the
opinion of the Committee on Culture and Education on sects and new religious movements
(Doc. 6546). He said that many of the activities of these sects were completely unacceptable.
His committee had studied the reports from Sir John Hunt's committee very carefully. There
was a difficult choice to make between trying to prevent sects having a negative effect on
individuals and society and the defense of religious freedom.
Although it would be extremely difficult and might not be desirable to outlaw sects, many of
their activities were simply criminal and could be combatted by the existing forces of law and
order. Examples of crimes perpetrated by sects were brainwashing, economic exploitation,
and enslavement of their members. The Committee on Culture and Education endorsed the
report, but proposed amendments to take stock of the cultural, as well as the legal,
perspective.
Mr. Worms (France) said that he wished to put on record his total support for the report. It
was an admirably objective document. The religious and secular aspects of society needed to
be kept clearly apart. All religions should advocate respect for human rights.
Mr. Muller (Germany) said that recent decades had witnessed a decline of religious values in
the West whilst Islamic fundamentalism had gone from strength to strength. The traditional
churches in Europe had failed their congregations by ignoring basic moral issues. Instead,
worship in churches more often resembled sociology seminars. Religious houses had allowed
